Computing and Communication
Computing has changed how people communicate. The transmission of news, messages, and ideas is instant. Anyone’s voice can be heard. In fact, access to digital communication technologies such as the Internet is so fundamental to daily life that their disruption by government is condemned by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
A History of Computing and Communication
Parallel to the development of the internet, researchers like Alan Kay and Douglas Engelbart worked to build technology that would empower individuals and enhance cognition. Kay imagined the Dynabook in the hands of children across the world. Engelbart, while best remembered for his "mother of all demos," was more interested in the ability of computation to augment human intellect.
Recent Developments in Computing and Communication
More recent designs (though still historical by personal computing standards) point to a future where computers are connected and assist people in decision-making and communicating using rich graphics and interactive user interfaces.
Interactive Articles: Theory & Practice
Interactive articles draw from and connect many types of media, from static text and images to movies and animations. But in contrast to these existing forms, they also leverage interaction techniques such as details-on-demand, belief elicitation, play, and models and simulations to enhance communication.
Connecting People and Data
As visual designers are well aware, and as journalism researchers have confirmed empirically, an audience which finds content to be aesthetically pleasing is more likely to have a positive attitude towards it. This in turn means people will spend more time engaging with content and ultimately lead to improved learning outcomes.
Looking Forward
A diverse community has emerged to meet these challenges, exploring and experimenting with what interactive articles could be. The Explorable Explanations community is a "disorganized ‘movement’ of artists, coders & educators who want to reunite play and learning."
Conclusion
We believe in the power and untapped potential of interactive articles for sparking reader’s desire to learn and making complex ideas accessible and understandable to all.
FAQs
Q: What is an interactive article?
A: An interactive article is a digital publication that leverages interaction techniques such as details-on-demand, belief elicitation, play, and models and simulations to enhance communication.
Q: How do interactive articles facilitate communication and learning?
A: Interactive articles facilitate communication and learning by providing a dynamic and engaging way to present complex ideas and information, allowing readers to interact with the content and explore it in a more immersive way.
Q: What is the potential of interactive articles?
A: The potential of interactive articles is to make complex ideas accessible and understandable to all, to spark reader’s desire to learn, and to facilitate communication and learning in a more effective and engaging way.
Q: What is the current state of interactive articles?
A: The current state of interactive articles is that they are a growing trend in digital publishing, with a diverse community of authors, designers, and developers experimenting with what interactive articles could be and exploring their potential.
Q: What are the challenges of interactive articles?
A: The challenges of interactive articles include the need for improved tooling and platforms to support their creation, the need for more funding to support their development and publication, and the need for more research to identify the cases in which interactivity is worth the cost of creation.
