Essay Sample on Education-Entertainment and Digital Technology

Introduction

Entertainment-education has been one of the strategies aimed at educating the community through the use of a custom-tailored entertainment. One of its trends is the use of digital technology due to the technological advancements which have been witnessed in the entertainment sector. Digital entertainment utilizes modern media tools and applications such as virtual reality, televisions, mobile phones, games, and computers (Cole, 2017). For instance, online games are based on contemporary issues such as immigration whereby they utilize hypothetical cases where they depict the unjust nature of the present immigration rules. These games capture cases such as immigrants in the USA engaging in unlawful practices and how the law enforcement officers deal with such situations. In such a case, the games create awareness about the way immigration laws have been violating human rights and how the victims can respond when caught in these situations.

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Television and films have played a vital role in educational entertainment in airing shows which educate the community about the contemporary issues in the society such as sexual health, HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence (Lewis, 2014). The films produced depict how certain lifestyles can contribute to the development of diseases and the available platforms where the victims can seek help. Other shows educate the society on the diverse nature of life by showing various characters facing obstacles in their life. Such programs explain that challenges are obvious in life and act as a ray of hope to the audience. Although the society follows these films for recreation purpose, they are in a position to relate the plot of the programs to real life and gain insight on how to cope up with the issues that they are facing.

The use of software to entertain and educate children has been popular in the education-entertainment sector. Living in a digital area has led to the use of digital methods of entertainment which is evident due to the use of kids' software to keep them engaged and entertained. Also, the availability of electronic gadgets has led to a more interaction with kids at early stages attracting negative effects on their health. For example, the software was blamed for bearing addictive effects where kids fail to participate in physical activities which are essential in the development of motor skills in children. However, the developers of this software seized an opportunity to provide educative content, gaining worldwide acceptance. For instance, Zheng and Gardner (2017) explain that math blasters and Oregon trail teach children mathematics and history respectively while the reader rabbit helps children to develop reading capabilities.

Radio has contributed to the education-entertainment sector through the airing of educative content. An example is the radio programs touching on new agricultural aspects such as farming tools and methods (Saravanan, 2010). In such programs, agricultural specialists are brought on board to discuss the suitable means to prevent diseases in crops, how farmers can adjust to climate changes and farming methods which fit different climatic conditions. Also, radio programs have also been used to air programs which educate on maternal health in rural areas. It should be noted that marginalized regions are hit by poor dissemination of health information due to their remoteness and the low literacy rate of the inhabitants. However, radio programs have eased the burden on the health sector by coming up with programs which educate members from such societies on the importance of maternal health and how they can achieve the available services.

References

Cole, S. (2017). Identity and play in interactive digital media: Ergodic ontogeny. New York: Routledge.

Lewis, B. (2014). Health Communication: A Media and Cultural Studies Approach. London: Palgrave.

Saravanan, R. (2010). ICTs for agricultural extension: Global experiments, innovations and experiences. New Delhi: New India Pub. Agency.

Zheng, R., & Gardner, M. K. (2017). Handbook of research on serious games for educational applications. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.