Today, the education industry is in a big transition phase with digitization and globalization already. Now with the emergence of ‘Gen-Z’, it seems that the education industry needs to make a bigger leap, combining education with entertainment.
Gen-Z has always been surrounded by the latest technological innovations. Access to any information is now pretty much a basic right. However, newer innovations like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have really grabbed the attention of the new audience. Entertainment has completely taken over and has touched every single industry.
While it is true that digitization has improved education quality but it has some major drawbacks too. According to the latest study, an average student has an attention period of just 8 seconds. With a little change in the surroundings, students get distracted. The only thing that has kept them hooked up is entertainment.
Education with entertainment, or ‘Edutainment’ as a combo, seems the only way students can be focused for more time. With interactive games and quizzes, knowledge can be imparted to the new-age children.
STEAM education with entertainment
Since the last couple of years, education has completely focussed its attention on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education. It has become necessary to expose children thoroughly to these aspects that will shape the rest of their lives ahead.
For example, Artifical Intelligence (AI), which provides a unique game-like experience for students who are interested in robotics, coding and that further motivates them to work on other real-life problems. This helps them in developing their problem-solving skills without getting distracted. Gamification is one of the many innovations which can genuinely help students develop their skills.
Ed-tech applications like Byju’s have partnered with Disney to attract young learners of age 10 or below. Similarly, other games-based education platforms have satisfied students and parents too. Moreover, with the involvement of such platforms, parents no longer have to sit with their children for their studies or homework.
Education with entertainment does not need to come only from technology. A little more careful planning from teachers is needed to make a lesson “entertaining”.
Use of humor related to the content is another attention-getter: students appreciate teachers who know how to use humor appropriately related to the material. For example, relating a brief humorous anecdote about what a bad day you had yesterday to demonstrate past tense verbs will get students’ attention and lighten the mood.
