Tackling misinformation with Minecraft: How these B.C. students are learning to separate fact from fiction

Students at a Coquitlam middle school are learning about the dangers of online misinformation using tools to help spot the difference between fact and fiction.

Mason Foulkes, a grade 6/7 teacher at Maple Creek Middle School, says children are inundated daily with online misinformation and disinformation.

"All of your information now is coming from social media feeds. Unverified sources. Misinformation spreads like wildfire. It's the new way we need to prepare our kids for the future." 

Foulkes's lesson plan takes a non-traditional approach to teaching.

Instead of the students simply completing a worksheet, they're exploring a new world in the popular video game Minecraft. 

CBC Kids News developed and released the map, Reporting 101: Misinformation, through the Minecraft Education program, a platform that allows teachers to offer interactive and educational lessons in Minecraft, to help students develop media literacy skills.  

Minecraft is a sandbox video game that allows players to create and explore their own unique worlds.

"Media literacy is such an important part of what we do at CBC Kids News, and we need to continually find ways to create content where our audience spends time," said Lisa Fender, CBC Kids News senior producer. 

"We've been able to create a world that not only appeals to students' gaming interests but gives teachers a creative way to explore this topic in the classroom."

How does it work?

In Reporting 101: Misinformation, students play the role of a junior reporter. A rumour has spread through the school that summer is cancelled.

It's up to the reporter to explore the Minecraft world, speak to residents, collect evidence and determine whether the rumour is true. And, as a reporter, they're racing to meet the deadline. Students need to publish a story on the scandal by the end of the day.

Gavin Hannah, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) support teacher for the Coquitlam School District, says it's about creating an engaging learning environment.

"Kids are immersed in a world, and they can be tuned in and pick up new things and build knowledge as they're exploring the world, in a way that is very special."

But if you ask the students, it's just fun.

"When you're [working] on a paper, you don't get to do anything. But with this, you actually get to experience what a reporter does," said Grade 6 student Sierra Byrom.

Grade 7 student Jack Park, who isn't a huge video fan of video games, says it's better than the alternative.

"It's way more entertaining than just sitting down and looking at a piece of paper."

Spotting misinformation

As part of the digital literacy curriculum, Foulkes says students are being taught to think critically and to apply those skills both socially and in a digital landscape, whether it's dealing with a school rumour or a piece of fake news shared on Tik Tok or Instagram.

"Not only is that going to help them deal with the news and deal with social interactions, but it's going to help them academically, too. [To] back up their positions with sources and evidence and findings."

Within two weeks of starting his media literacy unit, he says he's already seeing students apply the skills they are learning, like asking each other for proof and evidence when discussing different subjects.

Grade 7 student Lirael Anderson says it's an important lesson.

"In case you take something out of context, you can make sure that it actually was what you thought it was or wasn't without it getting out of hand," said Anderson.

Classmate Cole Moffatt remembers reading an article about octopi that live in trees. It was an internet hoax from 1998 that appears to still be making the rounds.

Moffatt says he was able to spot it as disinformation in a way he hopes to apply to future fakes to avoid being duped.

"People could hear it [misinformation] and think it's real, and they could go out and do stuff they shouldn't because they think they're doing the right thing," said Moffatt.

Reporting 101: Misinformation is free to play for students and teachers with a Minecraft Education account.