Interesting Term - Edutainment
One little boy watched the drama "Raja Harichandra".The concept of drama is power of truth. In drama the hero Harichandra did not give up truth even though he faced many struggles. Impact of this drama was that little boy had lived a truthful life. Later he became the symbolic form of non-violence. Yes! He is the father of India, Mahatma Gandhi who watched 'harichandra' drama in his childhood. That drama is the example of edutainment about truth.
What is Edutainment? Education + Entertainment = Edutainment. It is considered as both educational entertainment and entertainment-education. Edutainment gives tough concepts in interesting forms such as drama, television programs, radio programs, video games and stories. First it gives fun and enjoyment, meanwhile it insulates the main educational concepts. In this way people get knowledge in theatres and home which they get similar experiences at Science exhibitions and museums. In front of computers, children can get knowledge from video games and power point presentations.
Computer games such as Electronic Arts and Seven Cities of Gold, released 1984, have also used the term edutainment to describe their products. Most edutainment games gives a game based learning approach. There are some games whose primary use is learning rather than enjoyment. Television plays important role in education. Many channels telecasts programs related to astronomy, history, botany, zoology and medical sciences. For example, Discovery Channel is known for its various shows about animal life and nature.
Radio can also play an effective role in edutainment. It announces up-to-date weather condition which is helpful to fishermen. They can easily get warnings in cyclone times. The British radio soap opera The Archers has for decades been educating its audience on agricultural matters. The Tanzanian radio soap opera Twende na Wakati was written primarily to promote family planning. Scientific fictions are very interesting and useful one. If one good scientific fiction becomes a good movie, it reaches the peak with technical support such as sound effects, three dimensional effects, animation. 'Avathar' is the good example of scientific fiction movie. 'Avathar' teaches technical and moral education simultaneously.
Teachers and professors should adopt the practice of edutainment for increasing the interest of adult students in complicated subjects. Here the instructor entertains the students by utilizing various mediums such as video, in-class skits, demonstrations, and Power Point slides along with lectures. Within the lecture, the instructor may add decent comedy and discussions of related experiences about the subject. This edutainment technique enriches education and gives good scope to gain sound knowledge in an easy way
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