Scott DeJong:
My inspiration
An image of a board game made by Scott DeJong that studies conspiracy on social media. Titled Lizards and Lies it is free to download, print, and play. Photo Credit: Scott DeJong.
How do the media literacy concepts we teach about educational games translate to the practices of users online?
As a trained educator, I noticed a gap. Today’s learning environment extends beyond the classroom and our current tools and resources struggle to help us navigate this space. I taught children who would talk more about what they learned from the internet than their teachers or parents. Social media has allowed information and knowledge to develop in ways our educational structures are ill-equipped to handle. I thought about the games I design and play in my spare time and have come to see our online worlds as inherently playful. Between the memes, games and humorous posts that people are playing with, I am fascinated by the ways we can make the digital tangible. I focus on games as an opportunity to invite people to play with concepts and subjects that would normally be difficult to tackle.