Human to artifact communication[edit]

In the context of communication between a human and an artifact, interactivity refers to the artifacts
interactive behaviour as experienced by the human user. This is different from other aspects of the
artifact such as its visual appearance, its internal working, and the meaning of the signs it might
mediate. For example, the interactivity of an iPod is not its physical shape and colour (its so-called
"design"), its ability to play music, or its storage capacityit is the behaviour of its user interface as
experienced by its user. This includes the way the user moves their finger on its input wheel, the way
this allows the selection of a tune in the playlist, and the way the user controls the volume.

An artifacts interactivity is best perceived through use. A bystander can imagine how it would be like
to use an artifact by watching others use it, but it is only through actual use that its interactivity is
fully experienced and "felt". This is due to the kinesthetic nature of the interactive experience. It is
similar to the difference between watching someone drive a car and actually driving it. It is only
through the driving that one can experience and "feel" how this car differs from others.

New Media academic Vincent Maher defines interactivity as "the relation constituted by a symbolic
interface between its referential, objective functionality and the subject." [6]

Computing science[edit]

The term "look and feel" is often used to refer to the specifics of a computer system's user interface.
Using this metaphor, the "look" refers to its visual design, while the "feel" refers to its interactivity.
Indirectly this can be regarded as an informal definition of interactivity.

For a more detailed discussion of how interactivity has been conceptualized in the human-computer
interaction literature, and how the phenomenology of the French philosopher Merleau-Ponty can
shed light on the user experience, see (Svanaes 2000).

In computer science, interactive refers to software which accepts and responds to input from people
for example, data or commands. Interactive software includes most popular programs, such
as word processors or spreadsheet applications. By comparison, noninteractive programs operate
without human contact; examples of these include compilers and batch processing applications. If
the response is complex enough it is said that the system is conducting social interaction and some
systems try to achieve this through the implementation of social interfaces.

Also, there is the notion of kinds of user interaction, like the Rich UI.

Creating Interactivity[edit]

Web page authors can integrate JavaScript coding to create interactive web pages. Sliders, date
pickers, drag and dropping are just some of the many enhancements that can be provided. [7]

Various authoring tools are available for creating various kinds of interactivities. Some of the most
common platforms for creating interactivities include Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. The most
commonly used authoring tools for creating interactivities include Harbinger's Elicitus and Articulate's
Engage. eLearning makes use of a concept called an interaction model. Using an interaction model,
any person can create interactivities in a very short period of time. Some tools like
Harbinger's Raptivity come with readymade interaction models that can be customized easily without
any programming.

Some of the interaction models presented with authoring tools fall under various categories like
games, puzzles, simulation tools, presentation tools, etc., which can be completely customized.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactivity