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*or they sit unopened in a folder on your desktop until the end of time. We have a few like that, too.

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In this final scene of our final act it’s time to bring everything together, and step into what’s next.

We’re going to look at:

• Why Edutainment matters to you and your work
• Ripe opportunities for you to explore
• How you can re-orient yourself and your company around Edutainment 3.0

Why does Edutainment 3.0 matter?

We believe we’re on the cusp of a huge shift that’s going to affect a wide variety of the sectors and industries.

The (attention) genie is out of the bottle

The days of commoditized companies relying on splashy campaigns and high volume ad inventory are numbered. Conversely, it’s never been easier to get something started.

The common thread? The bar to sustainable success has never been higher. Earning people’s attention, permission and trust is critical for brands, educators, creators, and nonprofits alike.

We believe Edutainment 3.0 is a key component in doing this - providing value, engagement, inspiration, and a sense of connection.

Edutainment 3.0 can make a real difference to the next generation

There’s a growing amount of research to back up the thesis that edutainment can make an impact on the lives of young people. From a report featured in Science Daily:

"Ultimately, the key to making a difference in the lives of multicultural millennials and their health, both now and into the future, may be achieving the right balance of educating and entertaining them"

The entertainment winners are doubling down...

Disney have long stood out through their mastery of storytelling and remaining at the crest of technological waves.

Much of their Edutainment has tended to be more subtle, but recent titles like Soul and Encanto teach a lot more than meets the eye. The company also owns other edutainment leaders like Muppets Studio and National Geographic, so expect Disney to lean further into education. And where Disney lead, many others have followed...

‍This piece from Not Boring offers some fantastic insight into what Disney may conjure up next.

...and EdTech is also heading this way

Investment in EdTech (education technology) is growing incredibly quickly. Mercedes Bent is one of the leading voices in this space, and in her EdTech outlook, 3 of her 5 main predictions land in the Edutainment 3.0 sweet spot:

1. Social & community-driven learning experiences
2. From B2C to B2B: forget “land and expand,” hello “land and brand”
3. Verticalized Education Live Learning / Hybrid Software

Built to last

Disney isn’t the only company with edutainment properties that have stood the test of time. The likes of Sesame Street, Bob Ross, David Attenborough are still highly popular and relevant.

Building properties that have a lifespan of 50+ years is not to be sniffed at. In a world of attention deficit and throwaway content, Edutainment can be built to last.

Re-orient around Edutainment 3.0

By now, we’re willing to bet you’re curious about this rapidly shifting world. Here’s how you can position yourself and your company to take maximum advantage of what’s happening now, and what’s coming next.

1. Learn how people learn: There’s a growing amount of accessible and applicable material to understand how people learn. Many Edutainment failures have come from underplaying the pedagogy. Learning how people learn will also give you insights into design, psychology, and group dynamics - all very useful skills for tomorrow’s world
2. Apply the formula to a test project: You can’t learn to ride a bike by reading a book. Likewise, you won’t be able to bring the Edutainment 3.0 formula to life without applying it yourself. Pick a small project to try it out with. We’ve included a couple of examples on the formula page to help you get started.
3. Practice facilitation skills: Too much focus is placed on ‘instruction’. It has its place - you wouldn’t want your first ever abseiling class to lack instruction - but there’s so much room for more facilitation. These skills encourage community, connection, play, and exploration - key components of Edutainment 3.0
4. Play around with educator-creator tools: Speaking of play, there are a range of affordable and accessible tools that can be used to create more dynamic content, interactions and gatherings. If they feel a little overwhelming to begin with, think like a DJ: don’t worry about flashy mixing and technical effects - just get one record playing, then the next. The music matters more than the technique.
5. Go back to the classics: If you’re unsure where to start, take a look at the classics for inspiration. Sure, some of them may feel a little dated, but there’s a reason these enduring Edutainment projects have lasted so long. They also had far more constraints than we do today, and constraints can help move us forward when we feel procrastination kicking in
6. Shadow, contribute, collaborate: Find the others who are doing this work. Offer to shadow for an hour or a day. Make a contribution, even if it’s small. Start to collaborate with others who are facing in the same direction as you. We believe this work is always better together. If you’re not sure where to look, drop us a line >

Your invitation to go further

Get the Premium Edition

We’ll soon be launching the Edutainment 3.0 Premium Edition. This edition includes a fully searchable database of over 100+ projects, access to templates and working models we use in our client engagements, as well as live sessions with industry experts and peers. Pre-order here to get a 30% discount >

Book a jam session with us

Would you like Wavetable to lead an Edutainment 3.0 workshop or speak at your next event?

Our team travels the world, giving talks, and conducting interactive workshops on the future of Edutainment and why it matters. We’re equally comfortable in-person or online - if you can organize it, we’ll be there. Get in touch >

Share your feedback

This space is moving quickly. We know we can’t capture everything. If there’s a Edutainment 3.0 project or concept you feel should be included, we’d love to hear about it.

We also welcome general feedback, suggestions and pushback. Let us know your input >

To be continued...

This wouldn’t be a 21st century Edutainment project without a sequel, second series, franchise or universe being discussed.

We’re not sure we have a Marvel Cinematic Universe on our hands here, but we do know this is only the start.

We’ll be expanding this project through fresh case studies, interviews with leaders in the space, and live learning labs to apply the Edutainment 3.0 formula and connect with fellow professionals.

To continue the journey and get first access to all the updates, just pop your email into the box in the footer of this page.

In the meantime, thanks so much for engaging with this report!

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