When learners can control the pace of the learning, and can ask questions when they occur, their learning speed and retention increase significantly. Public school teachers are always urging smaller class sizes because they know that above a certain number of students per class they cannot permit every learner to ask questions or progress will grind to a halt. Earlier efforts to bring expert teachers into class through television were less effective than live lectures and books, because learners were not able to ask questions. At least books enable learners to control the pace of instruction and to move among topics as needed. Passive learning, with no opportunity to ask questions or control the pace or content of the learning, is far less effective than interactive learning where learners participate actively.
Computers can offer the potential of reaching the ideal of one teacher for each student.
The challenge to make this process work effectively is to create course content that reasonably anticipates questions from learners and responds with appropriate answers. Computers have no ability to initiate or to think, and must be programmed to anticipate a wide range of reasonable options that might be asked. These are good examples of this principle of anticipation. Preventing Sexual Harassment aspires to this ideal of a Learning Dialog. User feedback always helps to improve any product, and New Media Learning appreciates the effort of learners who provide feedback, whether positive or negative.