Robust Edutainment For On-line Course Delivery

Abstract

Every college and university in the United States faces the same dilemma: increasing enrollment needs that outstrip budgets’ abilities to add physical plant.  On-line education is perceived to be a potential contributor to meeting the need for accelerating growth of enrollments while requiring less budget commitment than required by building new physical plant. The concern is developing a method of on-line course delivery that ensures the level of quality of course content to parallel the perceived quality of traditionally delivered courses. To be attractive to students as a learning option and then to be capable of maintaining the learner’s interest to motivate completion of the course and, subsequently, degree programs, course materials must incorporate the tools to create edutainment. Simply, edutainment is course delivery in a style and format with diverse components that interest and educate in a way that keeps the learning returning for more. During the past few months, technology has introduced capabilities of producing edutainment, robust course content, at costs that make it very feasible as a course delivery option in any degree program.