The Evolution of Interactivity · The Hidden Lesson~2 min
Changing the medium is not the same as changing the learning
Information is now abundant, so access is no longer the bottleneck. Test each innovation against the article's central question: does it change only the medium, or does it create a richer interaction?
The setup
For most of history, education fought scarcity: expensive books, few teachers. Every innovation from the printing press to generative AI lowered the cost of getting information. That problem is now largely solved. The article warns of the habit that follows abundance: confusing access with learning. Judge the innovations below by one test.
The medium testQuestion 1Does the innovation change how content is delivered?
The interaction testQuestion 2Does it create a richer interaction between learner and knowledge?
The lineup of innovationssix itemsFrom a textbook on a tablet to a system that adapts. Each is judged by the two tests.