Play the game: The Open Data Newsroom (a game for developing open data competencies in elementary school)

Description

The Open Data Newsroom is a role-playing game designed to solve real-world problems with open data. In the game, elementary school students (ages 14 to 16) adopt the role of data journalists to solve a local environmental mystery and present the truth behind it to the citizens.

The Open Data Newsroom revolves around unraveling several incidents that have recently been affecting local teenagers, schools, and the surrounding environment. What at first were four apparently isolated cases, after investigation, are all connected to a bigger case of water and environmental damage caused by a company. The data journalists (students) follow authentic data journalism practices to solve the mysteries using the game material and conducting their own searches on the internet. The game material includes fictional press articles, scientific papers, and social media posts about the mysteries, which are provided physically. Additionally, the game material includes a digital online platform that allows navigation of data visualizations (both geographical and numerical). The open data repository in the game includes geographical and water quality open data as well as generated data about the fictional game mysteries. The students' analysis includes the correlation of locations and time periods. The game dynamics are guided by the newspaper's chief editor (the teacher or facilitator), who challenges the data behind the students' work.

Grounded in data literacy and real-world problem-solving competencies, this game-oriented learning design aims to support elementary school students in developing skills for participating in open data ecosystems and facing complex real-world challenges with open data (Celis Vargas, Magnussen, et al., 2024; Celis Vargas, Papageorgiou, et al., 2024).

This open repository includes instructions, the game material and link to access the online platform for playing the game in the classroom.

Period	2023 → 2024