Explorables: Evaluating a Concept for Remixable Interactive Learning Resources

Abstract

There is a divide in educational technology: On one side is the rich world of interactive learning resources produced by companies and researchers, including simulations, games, and quizzes. On the other side is the world of learning resources used in schools, mostly static content, self-made or from textbooks. There, some digital resources are used, but not adapted to their own needs by remixing that would require programming. Programming forms a skill barrier that prohibits most educators from adapting digital learning resources to their own use cases, limiting practical use. We argue that, to bridge the gap and make interactive learning resources remixable without programming, they must become FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable). We present a concept and implementation for the remix of interactive learning resources - an easy to use, web-based authoring tool that allows educators to create explorables. Explorables use current web technologies for the personalization and combination of rich, interactive content in a standardized way. We show how the concept achieves remixability theoretically and validate the tool's usability through a comprehensive user study with n=23 participants (students in teacher training, teachers, and lecturers) across two workshop sessions, using a mixed-method approach gathering user experience scores with the UEQ+ and reviewing results using a qualitative content analysis. Results show viability of explorables as FAIR learning resources, suitable to educators and in alignment with research and practice.