ONLINE JOURNAL #3!!!

EDUTAINMENT......


In class this week, we primarily focused on the increasing convergence of corporate entities and the amount of vertical and horizontal integration that has occurred within, and between, major media conglomerates. Our readings consisted of chapters 3,4 and 7 from Thussu’s text, examining the expansion of our global communication infrastructure and the emergence of the internet and its underlying implications. The topic that gained the majority of my interest involved the concept of edutainment. Edutainment is essentially the use of various media, such as computer software, to essentially educate and entertain. Briefly discussed in comparison to ‘infotainment’, Thussu described edutainment as making “education entertaining without sacrificing quality” (Thussu 2000:223). The children’s show Sesame Street was used as an example in the text; a program broadcasted with educational intentions and viewed as entertainment. The idea behind edutainment is that by entertaining while educating, children will engage more positively with the material taught and therefore gain more out of the programs. Edutainment, in its most basic sense, seems like a very beneficial and effective means to teach children.
When reading this section in Thussu’s text, it initially made me think of educational e board games, computer games, and educational television shows such as Barney, The Magic School Bus, Blues Clues, and Teletubbies etc. However, it also reminded me of a recent news program I viewed on CTV that hit a nerve. The news broadcast described an initiative to incorporate interactive e-learning video games into the Canadian elementary school curriculum. Due to the dramatic increase in the amount of time children spend at the computer, messaging and playing games, the idea of using this pastime to help further education has become common. Essentially, the idea described by this initiative was to use video games as a means to aid in child classroom learning. The video games described in the brief news program were basically designed as interactive mediums where children could browse various academic topics. For instance, children could surf various geographical environments,- ie- an African jungle or an Egyptian dessert- identifying certain types of animals and vegetation, in order to learn the components. Once interacting with the objects, the child would be provided with educational descriptions and ‘interesting’ facts etc.
Doug Thomas, a professor at the University of Souther California’s Annenberg School for communication, also an advocate of video game edutainment, is also currently developing a video game for students ages 10-12 that aims to teach ideas and skills not found in traditional textbooks. His game, called Modern Promotheus, uses the story of Frankenstein to teach children ethical decision making. Utilizing the video game genre, he hopes to help place this form of edutainment within the American classroom setting. Thomas acknowledges that his game currently fits into the elementary school system, but doesn't, as of yet, fit into many established middle school curricula. Stated in his article, “ to overcome that obstacle, Thomas is collaborating with Indiana University Professor Sasha Barab whose Quest Atlantis game is used by 4500 students around the world” (Reuters 2007).
In my opinion, edutainment, in the form of television programming, is fantastic, as it definitely aids to enrich children while entertaining them at the same time. However, edutainment in the form of video games should not be utilized as a means to teach children within the classroom. What does that say about our current society/world? These news stories were a definite shock. In my opinion, these stories help reinforce how reliant we are, as a nation, on entertainment and technology. They also reinforce the laziness of our culture- not only the laziness of our teachers, but also the laziness of our children. By utilizing these types of technologies to teach children, we would essentially be depriving them of the independence and satisfaction of reading or researching for example. Something just doesn't seem right about allowing a computer video game to educate our youth. Although these types of ideas are interesting in theory, I believe that if these types of learning programs were implemented, they would do more harm then good.
What is most sobering, is that these types of edutainment forms being combined with various education systems is not an unrealistic thought. Rather, it seems like a number of these educational video games are being utilized around the world...
Maybe I am pessimistic, but I just do not see the value in using video games to teach in the classroom setting...







Reuters.(2007). Video Games Invade University Classrooms. Retreived February 3, 2008, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071206.wgtcollegegaming1206/BNStory

Thussu, Daya Kishan. The Historical Context of International Communication. International Communication: Continuity and
Change. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.