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Interactive Learning Materials: Why They Matter to Learners

ByJenn Martin

Students today expect more than static, text-heavy materials. With shorter attention spans and a preference for engaging, dynamic content, traditional textbooks often fall short. To keep learners actively involved, educators must embrace interactive learning materials that go beyond simple digital distribution. 

By integrating multimedia, quizzes, simulations, and immediate feedback, interactive materials transform learning from passive reading into an active, immersive experience.

What are Interactive Learning Materials?

Digital materials make interactivity possible

Interactive books are more than scanned books distributed digitally. They are web-first materials that incorporate the rich capabilities of digital technology, including multimedia content, quizzes, interactive graphics, immediate feedback when students test their knowledge, and more.

See this example of a memory game used for vocabulary retention in a language learning text from the University of Alberta (and try playing the game yourself!)

Interactivity can support sound pedagogy

As instructors or content creators consider where and how to build interactive learning activities into their course materials, they have the opportunity to make thoughtful pedagogical choices. For example, a low stakes pretest at the beginning of a chapter gives learners the opportunity to tap into their prior knowledge and preview what they’ll learn next. Coming after a vocabulary-heavy section of expository content, a word-matching or fill-in-the-blank activity invites learners to test their recall and digest the material before moving on. A branching scenario can help students practice analyzing the context and making judgments about how to proceed. 

Interactivity can take many forms in digital learning materials. Activities can be dispersed throughout a book for students to encounter at opportune moments, breaking up the text, signalling what’s important to focus on, and making the overall experience more engaging. 

Many texts use several different kinds of interactive activities to engage students, including interactive videos, word puzzles, drag-and-drop, branching scenarios, image sliders and more.

Powering learning with formative assessment

Formative assessment is the process of testing learners’ comprehension and providing ongoing feedback to help students and instructors improve learning and teaching. Typically formative assessment is no-stakes (ungraded) or low stakes (not weighted heavily in grading). In digital textbooks, interactive learning activities offer many vehicles for formative assessment. By incorporating interactivity at moments where there is a natural pause in the learning process to test knowledge or apply new information, we can enrich learners’ experiences with formative assessment. Interactive activities typically provide immediate feedback to learners when it is particularly helpful to measure learning progress and validate whether they are ready to move forward. 

This Anatomy and Physiology textbook from Maricopa Open Digital Press uses question sets at the end of chapters to test knowledge and provide feedback at regular intervals. 

Many of us remember the thick bricks of text we purchased at university or college bookstores. We also remember the long hours pouring over lengthy printed chapters, trying to absorb information while staying awake and/or managing  stress. 

When we embrace the possibilities of web-first digital learning materials, we can create more engaging learning experiences that invite learners with diverse interests and needs to take a more active, participatory role in their learning journeys.

Interactive Learning Materials: Key Benefits to Students

 

Active learning, in which students are given regular opportunities to engage with material on a deeper level than passive reading, results in a more meaningful and engaging learning experience. Learning science research provides strong causal evidence for the “doer effect,” the phenomenon that student outcomes improve as learners complete more online interactive practice activities.

Learners receive feedback about their learning progress at moments when it can be most impactful, helping them realize when they need to correct misperceptions or get additional help from an instructor. Similarly, learning data from interactive activities can help instructors assess how a class is doing, who needs help, and how to intervene in timely ways to improve learning. 

Interactivity, combined with digital technology, provides transformative ways to personalize learning. From algorithmically-generated questions based on a student’s prior responses, to choose-your-own-adventure style scenarios that guide learners through a set of choices, interactive activities can meet learners where they are and coach them towards desired outcomes. This college success-focused textbook from eCampusOntario does a masterful job using interactivity to engage learners and personalize the experience to their own needs. 

When learners receive focused feedback at key points in the learning process, it helps with metacognition–or becoming more aware of how to learn effectively. As they better understand their learning process, learners become more efficient in their study habits and more confident working towards their educational goals.  

Studies have shown that active learning through interactive environments promotes deeper understanding and analysis. Well-designed interactive activities can also encourage critical thinking skills.

In a study conducted on a beginner programming course using an interactive e-textbook, findings showed that students’ attitude towards the online textbook was preferential and that their final course grade was impacted positively by their participation in the interactive activities (Adkins, et al.).

When we rethink learning materials as dynamic, interactive experiences rather than static, text-heavy resources, we open up powerful opportunities to engage students more deeply. Digital-first interactive materials not only make learning more active but also provide immediate feedback, personalize learning pathways, and support stronger comprehension through formative assessment. 

The evidence is clear—interactivity enhances engagement, fosters critical thinking, and ultimately improves student outcomes. By thoughtfully incorporating interactive elements into digital textbooks and course materials, educators can create richer, more effective learning experiences that meet the needs of today’s learners.

Learn More

This is the first of three blog posts about interactive learning materials. The next will focus on specific guidance on how to enhance your books with interactive elements, taking them to a level that provides a better learning experience for students.

Sign up for our newsletter to receive part 2 and 3 of this interactive learning blog series.

References:
“Research-Based Learning Findings.” MIT Open Learning, 2023, openlearning.mit.edu/mit-faculty/research-based-learning-findings 

Adkins, Joni K, et al. “The impact of an interactive textbook in a beginning programming course.” Information Systems Education Journal (ISEDJ), Dec. 2020.

Koedinger et al. (2016). Is the doer effect a causal relationship?: how we can tell and why it’s important. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge, 388-397. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2883851.2883957#abstract

Interactive activity attributions:

“Comida” memory game by Héctor Cárcamo, Martin Guardado, Ana Dominguez, Celeste Aquino, Gary Ordóñez, Hugo Salgado is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Question Set by Elisabeth Kehrli, Anil Kapoor is licensed under CC BY

Featured image attribution:

Photo by Yan Krukau