•Since most people have watched television, the medium is familiar.
•Motion and visuals can be combined in a single format so that complex or abstract concepts can be illustrated through visual simulation. The old cliche "a picture is worth a thousand words" rings true.
•Instructional television is an effective way to take students to new environments (the moon, a foreign country, or through the lens of a microscope).
•Time and space can be collapsed, so that events can be captured and relayed as they happen.
•It is very effective for introducing, summarizing, and reviewing concepts.
•It can be used effectively as a motivational tool.

Interactivity and Learning

Drawing upon a number source of research, interactivity could be separated into the following levels of what could be described as operational interactivity has been identified:
•Object interactivity - refers to an application in which objects (buttons, people, things) are activated by using pointing device. When a user "clicks" on the object, there will be some form of audio-visual response. The functionality of such objects can be varied according to consequential factors such as previous objects encountered, previous encounters with the current object or previous instructional performance/activity.
•Linear interactivity - refers to applications in which the user is able to move (forwards or backwards) through a predetermined linear sequence of instructional material. Often termed “electronic page turning”, this class of interaction does not provide response-specific feedback to learner actions, but simply provides access to the next (or previous) display in a sequence.
•Support Interactivity – ability for user to receive performance support that may range from simple help messages to complex tutorial systems.
•Update Interactivity - relates to individual application components or events in which a dialogue is initiated between the learner and computer-generated content. For this concept, the application presents or generates problems (either from a database or as a function of individual performance levels) to which the learner must respond; the analysis of the response results in computer-generated update or feedback. Update interactivity can range from the simple question and answer format to complex conditional responses that may incorporate artificial intelligence components.
•Construct Interactivity - an extension to update interactivity, and requires the creation of an instructional environment in which the learner is required to manipulate component objects to achieve specific goals. Unless the construction is completed in the correct sequence, the task could not be completed. Construct interactions require significantly more design and strategic effort, as many parameters affect the successful completion of an operation.
•Reflective Interactivity - allows the current user to compare their response to that of other users as well as recognised "experts". In this way, learners can reflect on their response and make their own judgement as to its accuracy or correctness.
•Simulation Interactivity - extends the role of the learner to that of controller or operator, where individual selections determine the training sequence. For example, setting a range of switches to certain values to enable the functioning of a production plant, with the settings selected determining the presentation or update sequence.
•Hyperlinked Interactivity - With hyperlinked interactivity, the learner has access to a wealth of information and may "travel" at will through that knowledge base. The provision of linked information can provide a means to present problems that are solved by correctly navigating through the "maze" of information.
•Non-Immersive Contextual Interactivity - This concept combines and extends the various interactive levels into a complete virtual training environment in which the learner is able to work in a meaningful, job-related context.
•Immersive Virtual Interactivity - provide an interactive environment in which the learner is projected into a complete computer-generated world which responds to individual movement and actions.