I thoroughly enjoyed Bret Victor’s article on exploratory reading. It was a concise and to the point article that left space for my mind to work while reading. Engaging the participant has been a part of almost everything we have done at ITP so far, thus it was good food for thought. The author is basically discussing how and why to make reading an interactive event. I like that he laid out the article into sections that moved me through the concept, it was easy to digest. It bode well for an author who’s topic is exploratory reading
Discussing user behavior is very important. I like that the author points to “laziness” in readers. It is very similar to watching television in this regard. I feel that the attempts at interactive television have been a complete failure and we can learn from the television industries mistakes. One of those mistakes was not understanding that the user was lazy and desirous of a passive type of interaction.
With the proliferation of smart phones and tablets connected to the internet the paradigm of explorative reading in education has incredible potential. Access to the internet in this fashion is quickly reaching new areas of the globe where the need for education is great. A rumor I recently heard was that there where five billion cell phones and only four billion tooth brushes. (insert link here) What needs to happen is a globally understood “rules of engagement” for exploratory reading so it becomes a common language. The implications for places like Guinea and Afganistan are great.
