Interactivity
Encyclopedia
In the fields of information science
, communication
, and industrial design
, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:
On the other hand, human to computer communication is the way that people communicate with new media
. According to Rada Roy, the "Human Computer interaction model might consists of 4 main components which consist of HUMAN, COMPUTER, TASK ENVIRONMENT and MACHINE ENVIRONMENT. The two basic flows of information and control are assumed. The communication between people and computers; one must understand something about both and about the tasks which people perform with computers. A general model of human - computer interface emphazizes the flow of information and control at the human computer interface." Human to Human interactivity consists of many conceptualizations which are based on anthropomorphic definitions. For example, complex systems that detect and react to human behavior are sometimes called interactive. Under this perspective, interaction includes responses to human physical manipulation like movement, body language, and/or changes in psychological states.
, interactivity refers to the artifact’s interactive behaviour as experienced by the human user. This is different from other aspects of the artifact such as its visual appearance, its internal working, and the meaning of the signs it might mediate. For example, the interactivity of an iPod
is not its physical shape and colour (its so-called "design
"), its ability to play music, or its storage capacity—it is the behaviour of its user interface
as experienced by its user. This includes the way you move your finger on its input wheel, the way this allows you to select a tune in the playlist, and the way you control the volume.
An artifact’s interactivity is best perceived through use. A bystander can imagine how it would be like to use an artifact by watching others use it, but it is only through actual use that its interactivity is fully experienced and "felt". This is due to the kinesthetic nature of the interactive experience. It is similar to the difference between watching someone drive a car and actually driving it. It is only through the driving that you can experience and "feel" how this car differs from others.
New Media academic Vincent Maher
defines interactivity as "the relation constituted by a symbolic interface between its referential, objective functionality and the subject."
" is often used to refer to the specifics of a computer system's user interface
. Using this metaphor
, the "look" refers to its visual design, while the "feel" refers to its interactivity. Indirectly this can be regarded as an informal definition of interactivity.
A more detailed discussion of how interactivity has been conceptualized in the human-computer interaction literature, and how the phenomenology of the French philosopher Merleau-Ponty can shed light on the user experience, see (Svanaes 2000).
In computer science
, interactive refers to software which accepts and responds to input from humans—for example, data or commands. Interactive software includes most popular programs, such as word processor
s or spreadsheet
applications
. By comparison, noninteractive programs operate without human contact; examples of these include compiler
s and batch processing
applications. If the response is complex enough it is said that the system is conducting social interaction and some systems try to achieve this through the implementation of social interface
s.
Also, there is the notion of kinds of user interaction, like the Rich UI.
is a term used to describe both qualitatively new forms of media (e.g., the differences between analogue and digital media) and to describe media
changes which, in turn, significantly affect society (Flew, 2005). The recent processes of digitizing information and the extension of digitisation to media, currently underpins the latest "new" media evolution. Characteristics of digital data (see Flew, p. 3) make it particularly suited to enabling interactivity. Interactivity is seen as a key association with new media as it basically sets apart the 'old' and new medias. Old media could only offer a sit-back type interaction, whereas new media is much more engaging to their audiences.
Technologies such as DVDs and digital TV are classic examples of interactive media
devices, where a user can control what they watch and when. However, the Internet has become the prime model of an interactive system. Users can become fully immersed
in their experiences by viewing material, commenting on it and then actively contributing to it. McMillan states that interactivity can occur at many different levels and degrees of engagement and that it is important to differentiate between these levels. User-to-user interaction via the internet; para-social interaction, where new forms of media are generated online; and user-to-system interactivity which is the way devices can be engaged with by a user.
Lev Manovich (2001) also makes a clear definition of what interactivity means for the user. He refers to 'open interactivity' as actions such as computer programming and developing media systems, whereas 'closed interactivity' is merely where the elements of access are determined by the user. This definition is part of his principle of variability (one of Manovich's key features of new media).
Interactivity also relates to new media art
technologies where humans and animals are able to interact with and change the course of an artwork. Artists and researchers around the world are working on unique interfaces to allow new forms of interaction that extend beyond the QWERTY keyboard and the now ubiquitous mouse. Artists, such as Stelarc
work to define new interfaces that challenge our notion of what is possible when interacting with machines. His Hexapod for example looks like an insect though it walks like a dog and the locomotion is controlled by shifting the body weight and turning the torso. Others like Ken Rinaldo
have defined unique interfaces for fish in which Siamese Fighting Fish are able to control their rolling robotic fish bowls to interact across the gap of the glass. Simon Penny's Petit Mal allows a two wheeled sculpture to sense and respond to human presence and intelligently navigate the environment. Scott Snibbe
's "Boundary Functions," (1998) one of the first interactive video projections, draws moving lines on a gallery's floor to demarcate people's personal space.
Denis McQuail
mentions interactivity as one of the main characteristic of the new media
. He quotes:
coding to create interactive web pages. Sliders, date pickers, drag and dropping are just some of the many enhancements that can be provided.
