Abstract:
The challenge of fostering media and information literacy (MIL) is particularly
significant in a society marked by the accelerated growth of fake news, digital
noise, and information overload. This challenge is compounded by the new
generation’s particular experience and use of media, platforms, and content.
Therefore, it is crucial to promote new projects and initiatives that reinvent
educational dynamics, types of content, and the role of young people. This
chapter presents a comparative analysis of six MIL projects conducted by the
Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in Spain over the last 10 years,
which combine gamification, experiential learning, and multimedia messages, to
encourage young people to look at media critically. These initiatives have resulted
from national and international calls and/or have been awarded different prizes
and recognition in the fields of communication and education. The comparison
of these six cases highlights young users’ recognition and persuasive capacity
of learning dynamics based on escape rooms, educational video games, projectbased learning, exploration, and storytelling. The study concludes that MIL
education requires increasingly innovative and unconventional proposals adapted
to new media and platforms. It is crucial to develop these in collaborative lines
of research between academia, the media, and other industry players.