[Year 12 IT Apps] Edutainment

[David Dawson]

OK Stephen,
We went through this a few years ago - but here we are again: I will
use ">>" for my comments

 digby.stephen.p at edumail.vic.gov.au 10/08/2007 11:34:36 am wrote
We have a responsibility to maintain the differentiation between school
and an entertainment venue.

>DD> Why? Who could possibly believe that? Educational institutions
have used performance in acting, musical play (improvisation), sports
games, movies, radio  etc.. for decades - if not millenia. Interactional
MM is just another medium. TVs have been in classrooms since the 1960s -
I watched the moon landing in a classroom - was that entertainment or
edutainment or education in 1968 - discuss in 1000 words or more? Aren't
you just trying to justify the rationing of your "scarce resources"
which are scarce because of govts who are not committed to providing a
full educational experience. <<

(SD)School attendance is imposed on students and parents by the state
(I wish it wasn't) for a limited and specific purpose of changing
students (even if they don't want to) in ways that benefit them and
prepare them to contribute to the success of the state.

>DD>This is a cynical opinion with no basis in fact - in fact Education
is meant to enhance individuality, flexibility and tolerance. Often,
encountering people in the "real world" including gaming environments,
is the only way to make a "connection" with their real selves and hence
to help and assist them in growth. "Whatever crushes individuality is
despotism, by whatever name it may be called." John Stuarty Mill - On
Liberty (remember that book?) You opinion could be shared by Mao or
Stalin.<<

(SD)Entertainments are personal & optional activities with no necessary
net benefit to either the individual of the state (i.e. they can be bad
for everyone e.g., binge drinking, or good for everyone e.g. opera, or
anything in between e.g. most computer games) As our society is going
through a phase of increasing diversity (or fragmentation), "core
values" are increasingly hard to find in schools or out of them.
In this haze, the danger is that anything that keeps the little buggers
entertained can pass as education.
>DD>This seems to be a poor opinion of our those under our care, by a
modern educator. I think you have too narrow a view of education.
Learning occurs everywhere. Surely our main aim is to assist the
students to adapt to the real world that "they" live in. If we are
ignoring what is really happening we will rapidly become as obsolete as
the telegraph - or slate :-) <<

(SD)The perception that a school needs to offer "edutainment" to keep 
students from revolt is one reason parents site in choosing a different
school or school system). 
>DD>The problem I have with your argument here is that you think
edutainment is anything that the kids enjoy. There is more dance, music,
song, acting, sport, moviemaking, treavelling during school time,
Multimedia, game making and animation in IT here, than in most other
places - and I pay myself for my own children to enjoy these privileges.
The "icing" is what I pay for - not the "skeleton" that you appear to
think is so important. A bright kid will do well anywhere but I believe
they have more fun with more icing - and their results do not suffer. In
fact they become more "rounded" in personality and more flexible and
understanding of our complex world. Oh and did I mention that being
*happy* is important - perhaps keeping people happy and learning to
enjoy themselves will limit the other social problems that we are
experiencing due to alienation from the *system*.<<

(SD)Keep the focus on education. Get students to list all the things
that they find most boring and you will get a significant correlation
with
a list of civilisations greatest achievements.

>DD>Evolutionary theory tells us that we have not evolved to sit on our
backside on a hard chair, in a cold room, in front of a boring older
person who is completely out of touch and trying to keep "education" in
the dark ages by mouthing platitudes. That is not learning! We have
evolved to learn by doing, mimicking and acting out. The fact that
education rarely does that and gaming theory utilises it really well,
might be frustrating for us educators - and for those that want "quality
education" on the cheap - but it does not mean we cannot learn to adapt
our teaching strategies to utilise some of these key features. Hence,
perhaps we should try to understand the world of youth a little better -
afterall that is our jobs IMHO!
(BTW complex game rules are more rapidly learned, than complex things
in education - due to the stimulating emersion environment of the game -
I will provide links if you like.) 
Can you actually demonstrate for us that you are not merely justifying
poor resources and staffing in an ever changing world? Because it sounds
like that from here.
(These opinions are personal opinions only and may not be
representative of the institution I work for - and I hope I have
entertained you all - or is this email "edutainment")<<



David Dawson
Head of Information Technology 
Head of Learning Technologies
St.Kilda Rd Campus
Wesley College, Melbourne

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