The 3.0 Formula

Act 1 — Scene 3

A simple but effective formula to apply into any Edutainment 3.0 project

The most impactful projects in Edutainment 3.0 all share a few key elements.

We call it the Edutainment 3.0 Formula.

The Four Elements

1. Pedagogy
2. Community
3. Gamification
4. Story

Let’s break ‘em down.

Pedagogy

This is how people learn. But we’re not talking just dusty old lectures and dictation. It’s active learning principles. Multiple modes of delivery. Today it includes diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility.

Gamification

Games are powerful. However, Edutainment 3.0 doesn’t need to include full-tilt gaming experiences or game-based learning. Simply a sense of exploration and potential rewards can be magical

• What do we mean by “gamification?”

Community

Even the most active of learning isn’t enough on its own. There needs to be a true sense of community that facilitates real connection. Community also offers partnership and accountability - and these are crucial for any kind of learning experience.

Story

Humans love stories. They’ve been around as long as we have. Stories help us believe, understand, communicate, and share.

But what’s new?

All these elements have been around for a while - a couple of them for as long as humans have roamed the earth. The combination of all 4 elements is where the magic lies, and what constitutes a uniquely Edutainment 3.0 project.

To illustrate this, here’s what happens when the formula becomes unbalanced:

• Without pedagogy, there’s little structured or outcome-based learning.
• Ignore gamification, and it’s difficult to get the stickiness that modern audiences need to go further.
• If there’s no community, there isn’t an opportunity for peer learning and less scope for diverse perspectives and conversation.
• Leaving out story removes much of the entertainment part of the portmanteau, and makes the educational aspect feel flat.

<aside> 💡 There’s one other element we’re very excited about. We haven’t included in our formula as it’s not yet clear how it will exactly impact Edutainment 3.0, but we believe web3 will be a huge part of many of tomorrow’s most successful projects.

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Who’s already using the formula?

As a sneak-peek, here are a few examples of Edutainment 3.0 projects applying the formula:

A Brazilian footwear brand is empowering entrepreneurs through educational programming.

A Norwegian teen drama highlights social issues through mixed media formats (and is now being syndicated by Facebook’s new Watch platform).

A spying and espionage museum in New York feels more like an interactive funhouse than a traditional museum.

We’ve outlined over 100 case studies and project showcases in our premium edition

The way we see it (look - no blinders, ma!)

At Wavetable, we have a studio full of theories, ideas, and strategies for successful Edutainment 3.0 projects. Here are a few primers to get you started.

• Not every project needs to include all the Four Elements of Pedagogy, Gamification, Community, and Story - but many of the most exciting ones do.
• Edutainment 3.0 is both an Art & a Science. To combine the two effectively, every project must have a story. We believe this with our whole heart because...
• Stories can bring seemingly irrelevant or unrelated ideas closer to who we are, what we do, or even why should we care about a topic in the first place. In fact, many of the best learning experiences are themselves a story. And let's not even get started on the importance of story in an entertainment setting.

The fall of early Edutainment

As we’ll discover in the next act, much of Edutainment 1.0 fell down on Pedagogy. Meanwhile, Edutainment 2.0 sometimes found balance but was largely one-way traffic - lacking Community.

Success in Edutainment 3.0 will be found by combining multiple elements and taking advantage of broader macro trends that are opening up opportunity that just wasn’t available previously.

<aside> 💡 Note: ****The formula needs to be balanced, but not precisely. There’s art to this, not just science. Besides, even though it’s a formula, the results shouldn’t be formulaic. That wouldn’t be very edutaining.

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Which way next?

To continue the journey and learn more about How We Got To Now, hop over to Act 2: