Interactives are technological tools educators use to engage students and focus on active rather than a passive learning environment. They can include resources such as:
This section will focus on H5P usage as this is a preferred format at Deakin and is able to be used in Pressbooks.
H5P is a versatile tool that allows educators to create various interactive content types, including quizzes, games, and simulations. H5P is particularly beneficial for open education initiatives because it can be made into a shareable OER in addition to forming part of a larger resource. H5P is open-source, enabling educators to share and reuse interactive content freely.
H5P is a collection of HTML5 tools that enables the development of engaging, responsive and interactive digital learning objects. H5Ps can also be downloaded and shared with others making them useful as OER as the reuse and licencing conditions can be included in the object. H5P as OER can be individual activities or can be incorporated in a larger resource such as in Pressbooks. H5P includes may options for learning object types. Using H5P can be used to develop objects of many types for a range of educational purposes.
There is lots of information our there for using H5P:
For H5P to be effective, the developed activities should align with learning objectives. H5P activities can allow students to build and practice applying knowledge that helps them to be successful in more formal assessments, and ultimately achieve the desired learning outcomes. Avoid adding H5P activities that don’t connect meaningfully to the instructional content just because they look fun and add “interest.”
| Learning Objective | Possible H5P activity |
|---|---|
| Translate common phrases from Spanish to English. | Dialog Cards with the Spanish phrase and audio pronunciation on one side of the card and English translation on the other side. |
| Recall key events that occurred during the War of 1812. | Timeline showing the dates of key events and information about them. |
| Identify components of a residential hybrid solar energy system. | Drag and Drop activity where the background image is a diagram showing the components of a residential hybrid solar system, with each component having its own drop zone. The draggable items are the names of the components. |
| Calculate the slope of a line given the coordinates of two points. | Single Choice Set question with an image of a coordinate grid showing two points. The answer choices include the correct answer and 3 incorrect answers. |
| Explain the process you would use to determine the pH of an unknown sample. | Branching Scenario virtual lab exercise that walks through the steps of determining pH of a sample and allows students to make choices leading to different outcomes. |
Adapted from H5P Interactive Content in Moodle by NC State University CC BY NC 4.0
Below are a few databases where you can look for H5P content as well as other OER resources as examples.
Creating simulations using simulation software, virtual reality or artificial intelligence is also another growing field of OER resources. If you have ideas for simulations projects please talk to the Open Education Team for further support to develop your project.
Here are a few databases to look for Interactive Simulation OER:
Some H5P activities are more accessible than others. H5P have a list of content type recommendations and LibreTexts Studio have an accessibility guide to H5P activities on their website. Additional to the type of activity, keep in mind the accessibility tips for the various formats. For example, if you have embedded images in your H5P, remember to include Alt Text. Refer to the other pages of this guide for accessibility considerations for the components used in H5P activities.
Where H5P are included in OER such as books on Pressbooks, a text version of the activity should also be included. This can be through an anchor link to a text description or through expandable/collapsible content directly below the activity.