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Mostly I agree with Matt, but I do have one issue with what he said.

Matt said:

> 
> 1. I agree that not everything we do need be interactive for the  
> reasons Eric mentions. Many science centers know this. Many science  
> centers and museums sponsor lectures, TV shows and books. Not  
> everyone wants inquiry based learning all the time. Does anyone? 

I disagree with the implied equivalence of inquiry and interactive in
this statement.  A non-interactive event such as a lecture (or podcast)
can, in the right circumstances, lead to inquiry learning (by which I
mean learning that is motivated by the need to answer a question and
that is based on the collection and analysis of data - see the essential
features of inquiry discussed in the National Science Education
Standards, etc.)  The problem is that a lecture can only lead to inquiry
learning if I bring to it the question it was designed to answer, if I
am at the level of pre-existing understanding for which the lecture was
designed, and if it presents data for my analysis (as opposed to
preformed conclusions presented as factoids).  The unlikelihood of all
the learners in a lecture all happening to be at the same place in their
learning and working on the same question is what makes lecture
generally a bad technique to use in group settings, such as classrooms.
In this vision of lectures, they are actually ideal for the single user
podcast through earbuds.  The person who downloads a content podcast
has, by the act of downloading, already thought at some level about what
they know about a subject and what they want to know (what their
questions are), both essential prerequisites to real learning.  I think
Matt is exactly right to equate podcasts with books - they fill the same
learning needs.  A book is thoroughly didactic and reading a book to a
large class is hardly an effective technique, but no one would question
the educational value of the book itself.  It's all in how it is used.  

The bottom line, when judging educational tools, is their efficacy in
prompting learners to challenge their pre-existing understandings and
construct new ones.  That depends not just on the tool, but also on the
setting, including the learner herself.

David L. Smith, Ph.D.
Director of Professional Development
Da Vinci Discovery Center, Allentown, PA 
http://www.davinci-center.org
"Who will pick up where Leonardo left off?"

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