We are thrilled to announce that the first expected project result of “NEED – News Literacy on Board” is complete! After months of dedicated work, our team has successfully developed a unique game-based assessment tool designed to evaluate learners’ knowledge and skill levels in news literacy and critical thinking.
This innovative tool takes the form of a board game, inviting players to engage with questions and challenges that test their understanding of the news landscape, ability to find reliable information, and skills in verifying news. The game includes a rectangular board with 34 squares, where players move clockwise to collect correct answers from the three main areas of knowledge mentioned above. The first player to gain three correct answers from these areas wins, showing mastery across diverse news literacy topics.
The game setup includes a playing board, five decks of cards, tokens, and dice. Cards are divided into specific categories, including three decks for the core knowledge areas, a deck for challenge cards, and one for lucky cards. Each card presents a question categorized by a sub-area, allowing players to accumulate knowledge tokens in distinct colours (blue, yellow, green), representing the three competence areas. With 540 questions available in True/False and Multiple Choice formats, players face various challenges, whether answering simple or complex questions requiring more critical thinking.
During gameplay, players roll dice, move their pieces across the board, and draw cards from relevant decks. Correct answers earn them tokens, progressing them toward the goal of filling nine designated spaces on the board. At the end of the game, each player retains their answered cards, enabling an assessment of correct and incorrect answers per sub-area. This approach offers players a comprehensive view of their strengths and growth areas within each news literacy domain.
This assessment game serves as a foundation for our next development: a new board game focused primarily on educating participants in news literacy and critical thinking. Using the first game to identify learners’ knowledge gaps, we aim to design targeted educational content for the second game. This upcoming game will also link to an online platform, providing further educational resources and interactive learning experiences.
Stay tuned as we continue advancing toward our goal of empowering learners to navigate today’s complex media environment with confidence and critical insight!