Sesame Workshop announced that they will offer digital books online this week @ ebooks.sesamestreet.org. Walt Disney already launched a subscription site earlier this year for their e-books @ disneydigitalbooks.com.

With e-books going mainstream and now targeting kids, I just had to wonder, especially this time of year, how do you wrap an e-book? More importantly, how do you wrap an e-book for someone who’s still making a list for Santa?

A google search providing surprisingly few insights. Sure, you could wrap your Reader, Kindle, or Nook, but a child is likely to be unimpressed (since they don’t have color yet). Same with your computer – it would be impractical to wrap up your laptop. You’d have to explain to the child that you gave them something online, not the physical thing with the pretty screen and interesting buttons all over the place. And a piece of paper with a screen shot or gift certificate is certain to provide no satisfaction to a 3 year old.

At TiER1 we develop lot’s of e-learning, and it’s cool stuff that we’d argue is pretty effective. I’m even working on a web based learning project right now. So perhaps digital gifts are the future, but there’s still something novel about having gifts wrapped up under the tree and opening them with your family and friends. Either I’m old fashioned or materialism has gotten to me, but I’m still stuck with the question, how would you wrap an e-book?

I saw this article in the WSJ recently: Why We’re Failing Math and Science. It presents a candid view of several issues facing our nation’s education system, according to a panel of experts. Of particular interest to me was Joel Klein’s, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, comment on technology in the education field:

In any field but ours, if you fell asleep 50 years ago and woke up today, you wouldn’t recognize what’s going on. In education, if you fell asleep 50 years ago, you still have the same discussions. The use of technology to transform the work, to bring in distance learning, to enable kids to do things online, all of this is stuff we’re doing here in the city. But it’s in the early, early innings.

At TiER1 our focus is on learning and knowledge management in corporate, government, health care, and education . We’re already working with several clients to implement our Performance1 platform in the education field. In addition, we’re thinking about innovative new solutions, like an open-source education content marketplace where teachers could contribute and obtain lessons. Or technology that can identify learning needs and tailor content and lessons to meet those needs.

Needless to say, we have some exciting ideas of our own on this subject. If you have ideas or want to hear more about ours, please get in touch.

• Frozen – language that is always the same. For example, the Lord’s prayer, wedding vows, etc.
• Formal – The standard sentenece syntax and word choice of work and school. Has complete sentences and specific word choice.
• Consultative – Formal register when used in conversation. Discourse pattern not quite as direct as formal register
• Casual – Language between friends and is characterized by a 400-800 word vocabulary. Word choice general and not specific. Conversation dependent upon non-verbal assists. Sentence syntax often incomplete.
• Intimate – Language between lovers or twins. Language of sexual harassment

• Formal-Register Story Structure moves from beginning to end with a plot, where the plot is the most important part of the story. 
• Casual-Register Story Structure could begin with the ending or the part with the most emotional intensity. In this format stories are told in vignettes with audience participation. The story typically concludes with comment about the character and his/her value. In this structure, the most important part of story is the characterization.

• How does this difference in approach to story structure impact learning sequences and activities?
• How can instructional designers and trainers help those more comfortable in the Casual Register Story Structure increase their comfort with the formal register structure used in formal training?

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=202219814

YouTube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZSQVENiUMM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-k7vWvCeeM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqkgu7HQ1qc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw3AOuVfqbc&feature=related

Articles:

http://www.ahaprocess.com/files/PovSeriesPartsI-IV.pdf
http://www.ahaprocess.com/files/Article-WhereDoWeGo.pdf
http://www.ahaprocess.com/files/Moving_from_MC_to_Sit_Pov_03032009.pdf

It’s in your pocket: teaching spectacularly with cell phones. Great speech by Hall Davidson from Discovery Education Network about using mobile phones in education, the kind of talk many teachers and administrators need to hear. The first thing Hall said was to take out and turn on our cell phones

There is a large potential for cell phones in education, but current best practices are small. Mobiles have lots of functionality, including:

• Telephone
• Text messenger
• Still camera
• Video camera
• Video player
• GPS device
• Podcaster
• Music player

Are we really going to ignore a device this powerful? Can we, when it has all kinds of applications for teaching, learning, school-to-home, administration?