Various authoring tools are available for creating various kinds of interactivities. Some of the most common platforms for creating interactivities include Adobe Flash
and the recently released Microsoft Silverlight
. The most commonly used authoring tools for creating interactivities include Harbinger's Raptivity and Articulate's Engage. eLearning makes use of a concept called an interaction model
. Using an interaction model, any person can create interactivities in a very short period of time.
Some of the interaction models presented with authoring tools fall under various categories like games, puzzles, simulation tools, presentation tools, etc., which can be completely customized.
Information science
-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
, and industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:
- Noninteractive, when a message is not related to previous messages;
- Reactive, when a message is related only to one immediately previous message; and
- Interactive, when a message is related to a number of previous messages and to the relationship between them.
Human to human communication
Human communication is the basic example of interactive communication which involves two different processes; human to human interactivity and human to computer interactivity. Human-Human interactivity is the communication between people.On the other hand, human to computer communication is the way that people communicate with new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
. According to Rada Roy, the "Human Computer interaction model might consists of 4 main components which consist of HUMAN, COMPUTER, TASK ENVIRONMENT and MACHINE ENVIRONMENT. The two basic flows of information and control are assumed. The communication between people and computers; one must understand something about both and about the tasks which people perform with computers. A general model of human - computer interface emphazizes the flow of information and control at the human computer interface." Human to Human interactivity consists of many conceptualizations which are based on anthropomorphic definitions. For example, complex systems that detect and react to human behavior are sometimes called interactive. Under this perspective, interaction includes responses to human physical manipulation like movement, body language, and/or changes in psychological states.
Human to artifact communication
In the context of communication between a human and an artifactCultural artifact
A cultural artifact is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
, interactivity refers to the artifact’s interactive behaviour as experienced by the human user. This is different from other aspects of the artifact such as its visual appearance, its internal working, and the meaning of the signs it might mediate. For example, the interactivity of an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
is not its physical shape and colour (its so-called "design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
"), its ability to play music, or its storage capacity—it is the behaviour of its user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
as experienced by its user. This includes the way you move your finger on its input wheel, the way this allows you to select a tune in the playlist, and the way you control the volume.
An artifact’s interactivity is best perceived through use. A bystander can imagine how it would be like to use an artifact by watching others use it, but it is only through actual use that its interactivity is fully experienced and "felt". This is due to the kinesthetic nature of the interactive experience. It is similar to the difference between watching someone drive a car and actually driving it. It is only through the driving that you can experience and "feel" how this car differs from others.
New Media academic Vincent Maher
Vincent Maher
Vincent John Maher is the CTO and co-founder of Motribe Mobile Networks. Previously he was the portfolio manager for social media at Vodacom, a South African mobile telecommunications operator...
defines interactivity as "the relation constituted by a symbolic interface between its referential, objective functionality and the subject."
Computing science
The term "look and feelLook and feel
In software design, look and feel is a term used in respect of a graphical user interface and comprises aspects of its design, including elements such as colors, shapes, layout, and typefaces , as well as the behavior of dynamic elements such as buttons, boxes, and menus...
" is often used to refer to the specifics of a computer system's user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
. Using this metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
, the "look" refers to its visual design, while the "feel" refers to its interactivity. Indirectly this can be regarded as an informal definition of interactivity.
A more detailed discussion of how interactivity has been conceptualized in the human-computer interaction literature, and how the phenomenology of the French philosopher Merleau-Ponty can shed light on the user experience, see (Svanaes 2000).
In computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, interactive refers to software which accepts and responds to input from humans—for example, data or commands. Interactive software includes most popular programs, such as word processor
Word processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
s or spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
applications
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
. By comparison, noninteractive programs operate without human contact; examples of these include compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
s and batch processing
Batch processing
Batch processing is execution of a series of programs on a computer without manual intervention.Batch jobs are set up so they can be run to completion without manual intervention, so all input data is preselected through scripts or command-line parameters...
applications. If the response is complex enough it is said that the system is conducting social interaction and some systems try to achieve this through the implementation of social interface
Social interface
Social interface is a concept from social science . It can be approached from a theoretical or a practical perspective....
s.
Also, there is the notion of kinds of user interaction, like the Rich UI.
Interactivity in new media
New mediaNew media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
is a term used to describe both qualitatively new forms of media (e.g., the differences between analogue and digital media) and to describe media
Media (communication)
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...
changes which, in turn, significantly affect society (Flew, 2005). The recent processes of digitizing information and the extension of digitisation to media, currently underpins the latest "new" media evolution. Characteristics of digital data (see Flew, p. 3) make it particularly suited to enabling interactivity. Interactivity is seen as a key association with new media as it basically sets apart the 'old' and new medias. Old media could only offer a sit-back type interaction, whereas new media is much more engaging to their audiences.
