Active images - A tool for interactive and participative web-based learning

In ODL, both transfer of information and interaction are mainly text oriented. The incorporation in on-line course material of passive graphical elements may be straightforward, but the need for an interactive use of such graphical elements calls for special tools. This paper describes the Active Image concept. The main idea behind this concept is to create a generic framework that can easily be configured to provide to a user an interactive graphical interface tuned to a specific application satisfying the following features. + The graphical information is (or can easily be) represented in image format. + Interaction is based on mouse movements and mouse clicks (input events) and graphical animation (output events). + The input and output events may be linked to the value of boolean variables and the relations between these variables may be represented by a combinatorial or sequential logical system. The first prototypes of the concept have been developed. Their versatility is illustrated in two completely different application domains: the demonstration of the behaviour of digital circuits and the identification of anatomical structures in an image representing the cortical brain surface.