According to Hoekema {1983) learners "make choices affecting the pace and sequence of the presentation. This capacity for interaction between user and system allows information delivery to be tailored to individual users through a careful blend of system controls and direct user controls." Bunderson (1983) claims that there must be "a conversational exchange. The user responds through some input device and through decision logic, one or more selections from the library of video materials is displayed."In recent articles I have attempted to add to the understanding of the concept by describing interactive instruction as a videodisc-based system with the following characteristics:1. Users create unique lesson sequences based on their own interest and learning style by selecting from hundreds of pre-planned options. 2. As learners make selections, the system responds with appropriate feedback, instructional sequences or additional options to provide the user with materials appropriate to their {a) interest, {b) ability, {c) learning style preference, {d} pace, {e} language. 3. Materials are encoded on the disc in a modular rather than linear form. This is described as a matrix design (DeBloois, 1982}. 4. The lesson is created as the result of a genuine interaction between the learner and a data base of visual, textual and audio cues recorded on optical and magnetic memory. Michael DeBloois is in the Department of Instructional Technology at Utah StateUniversity. 189 Implications for Designers of Instructional MaterialsNow that we have identified what is meant by interactive instruction, let's move on to the implications this concept holds for instructional developers in the humanities.In the view of most developers, their role requires the application of systematic thinking to the design of instructional materials. In the organization of learning events, activities and media, we select models representing our view of how learning occurs. We design information systems based on cybernetic principles. Frequently electronic technology is the communication vehicle through which messages are delivered to learners. But have developers really looked at the implications of individualizing instruction for learners? We are all very comfortable and enjoy the role we are playing; it is an important role, but not critical. We are "part" players, with other people performing the leading roles, assuming the greatest responsibility, taking the most "heat."Suddenly, two publications appear and seem to upset everything. Both are alarming; one, A Nation At Risk, because it fails to even recognize that we exist. Instructional developers are neither part of the problem nor hope for the solution. The other, Mega Trends, is alarming because we are forced to confront the tremendous role we must now assume as information specialists in a new information society.A Nation A t Risk acknowledges conditions in public schooling which designers of learning materials have been predicting and attempting to remedy for more than two decades, yet its re...

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Article published in Teaching History by Alder, DeBloois, and Eastmond, Jr.

Everybody is excited about the use of interactive videodisc for language instruction. There is good reason to be optimistic because this medium offers much of what we have been waiting for since the benefits of using audio-visual materials in teaching languages were first recognized.