Have you heard of edutainment?
The name is exactly what it sounds like, a form of education designed to be entertaining.
The idea of blending education with entertainment keeps kids engaged while making learning a pleasure, which means kids retain more of the information they’re consuming.
If you’re cringing at the idea of having to entertain your kids to get them to learn, you aren’t alone.
Bobby George, CEO at Montessorium, writes in his Huffington Post article, “Somewhere along the way, our culture adopted the idea that learning wasn’t fun – that to inspire children, we needed to entertain them. We needed to stimulate their interests and reward them for their efforts. It didn’t matter if they accomplished the task, or were even inspired by the activity, just so long as they were happily entertained.”
While I agree that entertainment shouldn’t be required to inspire kids, I don’t agree with the assessment that it doesn’t matter if the kids were accomplishing the tasks or were inspired by them.
Moreover, I think that it’s possible to use a combination of traditional educational styles and edutainment to inspire kids to love learning.
For starters, the reality is that we live in a technologically advanced era and that kids have technology available at their fingertips.
Rather than deny kids access to these things, isn’t it better to use them as a learning tool?
Take a look at Sara DeWitt’s TED Talk for some great examples of this in practice.
That’s not all, though.
Edutainment includes far more educational forms of entertainment than just playing games on an iPad.
Just because kids are being entertained doesn’t mean teachers are putting on a show for kids (so to speak).
Edutainment includes styles of learning that teachers have used, effectively, for decades.
So while I don’t necessarily think that every subject in school can be made exciting and I don’t believe that kids should be constantly stimulated (an immense amount of creativity happens during moments of quiet, when kids are bored), I do think that edutainment can be used as a great way to help kids fall in love with different subjects (some they might have otherwise considered boring).
As David Ferrer points out his article, Edutainment: 5 Ways to Combine Education & Entertainment, “A growing number of scientific studies are confirming what we’ve long suspected, that some toys and games are very educational. And I’m not just talking about cheesy ‘Fun with Numbers’ coloring books, or spelling bees. I’m talking about genuine toys and games that are generally fun, even for your squirmy, restless little kids.”
Take a look at what I see as the top five benefits to edutainment:
Kids Remain Engaged
This one is a biggie.
Because kids are enjoying what they’re doing (and not bored), they’re more fully engaged and therefore able to consume more information in a shorter amount of time. So rather than taking an hour to get through a single subject or lab session, students can potentially consume more information in a shorter amount of time, and in a manner that they enjoy.
Plus, they will be far less resistant to working on homework when they know it’s in the form of a fun game, app or video, which means even further opportunities for learning.
Edutainment Encourages Learning Freedom
I believe that this is one aspect of education that Bobby George was actually advocating for in his Huffington Post article.
Ironically, it’s still a part of “edutainment.”
Through this aspect of edutainment, kids have the freedom to enjoy learning through play. Is it entertaining? Naturally. Is it educational? Of course!
According to edsys, “According to many researchers, self-directed play gives the best learning time for preschool children. Moreover, open-ended play lets them study and grow up cognitively, physically, emotionally and socially.”
Learning is Portable
Because apps and games are accessible on mobile devices, kids can play educational games outside the classroom. That means opportunities for learning can happen during long car rides or when your kids are stuck in a shopping cart for an hour.
Note: while I’m not encouraging you to hand your kids a mobile device every time they’re bored, I do think that if they’re going to be on a phone or iPad anyway, an educational game or video is a better choice than a Marvel movie (or whatever other entertainment-only option they might choose).
Edutainment Can Teach Perseverance
While I suppose you could argue that prevailing over a challenging math problem teaches perseverance, I’m willing to bet your child doesn’t enjoy that experience very much.
However, your child can definitely learn perseverance from a challenging puzzle or video game.
For younger children, puzzles are invaluable for teaching coordination and dexterity, spatial relationships and logical thinking. Ferrer points out that, for older kids, jigsaw puzzles are valuable “therapeutic form of low-intensity brain training that engages memory, fine motor skills, and attention span.”
Puzzles aren’t the only way that kids can learn perseverance through edutainment, though.
Videos and online games often contain positive characters that kids can connect with. These characters promote hard work, determination and perseverance during the learning sessions.
Hands-On Learning Excites and Engages Kids
Rather than studying new concepts in a classroom, kids can more fully absorb the information, and have fun while doing so, by having hands-on learning in a museum, theatre or park, where they can study nature.
Outdoor education, also called adventure education, is an important form of edutainment that makes study time both valuable and exciting.
Final Thoughts on What is Edutainment and Why Kids Learn Better this Way
So I think there are two big takeaways regarding edutainment:
- Using videos, games, and apps can be a fun way to get your kids engaged and interested in learning in a way that’s fun for them
- Edutainment is far more than just technology-based, but instead includes other forms of learning like experiential learning (outdoor education) or self-directed play.
The top five benefits of edutainment are:
- Kids remain engaged
- Edutainment encourages learning freedom
- You can learn anywhere (technology is portable)
- Edutainment can teach perseverance
- Hands-on learning excites and engages kids
What do you think?
Are you pro-edutainment? Or do you still have reservations?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!