The user must provide input or take actions in order for something to be interactive. As a result, interactive reading necessitates the reader’s participation or action. In a nutshell, interactive reading encourages the reader to engage in more than just reading printed text. Things that can be read interactively include print books with alternate endings, ebooks with hyperlinks, virtual books, websites, and even blogs and wikis. The reader’s action influences or enhances his or her experience of a text in these examples.
To teach language arts skills and facilitate reading comprehension, elementary school teachers expose their students to various forms of interactive reading. To increase topic retention and further learning, teachers employ a variety of tools, methods, and interactive lessons. Companion websites and other interactive learning materials provide additional engagement beyond the text. Online games, virtual books with interactive skill-building exercises, videos, and other multimedia teaching aids are examples of such materials.
Interactive reading is beneficial to people of all ages, not just school-aged children. Adults can learn from a variety of interactive media while online. The websites of newspapers and magazines are prime examples. Publishers encourage readers to go beyond the printed text or online articles providing online content. Readers can leave comments, provide feedback, participate in online seminars, and find resources for further study reading and clicking on links.
The use of interactive learning materials, as well as the concept of interactive reading as a whole, is often associated with technology. In reality, encouraging readers to interact physically with the text they are reading is not a new concept. Victorian-era learning materials included pop-up books with movable elements and additional content. These early forms of interactive reading aimed to engage children using manipulative components to illustrate complex systems and concepts. Clear cellophane overlays in encyclopedias from the mid to late 1900s allowed readers to dissect anatomies system system as they turned the pages to build each system’s layers.
Interactive media can now be used in a much deeper and broader way thanks to modern technology. With the use of multimedia tools, online content, and various interactions, readers become an integral part of their own information absorption. Publishers encourage readers to interact with the printed materials offering an ever-growing menu of options for deeper understanding and enjoyment. Websites, blogs, user-generated wikis, online games, and ebooks are just a few examples of interactive learning materials and options that are available.