Framing a Learning-Based Approach to Interactive System Design

When interacting with an interactive system to achieve a goal, a user utilizes his or her existing knowledge and constructs new knowledge consciously or unconsciously. Throughout the active process of knowledge exchange, accumulation and generation, the user’s mental models of the target system are built and constantly modified over time in order to obtain a desirable result. According to Driscoll (2005), “knowledge is constructed by learners as they attempt to make sense of their experiences. Learners therefore are not empty vessels waiting to be filled, but rather active organisms seeking meaning” (p. 387). In other words, learning is a consequence of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world. According to this approach, learners are encouraged to actively construct their own knowledge in complex learning environments. Because the nature of knowledge-engaging process in usersystem interaction involves the learning process, this paper considers that interaction corresponds to the user’s learning process. By doing so, it intends to improve the experience of the user by supporting his or her learning process in the use of an interactive system.