Cyrille Dupuis and Charlie Rollo, both teachers and digital education trainers, have tackled a delicate and rarely addressed topic head-on: data. They have created a ready-to-use kit to spark discussions with students.
The Origins of the Game: A Striking Observation
According to the latest report Digital Technology, Teenagers, and Privacy:
« Teenagers have rarely experienced consequences related to the commercial exploitation of their data by a data controller. […] As long as the risk does not materialize, teenagers pay little attention to how their data is used. » [1]
Another key point in the report is equally thought-provoking:
« Conversely, if the risk appears abstract to teenagers—in other words, if there is a data privacy violation without real and concrete consequences—then the risk may be dismissed. A typical example is the collection of personal data by a platform (cookies, excessive data collection, filter bubbles related to personal data), where the consequences always seem either abstract or negligible to the students interviewed. » [2]
Based on these findings, we decided to deepen our approach to raising awareness about data. The medium that seemed most effective for introducing students to GDPR[3] and the concept of data was a game.
Simple Educational Objectives
To create the game, we followed the same process as designing a lesson plan. We outlined all the knowledge and skills we wanted to develop:
- Raising students’ awareness of personal data
- Understanding the importance of digital footprints
- Exploring topics such as social media and artificial intelligence
Essentially, we aimed to build a lesson on digital citizenship. The goal is to foster discussion with students about these topics during the debriefing session.
This also involves learning specific vocabulary. As they progress, students encounter terms like cookies, privacy, personal data, sensitive data, and pseudonym. The objectives are straightforward yet provide an easy introduction to the world of data.
The Game as a Medium for Digital Literacy
We wanted students to be fully engaged in the learning tool, so we chose a choose-your-own-adventure format. This type of interactive experience fosters engagement in several ways:
- Students take on the role of a young boy
- They must constantly interact with the platform to progress
- The presence of choices adds a strong motivational factor
We used the Moiki platform, which allows the creation of interactive stories and games similar to role-playing experiences. Students can collect items within the game, which are stored in an inventory—just like in a video game. Variables can be added so that these objects serve a purpose in the game.
Within the story, students can make mistakes, but errors are not barriers to progress. They can always retry if needed. Each mistake triggers helpful hints we’ve designed to guide them toward success. Also, as in all choose-your-own-adventure stories, not every path will be taken—some routes contain traps. So, it’s normal if students don’t achieve a perfect score (26/26).
We’ve also provided a document that helps students centralize the information they gather and, ultimately, discover the final word needed to defeat the villain in the story. This document serves as a debriefing tool, helping to keep track of the session and sparking discussions around the game’s key concepts.
Access the game: acver.fr/tomimedoneou