Technologies such as DVDs and digital TV are classic examples of interactive media
Interactive media
Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user’s actions by presenting content such as text, graphics, animation, video, audio, etc.-Terminology:...
devices, where a user can control what they watch and when. However, the Internet has become the prime model of an interactive system. Users can become fully immersed
Immersion (virtual reality)
Immersion is the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment; often artificial. This mental state is frequently accompanied with spatial excess, intense focus, a distorted sense of time, and...
in their experiences by viewing material, commenting on it and then actively contributing to it. McMillan states that interactivity can occur at many different levels and degrees of engagement and that it is important to differentiate between these levels. User-to-user interaction via the internet; para-social interaction, where new forms of media are generated online; and user-to-system interactivity which is the way devices can be engaged with by a user.
Lev Manovich (2001) also makes a clear definition of what interactivity means for the user. He refers to 'open interactivity' as actions such as computer programming and developing media systems, whereas 'closed interactivity' is merely where the elements of access are determined by the user. This definition is part of his principle of variability (one of Manovich's key features of new media).
Interactivity also relates to new media art
New media art
New media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology...
technologies where humans and animals are able to interact with and change the course of an artwork. Artists and researchers around the world are working on unique interfaces to allow new forms of interaction that extend beyond the QWERTY keyboard and the now ubiquitous mouse. Artists, such as Stelarc
Stelarc
Stelarc is a Cypriot-Australian performance artist whose works focuses heavily on extending the capabilities of the human body. As such, most of his pieces are centred around his concept that the human body is obsolete...
work to define new interfaces that challenge our notion of what is possible when interacting with machines. His Hexapod for example looks like an insect though it walks like a dog and the locomotion is controlled by shifting the body weight and turning the torso. Others like Ken Rinaldo
Ken Rinaldo
Ken Rinaldo is an American artist and educator. He creates interactive art installations that explore the intersection between nature and technology...
have defined unique interfaces for fish in which Siamese Fighting Fish are able to control their rolling robotic fish bowls to interact across the gap of the glass. Simon Penny's Petit Mal allows a two wheeled sculpture to sense and respond to human presence and intelligently navigate the environment. Scott Snibbe
Scott Snibbe
Scott Snibbe is an interactive media artist, researcher, and entrepreneur. He is one of the first artists to work with projector-based interactivity, where a computer-controlled projection onto a wall or floor changes in response to people moving across its surface, with his well-known full-body...
's "Boundary Functions," (1998) one of the first interactive video projections, draws moving lines on a gallery's floor to demarcate people's personal space.
Denis McQuail
Denis McQuail
Denis McQuail is one of the most influential scholars in the field of mass communication studies.. He has published extensively in the field of political communication and communication theory. Best known is his contribution to the education of the public, concerning communication theory. His work...
mentions interactivity as one of the main characteristic of the new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
. He quotes:
Interactivity: as indicated by the ratio of response or initiative on the part of the user to the "offer" of the source/sender
Creating Interactivity
Web page authors can integrate JavaScriptJavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
coding to create interactive web pages. Sliders, date pickers, drag and dropping are just some of the many enhancements that can be provided.
Various authoring tools are available for creating various kinds of interactivities. Some of the most common platforms for creating interactivities include Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
and the recently released Microsoft Silverlight
Microsoft Silverlight
Microsoft Silverlight is an application framework for writing and running rich Internet applications, with features and purposes similar to those of Adobe Flash. The run-time environment for Silverlight is available as a plug-in for web browsers running under Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
. The most commonly used authoring tools for creating interactivities include Harbinger's Raptivity and Articulate's Engage. eLearning makes use of a concept called an interaction model
Interaction Model
In the context of e-Learning, interactivity is defined as "function of input required by the learner while responding to the computer, the analysis of those responses by the computer, and the nature of the action by the computer." - Variables of Interactivity :...
. Using an interaction model, any person can create interactivities in a very short period of time.
Some of the interaction models presented with authoring tools fall under various categories like games, puzzles, simulation tools, presentation tools, etc., which can be completely customized.
See also
- Haptic (disambiguation)
- HappeningHappeningA happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
- Human factorsHuman factorsHuman factors science or human factors technologies is a multidisciplinary field incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, industrial design, statistics, operations research and anthropometry...
- InteractionInteractionInteraction is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect...
- Interaction designInteraction designIn design, human–computer interaction, and software development, interaction design, often abbreviated IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." Like many other design fields interaction design also has an interest in form but its main...
- Sonic interaction designSonic interaction designSonic interaction design is the study and exploitation of sound as one of the principal channels conveying information, meaning, and aesthetic/emotional qualities in interactive contexts. Sonic interaction design is at the intersection of interaction design and sound and music computing...
- Interaction ModelInteraction ModelIn the context of e-Learning, interactivity is defined as "function of input required by the learner while responding to the computer, the analysis of those responses by the computer, and the nature of the action by the computer." - Variables of Interactivity :...
- Virtual realityVirtual realityVirtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...