Have you ever heard of edutainment? It’s a new concept in which entertainment is used as a tool to enhance the learning experience. The trend made its debut at the 29th edition of Bett Brasil, Latin America’s largest event for innovation and technology in education, which is taking place at Expo Center Norte through tomorrow (26).

Edutainment is new in Brazil, but the approach has already been introduced in other countries. According to a Mordor Intelligence report on the topic, the segment is projected to grow 17% annually through 2025, driven primarily by edutainment (education + entertainment) centers such as ecological parks and science and technology museums, as well as demand for other venues and experiences that combine educational and recreational elements.

At Bett Brasil, which features more than 300 brands from the educational ecosystem, International School—the leading program in Brazil’s bilingual education sector—unveiled its new IS Max platform, which incorporates the concept of edutainment and provides students, teachers, and families with access to national and international content and productions from renowned studios such as BBC Learning, Deutsche Welle, Lionsgate, Lego, The Smurfs, TV Pinguim, and the Motion Pictures Association, among others.

“We decided to launch the platform during Bett Brasil because it is the largest education and technology event for our sector in Latin America, with an extremely qualified audience. And, just as we expected, the response has been very positive. Everyone who visits our booth says that IS Max is an innovative product that will combine education and entertainment in a surprising way. And, of course, we’re very happy about that,” says Ulisses Cardinot, CEO of International School.

Forma Turismo, the largest operator of student travel programs in Brazil and Latin America, also highlighted this concept as a featured attraction at its booth at Bett Brasil. The company is responsible for operating the Mauricio de Sousa Produções Studios Tour, an attraction that offers an immersive experience into the world of Turma da Mônica and Sítio do Pica Pau Amarelo, which is currently under construction and is set to open in the second half of 2024 in Atibaia (SP).

“We bring playfulness and entertainment to support schools’ teaching approaches—a true extension of knowledge. The Sítio do Pica Pau Amarelo project is entirely based on edutainment; for example, everything is truly immersive so that the students’ experience is truly enriching. Students are ‘encouraged’ to interact in a way that allows them to learn through hands-on experience what was taught in the classroom,” says César Leonel, director of Forma.

Another exhibitor at the event that has also embraced the concept of edutainment is Grupo CI, Brazil’s largest educational tourism company. “We are excited to participate in Bett Brasil for the first time and look forward to connecting with key players in the education and technology markets. Over the past 10 years, we have recognized the need for experiences outside the classroom. In an increasingly connected and digital world, the activities offered by Grupo CI foster real interactions and connections with the world and society, helping young people absorb the content taught in classrooms and online, while broadening their horizons and perspectives on the subjects they study,” says Celso Garcia, managing partner of Grupo CI.

The CI Group brings together companies that offer exchange programs (CI Intercâmbio), travel, and graduation parties (Amaze Travel), as well as educational trips. Trilha Educação focuses on educational trips with educational itineraries, such as visits to Petar Tourist Park, the Amazon, the historic cities of Minas Gerais, and hundreds of other destinations.

Affection in the Service of Education

As longtime partners of Bett Brasil, the LED Movement—Light in Education—brought the discussion “Learning Through Affection: How Welcoming and More Humane Attitudes Can Change Students’ Paths” to the event. The roundtable discussion took place on the stage dedicated to public education and was moderated by journalist and actress Sandra Annenberg.

Recently, elementary school teacher Allan de Souza, who was on the panel, went viral on social media with a video showing an anti-racist song he developed with his students. The song “Meu cabelo é bonito” is part of the MPBIA project—Anti-Racist Brazilian Popular Music for Children. “I was invited to create an educational project along these lines, and I found that music was the best way to do it. MPBIA is a way to welcome and educate, and today it’s available on digital audio platforms so that it can reach the entire country. It’s very rewarding,” the teacher revealed during the meeting.

“Welcoming” is also the motto of teacher Dione Fonseca, who teaches immigrant and refugee children. Noticing that her students were fearful and reluctant to enter the school because of memories of conflict and war in their homeland, Dione decided to implement a special “welcome” teaching method: the African song “Barima tuwe.” “We did some research and found that this song is a symbol of welcome and acceptance, so we decided to sing it whenever a new student arrives at school. It has a pleasant rhythm that soothes and calms. It’s a way to show warmth and safety to these children who have already suffered so much,” she explained.