In general, we still take cell phones away, and school districts ban them (e.g. during school hours). However, if this is a tool for adults, we need to teach kids how to use it.

Read more…

Related Articles
- Jeffrey Veen Taps Into eLearning For Start Conference
- Twitter Is For The ADD Generation – Part 1

Edutainment. In some circles this is a dirty word. Some teachers may respond, “I am not in class (or online) to entertain, I am there to teach!” Well, let me ask you, have you ever looked out over your class and seen people asleep? Have you ever felt like you were the only one interested in the topic you were teaching?

Unfortunately, many teaching lectures and classes fail to engage the learner. I vividly remember experiences in Elementary School, High School, and College where the difference between teachers that showed up for class and teachers that engaged the class stood out in glaring contrast.

Elementary School Comparison
One teacher was a “screamer”. She called all her students by their last name (which is typically a sign of contempt). I honestly cannot think of a thing I learned while in her class. Contrast her with a teacher I had the year before and it was night and day difference. This teacher was much more compassionate. Called all her students by their first names and made sure to say “hello” and “good bye” to every student each day with a hug. She was creative and energetic in her approach to teaching. Did I learn in her class? You bet I did. I listened to everything she taught me. Why? Because she engaged me and each of her students on a personal level.

High School Comparison
Granted, High School is not the easiest season of life to try and engage students in learning. Many students would rather be hanging out with their friends. Many of my teachers were good. But good can be the enemy of great. I remember one great teacher who engaged his classes. This man would take time out of his day if he saw you needed help. He had the kind of creativity and character that you wanted to aspire to and kids wanted to hang around him. Not because he was their “buddy”, but because he cared about what he taught, who he taught to, and how he taught it.

See a pattern emerging?

College
Similar situations — professors who were excited about their subjects passed that enthusiasm onto their classes in entertaining ways. Other prof’s that were more interested in their own research/grants seemed to see classes as interruptions in their personal schedules.

Know The Audience
So, what does all this have to do with edutainment? In order to engage the learner you need to know who they are — know your audience. Do your homework. Listen to focus groups, students, and customers.

Also, ask yourself if you enjoy what you do? Maybe teaching is not for you. It could be you have more interest in research. If you are not genuinely excited about what you’re teaching then it will be obvious to everyone — but you.

Tips

• Be yourself – use humor if that comes naturally to you.
• Be honest and open – when you’re transparent your class can better relate to you and will listen to what you have to say.
• Use props – strong visual reminders can do wonders for cementing concepts in the minds of your class/audience.
• Activities – to be used only when it makes sense and reinforces.
• Participation – engage members in participating what you are teaching.
• Remove distractions – whether in the room or any annoying habits you have picked up, remove them.

Edutainment is not a dirty word. We need to engage the learner. We need to engage them on a personal level and academic level. We need to help them understand why the knowledge and information we are conveying is relevant. If not, we have lost their attention and, consequently, lost any opportunity to truly teach.

If you have others ideas let me know in the comments section below.

Additional Reading
- Entertainment And The Educational Impact
- NextGen eLearning And World Of Warcraft®
- Are There Benefits to Online Games And Learning?

I never wanted to be a teacher. My mom taught elementary school, my dad taught biology to high school kids, and just about everybody else in my family—cousins, aunts, uncles—eventually found their way into the education field (even my little sister’s a teacher now). But not me. I was going to be an artist.

So I went through college, majoring in art. When it came time to decide upon an emphasis, I picked graphic design—I joked that I chose design over fine art because I didn’t want to have to eat ramen noodles my whole life, but the real reason was that I felt like design played a more integral role within society than painting did (I don’t know if that was a commentary on contemporary art, or on culture in general… anyway). The general public actually saw design. Design communicated. Design persuaded. Design… taught? Oh man.

