A study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and elsewhere found that a computer game helped upper secondary school students improve their ability to differentiate between reliable and misleading news.
“This is a crucial step in empowering young people to navigate a world filled with misinformation. We all need to become better at recognizing manipulative tactics, known as prebunking, as it is increasingly difficult to spot deep fakes and other AI-generated disinformation with the naked eye,” says Thomas Nygren, Professor of Education at Uppsala University.
Together with three other researchers, Nygren conducted a study involving 516 Swedish upper secondary school students from different programs at four schools. The study, published in the Journal of Research on Technology in Education, examined the impact of the game Bad News in a classroom setting. This was the first scientific test of the game in a traditional classroom environment. The game, designed for research and educational purposes, allows participants to take on the role of spreading misleading news. The students played the game individually, in pairs, or in whole class groups with a shared scorecard, and all three methods had positive effects. The researchers were surprised by the results, as they initially believed that collaborative computer work would be more beneficial for learning.
“The students showed improvement in their ability to identify manipulative techniques in social media posts and distinguish between trustworthy and misleading news,” Nygren explains.
The study also revealed that students with a positive attitude towards reliable news sources were better at recognizing disinformation, and this attitude became even more positive after playing the game. Additionally, many students enhanced their credibility assessments and demonstrated a more sophisticated understanding of manipulative techniques.
The researchers observed that the competitive elements in the game increased interest and boosted its effectiveness. They concluded that the study offers valuable insights for educators on utilizing serious games in formal education to enhance media and information literacy.
“Some individuals believe that gamification can improve learning in schools. However, our findings suggest that incorporating competitive elements does not necessarily lead to increased learning, although it can make the process more enjoyable and engaging,” Nygren notes.
Researchers involved in the study include Carl-Anton Werner Axelsson (Mälardalen and Uppsala), Thomas Nygren (Uppsala), Jon Roozenbeek (Cambridge), and Sander van der Linden (Cambridge).
