Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The idea of using mass media for educational purposes is by no means a new one. Books, songs, games: all of these are forms of media that have served as effective educational tools for centuries. In the case of electronic media, however, many discussions of the media's impact on children focus only on negative effects, such as the influences of violent media (→  Violence as Media Content, Effects of ). However, such discussions do not, by any means, comprise the entire range of media effects. Just as negative media content can give rise to negative effects, positive media content can – and does – give rise to positive effects as well. Educational media have been employed and studied in the context of many different settings and purposes. For example, the term →  infotainment typically is used to refer to “lite” educational content embedded in media that are intended primarily to entertain, whereas instructional television often refers to material produced for classroom use and entertainment-education often refers to global, media-based health initiatives (→  Entertainment Education ; Instructional Television ). This entry reviews the topic of educational television and interactive media as tools for informal education (i.e., substantive educational content delivered primarily outside the classroom). It examines the topic from several perspectives: processes through which ... log in or subscribe to read full text