Rojin Nair, Advisor
June 1st, 2021
Guest Post | May 16, 2022
Education is a rapidly evolving sector. A few decades ago, traditional education was the only acceptable model. We had blackboards, wooden desks, bulky textbooks, and detention for naughty students. Fast forward to the 21st century, and most of the symbols of traditional education have now been replaced by technology. Thanks to the infusion of technology into education, we now have Brighterly.com and other online learning platforms. But that’s not where it ends. Technology has equally birthed a new genre of education known as “edutainment.”
But what exactly is edutainment? And how is it transforming traditional education? Let’s take a quick look, shall we?
As the name implies, edutainment is a combination of education and entertainment. It was first used in 1954 by Walt Disney to describe the new True Life Adventure series. Basically, it means infusing education with entertainment to make learning an enjoyable experience for students.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent disruption to education, students have been finding it harder to learn. However, as we all teach and learn post-pandemic, it’s time to infuse fun and joy into learning to boost students’ motivation and participation.
It’s important to note that edutainment doesn’t necessarily have to take digital forms like educational PC games or virtual reality apps. Instead, it could also involve physical exhibitions and fun trips to zoos. As long as the students have fun while learning, the teaching process can undoubtedly be classified as edutainment.
As we mentioned earlier, edutainment has completely changed the narrative and is transforming the concept of traditional education. Here’s how:
One aspect we rarely explore when discussing traditional education is the geographical limitations of this model. Students have to travel from their homes (regardless of the distance) to learn in traditional classrooms. If you fall ill and can’t make it to class, you’ll have to miss learning for the day. Conventional education is like a ruthless dictator swinging a hammer, dishing out consequences with little to no empathy for students’ limitations.
However, edutainment helps students learn even when they can’t make it to class. For instance, with educational games and YouTube videos, students can still catch up on what they missed for the day.
A teacher walks in, and all the students groan. We’ve all seen this scenario play out frequently in traditional education. In some cases, we’ve misinterpreted it as a sign of laziness amongst students, and we couldn’t be further from the truth. Students aren’t necessarily lazy; they just find the educational system boring. Having to learn using the same format repeatedly can be super exhausting, which explains why a large percentage of students are apathetic towards learning.
However, edutainment completely changes this narrative by making learning a fun process for students. Since they can learn through various formats such as video games and movies, it becomes easier and more enjoyable to learn. Problem solved!
Here’s the thing: in traditional education, it’s hard for students to see teachers as humans capable of mistakes or humor. What they see is an unfeeling robot that forces them to learn and then grades their papers. But we all know that this isn’t true. Teachers are human and could even possess a sense of humor (insert shocked gasp).
Edutainment helps to make teachers seem more human and improve the communication between them and the students. By delivering entertaining lectures, students will be able to ask questions and freely engage with the teacher instead of simply keeping mute. In the same vein, this can also be beneficial for teachers as they’d be able to get honest feedback on modules and their teaching styles.
Here’s one thing to note: students forget. Not just their lunch boxes or homework but what they learn at school in most cases. This isn’t any fault of theirs, however. It’s an innate human trait that we all experience. In fact, according to a study by InnerDrive, students tend to forget things quickly within the first 24 hours of learning them. Unfortunately, traditional education doesn’t help much with this problem.
On the other hand, when teachers use entertaining materials and fun-filled activities to educate, students tend to remember more. Since they participating actively and not just sitting passively in class, it would be easier to recall what they’ve learned.
Students rarely get excited about learning, thanks to traditional education. It’s basically the same format every day with no variety to spice up the routine. However, edutainment gives students something to look forward to each time they step into class. For instance, let’s assume you teach your students about letter writing using fun videos and then make them write funny letters to each other at the end of the class. The next day, they’ll walk into class with a bounce in their step, excited to see what fun video or class activity you have up your sleeves this time.
Although edutainment might be the messiah that traditional education wasn’t, it does come with its own set of challenges and risks. For starters, the use of digital devices and tools for education could distract students from learning. As such, teachers and parents have to help them strike a balance between learning and having fun.
In the same vein, developing and purchasing edutainment games or devices is quite expensive, and as such, most students still have to deal with traditional education. In essence, edutainment might be a beautiful rose, but it certainly has its fair share of thorns.
The rise of edutainment has massively transformed traditional education and has made learning more enjoyable for students. As parents and teachers, it’s time for us to come together to change the narrative around education and help students navigate their academic challenges through fun activities. The difference will certainly be clear!
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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London Loves Business | Apr 27, 2022
Outfund are changing the way online businesses raise funds, today announces the close of a £115M Series A round of equity capital and debt amount. The funding round was led by Force Over Mass, PostFinance, 1818 Venture Capital and Tribe Capital, and will support Outfund’s rapid global growth as it provides a faster, fairer and more affordable way for SMEs to raise growth capital across the globe. With this new investment, Outfund is pledging to invest more than £500m of lending to over 5,000 businesses in the next 12 months, and will increase its lending limit to £10m per company.
Outfund can deploy between £10,000 and £10million of funding, and is available to businesses that take online payments, have a minimum of £10,000 monthly turnover, and have been trading for at least six months. Only simple checks are required to access capital and there is no need for companies to provide business plans or go through prolonged risk assessments. Businesses simply connect their revenue accounts and, with access to this data, Outfund will build a funding offer and deploy the same day.
Unlike conventional business loans, Outfund ensures the time taken to repay is based on each businesses’s circumstances, with an agreed revenue share creating flexibility for founders. Outfund’s revenue-share percentages are set to ensure each business maintains a healthy cash flow in its day-to-day operations; the better the company does, the better Outfund does. For the first time, the funding balance between a company and a lender is equal.
Outfund’s technology takes the bias out of lending and improves financing terms, with analysis based solely on a business’ revenues and performance. 20% of Outfund’s portfolio are female founders, a testament to their commitment to advancing the democratisation of access to capital. Its advanced algorithm pulls information from multiple data sources to determine how a company performs, and is then able to de-risk the proposition. This allows more affordable funding, with longer payment terms and a flat fixed fee from 2%, making it the most competitive offering in the market.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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PYMNTS | Mar 31, 2022
The European Union has passed several laws aimed at providing digital identity protection, among them the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect in 2018.
Among the biggest violators of these protocols? American websites. According to one study, 67% of the top 1,000 websites in the United States were in violation of the GDPR.
The violations at work here vary, with 43% of websites not offering users the ability to opt out of selling data, 55% failing to notify users of cookies when they visit the site for the first time, and 32% of sites containing ad trackers.
The study pointed out that while GDPR exclusively concerns Europe, websites originating in the U.S. still sell goods and services to EU customers. Fines for violations of the GDPR range from $80,000 to $120,000.
To help smaller app developers make sure they’re complying with the GDPR — and thus avoiding penalties they may not be able to afford — Google has launched a new platform called Checks that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to scan code bases and evaluate them for privacy and other areas in which they may fall short of GDPR’s standards. In addition, the platform performs scans for compliance in the U.S. and Brazil, ensuring a significant portion of the world’s app developers are avoiding regulatory penalties.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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