277 — Should learning be entertainment?

By some measures, the last two years have seen a surge in demand for consumer learning platforms like Masterclass, CreativeLive and Skillshare. Often, these platforms position themselves as an alternative to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Is this part of a broader trend towards learning as entertainment? If so, what does that mean for learning in the workplace? 

In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Owen, Nahdia and Ross G discuss:

• whether there truly is increased demand for 'edutainment'
• the difference between entertainment and 'fun'
• the role of entertainment in the design of workplace learning

Show notes

At the start of this week's show, Ross G challenged the premise of Ross D's opening question by citing data from the ONS. You can find these data here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/satelliteaccounts/bulletins/coronavirusandhowpeoplespenttheirtimeunderrestrictions/28marchto26april2020

In WILTW, Ross D recommended Stuart Russell's Reith Lectures on artificial intelligence: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001216k/episodes/player

The Netflix series Nahdia mentioned was School of Chocolate: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81207686

Ross G discussed the history of the burpee, created by Royal Huddleston Burpee Sr. You can find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burpee_(exercise)

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Nahdia Khan - @_nahdia_khan