Understanding diversity is also part of this process of inclusion. Midria—a poet, social scientist, and student—highlighted to conference attendees the importance of recognizing non-binary identity and using gender-neutral language in educational settings. “The Portuguese language favors the universal masculine form, but there are many cultures around the world that recognize a third gender, which is non-binary identity. We must understand that gender is a social construct, which is why we need to be inclusive, and the use of gender-neutral pronouns is a step toward that,” she explained.

The panel moderator, Sandra Annenberg, took the opportunity to pose a question to the audience. “Even though women are the majority in Brazil and around the world, we continue to favor the masculine pronoun. Why?”

At the end of the debate, the participants agreed that to achieve an inclusive and equitable education system, we must regionalize education, value teachers, and raise awareness about the exercise of citizenship. “We can only change the world through empathy and education,” Annenberg emphasized.

BNCC and Early Childhood Education

Childhood is a critical period for children’s cognitive, physical, and emotional development; for this reason, early childhood education is a fundamental stage of schooling for the social development of us all.

At Bett Brasil, the largest event on Innovation and Technology in Education in Latin America, the topic was discussed during a panel featuring Professor Márcia Bernardes, state coordinator of the São Paulo State Literacy Program, and Professor Geraldo Peçanha de Almeida, director of the Pólen project. The discussion focused on the effective implementation of the BNCC (National Common Core Curriculum).

Professor Márcia spoke about the history of early childhood education in Brazil, from its legal recognition in 1998 to its inclusion in the BNCC in 2017. “The BNCC is an important milestone because, for the first time, early childhood education was included in a document that covers all segments of basic education,” she said.

She emphasized that despite the progress made, there are gaps in the implementation of the BNCC that need to be addressed. One of the key issues is continuing professional development for teachers, which is essential to ensuring that all children have their right to learn. “It is very important for teachers to take an interest in furthering their studies, going beyond the BNCC, which serves as a guide,” she said, adding data that serves as a warning sign: “36% of students in São Paulo’s municipal and state school systems who moved from the 2nd to the 3rd year of early childhood education cannot read or write. That’s a total of 120,000 illiterate students. These are students who have been severely disadvantaged by the pandemic.”

Professor Geraldo Peçanha also highlighted continuing education for teachers as one of the current challenges in early childhood education. “Where do we draw our inspiration from to be early childhood educators? We can’t stop studying, because everything I’ve learned has come from continuous study. Some of the BNCC’s areas of experience include lines, sounds, colors, and shapes. But if you ask a teacher to name three Brazilian visual artists, musicians, or musical styles geared toward children, they won’t be able to answer,” he emphasized.

Peçanha also commented on other shortcomings in early childhood education, such as the difficulty educators face in encouraging children to take the lead and allowing them to experience the full range of childhood; and the need to reflect on the representation of male educators in early childhood education—a situation he says he continues to experience to this day.

Arena Startups

At Bett Brasil, the Startups Arena is dedicated to edtech innovations. Approximately 21 edtech companies are participating in the event to showcase their technological solutions tailored to the education sector. The Arena also hosts panel discussions featuring industry experts so that entrepreneurs, managers, educators, and investors can learn and exchange ideas on how to drive the use of technology, break paradigms, and improve management processes at educational institutions.

At Arena Startups, the first roundtable of the day was the “Pitch Startups: School Management” session, which featured Luiz Mário Mialichi Júnior, managing partner of Cubo Escolar; Priscilla Mazzetti, educational advisor for the Blue Educação network; and Rita Maria, a professor and researcher.

The executives outlined the profiles of their companies, but they also shared important insights on school management. “Bringing technological solutions to education seems easy, but it isn’t. That’s why it’s important to have this forum to discuss innovation,” said Rita.

Priscila, for her part, emphasized the importance of developing materials that offer students experiences closely tied to the reality they live in and that connect students with their classes, thereby enhancing learning. Luiz emphasized that, in addition to effective teaching methods, schools need to streamline their administrative tasks to make them faster and more intuitive, including involving parents in their children’s day-to-day school life through technology, such as email notifications and alerts. 

Data Protection and Technology

On this third day of Bett Brasil, the Managers’ Forum program featured a special lecture on data protection and the use of technology in education. Alessandra Borelli, an attorney specializing in digital law, began her presentation by listing a series of common questions that educational administrators have regarding the use of technology, and emphasized the need for training and caution when handling data in educational institutions. “We need to be aware that the school environment is subject to various laws, not just the General Data Protection Law. It is not uncommon to encounter data breaches resulting from actions such as teachers overexposing students or the misuse of technological tools, which violate not only this law but others as well.”

