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?

On Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 10 a.m. ET, the DARPA Network Challenge will launch, literally. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet, the DoD research agency is hosting a contest to see how social networking can aid in solving time-sensitive problems with a geographically dispersed team.

To claim the $40,000 prize, you (and presumably some some friends spread across the country) have to be the first to find 10 red weather balloons tethered to the ground. So if you’re in need of $40k (you’ll have to split it with your friends, of course) and weekend plans, check out the official DARPA link above. CNN also has a story about it here: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/04/darpa.balloon.challenge/

Good luck!

eLearning, Community development, Technology, and Fun — all these impact and work together in changing the exciting landscape of online learning for the next generation. Often, I talk with organizational leaders who look puzzled when I start discussing the unification of these practices. Most take each of the areas above and put them in separate silos. At best, they merge one or two with another, but rarely will they see all four areas working together. In an article I recently read, it was evident that Rob Pardo and the team at Blizzard Entertainment understand this unifying idea.

Community
With more than 6 million subscribers, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft (WoW) has hit on something more than just geeks and gaming. Pardo, himself is part of a subgroup (in WoW terms, a Guild) that communicates regularly outside the game.

“Outside the game we stay in touch using online forums, a wiki, blogs, and a mailing list – plus a group voice chat, which I have connected to my home stereo so I hear the guilds banter while I’m cooking dinner. I have never been this addicted to anything before,” says Pardo.

Keeping It Fun
According to Pardo, there are four basic draws to this online environment: the ability to socialize, an achievement system that gives users an incentive to improve, complex and satisfying strategy that makes playing fun, and an underlying narrative that users want to learn more about. Add to this the ability for the user to customize his/her experience and interface and you have a winning formula for retention and success.

According to Joi Ito, some call online gaming the new golf, but it is more than that…

“…it is millions of people with diverse backgrounds collaborating, socializing, and learning while having fun. It represents the future of real time collaborative teams and leadership in an always-on, diversity-intensive, real-time environment. World of Warcraft is a glimpse into our future.”

As evidenced in this environment, here is a case-study/incubator for NextGen learning paradigms. The disciplines of eLearning, Community development, and Technology under the umbrella of Fun are not separate functional areas. The fact is they all work together in tandem.

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.