“You can’t teach someone who isn’t there”
by Kate Dimbleby | July 2026
This quote from Duolingo’s CEO may sound obvious, but it cuts to the core of the issue for many learning teams.
Why do we associate “online learning” with boredom and stress? Partly it’s a hangover from rigid, enforced school systems. But it’s also a mismatch with how audiences now expect to engage with content. Video games and social media raised the bar – teaching us to expect agency, choice and instant feedback in anything we spend time with. Passive, one-way online learning simply can’t compete with that shift in expectation and behaviour.
Recent studies from the UK found that the relentless pressure on literacy results is putting children off reading for pleasure – a reminder that this tension starts early, and compounds.
If that is what learning means to you, why would you show up if it wasn’t enforced? The answer increasingly looks like ‘edutainment’ – a word coined decades ago to try and describe a balance of education and entertainment.
Bringing gamification into learning has brought exceptional results. Research from 2021-24 showed that gamification increased motivation and academic performance in adults.
Duolingo may be well-known for its mascot’s social media antics, but the company’s real success has been the streak feature connecting learners with each other and the content they are engaging with. 74% of Duolingo language learners credit that feature alone for continuing learning.
On Stornaway, we have seen a rise in ‘edutainment’ projects that has felt unstoppable. From story-based scenarios (try this one by Discovery Education) to “who-dunnit” mysteries that are actually delivering compelling cybersecurity training.
For me, its true strength is not just in keeping learners motivated. It is the ability to communicate so-called soft skills or break down complex topics in an understandable way – and meet learners where they are, with personalisation and meaningful feedback or branching depending on their answers.
Take this excellent project on data ethics at Cornell University and its impact on students. Or this one made by RMIT University to raise awareness of workplace harassment and what it actually looks like in everyday life, which achieved a whopping 99% success rate.
In our noisy, distractible digital world, attention is the real currency – and interactive story-led video knows how to earn it.