Of course, throughout my first few years as a graphic/web designer I was enamored with the flashy, hipper-than-thou, watch-the-logo-catch-on-fire visuals surrounding me. Design seemed to be all about creating something so interesting-looking that people said “wow.” Then the dot-com bubble burst, and that economic shift forced a lot of creative people to rediscover a fundamental design principle: design is more than pretty pictures. Good design not only inspires, but communicates. In other words, design should be both smart and compelling.

I started off spending all my design time on the compelling side of design; as I’ve gotten older (and hopefully wiser), I’ve become consumed with creating smart design. Here’s an example: We recently created a Change Management Primer for a client. While it’s a beautiful and engaging piece, my favorite part of it is how we were able to layer relatively large amounts of information into a non-threatening and easily digestible system. By making the information easier and less confusing to access, we’re raising the chances of the end user actually receiving the information we’re trying to communicate. We’re not making people say “wow” anymore; we’re getting them to say “aha!” (To see what I’m talking about, visit the Primer. The diagram in the “How” section illustrates my point.)

At our best, good designers really are a lot like teachers—the most important charge for both is to communicate information to their audience. It’s taken me almost thirteen years of studying design to realize it, but I have finally come to the conclusion that I’m just like my parents. Except I can’t give out detentions.

Movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal adulthood. - Walt Disney

Why is there even a debate about the effects of entertainment on culture? I have heard some big businesses say, “TV and movies have no effect on people,” and in the next breath they “OK” spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Super Bowl commercial spot? Why spend that amount of money if media and entertainment has “no effect on people”?

Issues Around Edutainment
The answer is obvious. Walt Disney certainly understood the significance of entertainment and fun as it related to educating and learning. However, there still exists a tension between entertainment and edutainment. Many educators feel that edutainment is not educating. Some say it promotes:

• Short attention span
• Lack of focus
• Apathy
• Impatience
• Boredom
• And, in extreme cases, harmful tendencies

Regarding boredom, there certainly is some credibility. Author, Richard Winter probed this issue in his book, Still Bored in a Culture of Entertainment–

Though we have hundreds of entertainment options today–video games, the Internet, CD and MP3 players, home entertainment centers, sporting events, megamalls, movie theaters, and even robotic toys–Western culture is battling an insidious disease. It’s an epidemic of boredom. Intrigued by this “deadness of soul,” Richard Winter uses the latest historical, physiological, and psychological research to probe the nature, causes and effects of boredom. He explores:

• why some people are more likely to get bored than others
• the indifference and the loss of meaning among youth
• the attraction of extreme sports
• how advertising promotes apathy

Not satisfied with mere description and analysis, Winter also offers practical ways to counteract boredom by learning to live with passion and wonder.

However, the question of edutainment is still debated. The fact is, entertainment does have a level of influence on people, society, and culture. Another fact is, too much entertainment can lead to apathy and boredom — history has shown this numerous times in previous civilizations (i.e. Roman Empire).

Edutainment is also a growing paradigm within the science museum community in the United States. This approach emphasizes fun and enjoyment, often at the expense of educational content. The idea is that Americans are so used to flashy, polished entertainment venues like movie theaters and theme parks that they demand similar experiences at science centers and museums. Thus, a museum is seen as just another business competing for entertainment dollars from the public, rather than as an institution that serves the public welfare through education or historical preservation. (Wikipedia)

Walking The Line
Part of the challenge and part of the fun is creating training and educational material that is attention grabbing, interactive, and does what it is supposed to do — educate. This is not easy. Many companies have started down this path only to get sucked over to the glitz and glitter of entertainment and not balancing out the educational side of the business.

So, the old argument about entertainment having no effect on people is bogus. Walt Disney recognized it years ago and built his early theme parks and movies around it. What we put into our lives as youth can and does shape our personal paradigm and moral compass as adults.

Therefore…

• Always be a learner.
• Always challenge yourself.
• Never stop growing and applying.
• Keep it fun.