Are these questions actually asked, or are these just questions you want to answer?
...next question.
So what is an Explorable Explanation?
Haha, I have no idea.
But seriously: since it's early days, we're keeping the definition pretty open! This website contains everything from videogames, to sandbox toys, to interactive graphics/articles/textbooks.
In short, by "explorable explanation" we mean something that 1) teaches something, and 2) is more interactive than a boring ol' quiz with only one right answer.
Ooh, this is like "gamification", right?
[sharp inhale]
hnnnnnnnnnngh okay I don't want to police other peoples' use of words, but my problem with "gamification" is that people usually use it to refer to the worst kind of game design: the "do some task and get some reward" skinner box.
Those are called "extrinsic rewards", and while they're good for motivating people to do boring, routine tasks, they're incredibly damaging for creativity & learning. Better instead to tap into "intrinsic rewards": peoples' inner sense of curiosity, mastery, autonomy, expression, purpose.
That's what Explorable Explanations aims to do. Not wrapping stale school material in gold stars and high scores.
Are the Featured (★) explorables the best ones?
Not necessarily! The ones we're featuring are just the ones we think would serve as the best introduction to what play can do for learning. So if there's a thing that's otherwise amazing & educational, but only uses minimal interaction (or isn't free, or requires a download), we maaaaay not pick it as a Featured (★) explorable. Maybe.
Long story short: it's pretty freakin' arbitrary.
How do I get started making my own explorable?
You've already started! Browse this site for examples of explorables to inspire you. Check out the tools and tutorials pages, to learn how to make explorables. And if you want to get a deeper sense for why play matters so much to learning, check out the further reading!