Lounge

Vygotsky highlighted the role of the more experienced other (student or teacher) in his Zone of Proximal Development, where the learner can make a possible movement in learning, through talking with another. This could be through 'programmed' interactions as you describe or through student dialogue around the use of a computer (i.e. they run the dialogue).

Here is something from something I am currently writing on Social Software in Learning, note collaborative play was more effective than explicit instruction

"Software on a computer being used in a classroom can be seen as an activity in a social setting where the student using the computer may talk to the teacher and other students, asking for help, sharing information and reactions to their experiences of the software in use. A study of young children’s use of a program for drawing and writing revealed their learning of the construction of meaningful symbols “through independent active thinking processes”, and by social interaction. They were developing multiple literacies (Labbo, 1996). An experiment with Group Decision Support Systems revealed university students’ appreciation of and benefit from the information structuring and sharing features of the system (Alavi, 1994).

An exploratory video study into young people's use of games consoles reveals that individual use takes places in a rich social context.

“Games intended to engage a single player were shown to incorporate cooperation with, and the contribution of, others.”(Schott & Kambouri, 2006).

This study found examples where collaborative play was more effective than explicit instruction, and highlights the need for more research into social contexts and relationships that surround gameplay and other computer use.

Schott, G., & Kambouri, M. (2006). Social Play and Learning. In D. Carr, D. Buckingham, A. Burn & G. Schott (Eds.), Computer Games: Text , Narrative and Play. Cambridge: Polity Press."