From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
Edutainment (also educational entertainment or entertainment-education) is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse. Edutainment typically seeks to instruct or socialize its audience by embedding lessons in some familiar form of entertainment: television programs, computer and video games, films, music, websites, multimedia software, etc. Examples of this would be [1] or guided amphibious duck tours that entertain and educate [2]. There are also blogs [3] on edutainment that keep up with the latest news and updates on software, videos, and lessons that use edutainment as a basis for teaching in a more efficient and faster way [4].
Most often, edutainment seeks either to tutor in one or more specific subjects, or to change behaviour by engendering specific sociocultural attitudes. This is also used for behavior students in certain schools in the UK. Successful edutainment is discernible by the fact that learning becomes fun and teachers or speakers educate an audience in a manner which is both engaging and amusing.
Various groups in the United States and the United Kingdom have used edutainment to address such health and social issues as substance abuse, immunization, teenage pregnancy, HIV / AIDS, and cancer.
Edutainment is also a growing paradigm within the science museum community in the United States. This approach emphasizes fun and enjoyment, often at the expense of educational content. The idea is that Americans are so used to flashy, polished entertainment venues like movie theatres and theme parks that they demand similar experiences at science centers and museums. Thus, a museum is seen as just another business competing for entertainment dollars from the public, rather than as an institution that serves the public welfare through education or historical preservation.
[edit] Etymology
The noun edutainment is a neologistic portmanteau coined by Bob Heyman while producing documentaries for the National Geographic Society.
Edutainment is also used to refer to the use of small chunks of eLearning used to deliver key messages in an entertaining manner. This can be used to treat such challenging issues as ethics, diversity and compliance.
According to other sources, Peter Catalanotto first coined this phrase in the late 1990's as he travelled around the country edutaining schoolchildren about writing and illustrating.
Prior to this period, "Edutainment" was the title of hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions' fourth album which was released in 1990.
[edit] Edutainment in television programming
Edutainment defines some children's television series, such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and Teletubbies.
For older viewers, individual situation comedy episodes also occasionally serve as edutainment vehicles, sometimes described in United States television commercial parlance as very special episodes. One episode of the American sitcom Happy Days was reported to have prompted a 600% increase in the U.S. demand for library cards. Meanwhile, the British radio soap opera The Archers has for decades been systematically educating its audience on agricultural matters; likewise, the Tanzanian radio soap opera Twende na Wakati ("Let's Go With the Times") was written primarily to promote family planning.
[edit] Other Venues of Edutainment
One of current trends in edutainment is its inclusion in other forms of media, including radio, print, and internet outlets.
[edit] See also