Synonyms
Definition
“Edutainment” is a hybrid genre combining learning and fun. It relies heavily on visual material, on narrative or game-like formats, and on more informal, less didactic styles of address (Buckingham and Scanlon 2000). The purpose of edutainment is to attract and hold the attention of the learners by engaging their emotions through a computer monitor full of vividly colored animations. Similarly, “edutainment” suggests overtly entertaining learning materials, which contain messages addressed to both parents and children. Through explicit educational claims, edutainment software encourages the parents to believe that this software is beneficial in developing children’s skills in a variety of subjects. They also raise learners’ expectations that learning can be enjoyable and fun.
Theoretical Background
Although the interest in edutainment software has surged in the early 1990s, the idea of combining...
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References
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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Okan, Z. (2012). Edutainment and Learning. In: Seel, N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_1938
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_1938
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