The expert cited several domestic and international cases in which schools had data breaches and expressed concern that a large portion of the population is unaware of what the LGPD is and its impact on society. A survey by Serasa Experian confirmed that 75% of Brazilians are unaware of the law.

Borelli also emphasized that less is more. “Don’t collect unnecessary data. Work with the bare minimum; that way, we can minimize risks and damage. Remember that trust is the gateway to a relationship, so we must be careful about incidents that could lead to reputational damage.” The attorney also drew the attendees’ attention to the need to safeguard physical documents. “The LGPD isn’t just for the digital environment. We have to be mindful of folders, forms, contact lists, and other papers that we leave in plain sight or in unsecured places,” she emphasized.

In Brazil, fines imposed under the General Data Protection Law can amount to up to 2% of a company’s revenue for the most recent fiscal year, capped at R$ 50 million per violation. These fines may be imposed in cases of noncompliance with the law’s provisions, such as the improper processing of personal data or the failure to implement security measures to protect such information.

The panel also featured Daniel Magnavita, manager and head of the Artificial Intelligence division at the Vanzolini Foundation, and was moderated by Hermani Araujo, director at Colégio GGE.

Ahead by Bett Forum: Companies Invest in Integrating High School Education with Vocational Training

In its second edition, the Ahead by Bett Forum provided a platform for discussion on higher and vocational education. During the panel discussion titled “Corporate Engagement with Vocational Education Institutions,” SENAI and companies such as Aché, J&F, and Stellantis presented their educational arms—educational institutions established by each company with the purpose of training young technical professionals by combining high school and vocational education.  

Through full-time education, these companies align public education with their business strategies and train professionals with the skills needed for the job market.

That was the case with Laís, an 18-year-old who recounted her journey to an audience amazed by her performance. At age 10, the public-school student went through the admissions process for Germinare Business, a school affiliated with the J&F Institute that aims to train young people to become business administrators—the “business leaders.” The school prepares students to manage a business worth R$1 million.

 “After being accepted into the program, I transferred from the public school system to the full-time program at the J&F Institute: I received a tablet and 29 new subjects to study, including Marketing, one of the subjects I connected with the most. The first business I took on was the so-called ‘Educational Store.’ Based on the training I received, within a few months I increased the store’s sales from 17 to 65 thousand reais.”

At just 18 years old, and after going through several stages of training, Laís already manages a R$ 700,000 operation at the company. 

Laís's account brings to life the results that companies have achieved through their educational initiatives, which operate in partnership with the public school system.

As a business school, J&F’s Germinare Business combines a teaching approach that is both technical and academic. The curriculum includes the components of the National Common Core Curriculum (BNCC), which form the basis of formal basic education, and incorporates business management courses in the Business Academies, which cover commodities, retail, branding, finance, and digital business.

“Society wins, young people win, schools win, and companies win. We believe that people’s growth is the engine of business growth,” said Luizinho Magalhães, director of the College and New Projects at the J&F Institute (JBS Group).

SESI and Microsoft Sign a Technical Cooperation Agreement 

The Social Service for Industry (SESI) and Microsoft Brazil have chosen Bett Brasil to sign a new technical cooperation agreement for the implementation of innovative educational solutions that will contribute to the teaching and learning process in up to 465 schools in the SESI network, which offer elementary, high school, and youth and adult education (EJA) programs.

The partnership includes the implementation of tools such as Artificial Intelligence in education and the migration of part of the educational environment to cloud services. “This agreement will allow students, teachers, and other professionals at SESI schools to have access to technologies that can support both the learning process and the administrative activities of these institutions. Bringing cloud solutions and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the day-to-day reality of teaching is extremely important for advancing education and for the professional futures of these students,” said Alessandra Karine, vice president for the Public Sector, Health, and Education at Microsoft Brazil.

SESI’s Superintendent of Education, Wisley Pereira, explains that the convergence of education and technology is essential for improving education in the country. “Every day, new technologies emerge that enhance people’s quality of life, and education in schools cannot be left out of this. If we’re talking about the future of work, we must enrich education with innovative tools and provide our students and teachers with mechanisms that facilitate learning. Partnering with companies that have technology in their DNA, such as Microsoft, drives us to connect innovation with education,” Pereira stated.

Press Information:

Berlitz Communication

Ricardo Berlitz

+55 11 9 9645-2067

berlitz@berlitzcomunicacao.com.br

Communication Collective

Valeria Bursztein

+55 11 9 9104-2031

valeria@coletivodacomunicacao.com.br

Arucha Fernandes

+55 13 9 9768-3476

arucha@coletivodacomunicacao.com.br