Brendan carter presentation

Edutainment

‘I’m in L&D, not entertainment…’

Topics

About Sensis

Edutainment… Why?

History

Some Examples

Gaming

Pros and Cons

Questions

‘The greatest reason for adult education is that it

offers an escape from boredom.’

J. Jarret

About Sensis

Sensis is Telstra’s information and advertising business and Australia’s leading information resource.

Using EdutainmentQ1. Who’s in the Jacuzzi?

Q2. Where is the lead singer? Hint: he’s in more than one place.

Pssst…There’s a prize!

• The purpose of edutainment is simple: entertain to educate

• Meaningful messages need to be heard

• Entertainment Engagement Learning

• eLearning should exploit best practices in L&D from all areas – from face-to-face, distance, blended etc

Why Edutainment?

Statistics• It’s a fact! Entertainment is for all ages

*Survey results presented in Entertainment, Engagement & Education in e‐learning (white paper, 2009), Pouchali Chatterjee, Tata Interactive

Why Edutainment?

Statistics• Non-mandatory training course fails – delivered as

traditional eLearning. Same course rewritten as story-based – 90% learner completion status

• A game based ‘course’ created for a multinational bank to train employees to recognise errors in cheques, received the following ratings:

Why Edutainment?

Who said it and when?

‘I believe that the motion picture is destined to revolutionise our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks.

I should say that on average we get about two percent efficiency out of schoolbooks as they are written today. The education of the future, as I see it, will be conducted through the medium of the motion picture … where it should be possible to obtain one hundred percent efficiency.’

• ‘Edutainment’ is NOT new

• Songs and Edutainment

• Television and Edutainment

• Adults are more focussed than children

‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we

stop playing.’ Oliver Wendell Holmes

History

• Humour• Drama• Action• Learner involvement• Constructivist and exploratory based learning

‘Personally, I’m always ready to learn, although I don’t always like being taught.’

Winston Churchill

Forms of Edutainment

‘Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.’

E.M. Forster

Some Examples

Gaming

• It’s not always, but it’s very effective when written for specific audiences and focuses on learning objectives

• Lower literacy levels = higher interactivity• Does Edutainment = e-Expensive?• Adults know frivolous content/entertainment

when they see it… eye candy alone, rots your teeth

Pros and Cons

Edutainment is the Bees Knees!

What we do in L&D is solution focussed. One size doesn’t fit all, and we don’t believe Edutainment within eLearning is the answer to all our training needs – where it is suitable however, it can prove very powerful indeed.

‘The great aim of education is not

knowledge, but action.’Herbert Spencer

Our Approach

Questions, queries, quagmires?