In April 2025, the association Makerspace Varaždin organized a training for teachers titled “Media Masters.” The activity was implemented as part of the CERV project “MEDIA MASTERS – Strengthening European Democracy through Media Literacy,” with the aim of developing and strengthening media literacy through interactive learning and innovative didactic tools. The central working method was the educational board game Media Masters, developed within the project, designed as a tool for teaching the fundamental concepts of media literacy in an accessible, engaging, and didactically effective way. Through various roles, cards, and challenges, the game enables participants to develop skills such as identifying fake news, analyzing sources, understanding algorithms, and critical thinking.
The training included five thematic blocks: an introduction to the concept of media literacy, familiarization with the Media Masters game, analysis of its classroom application, experiential gameplay, and collective reflection. The program was led by three experts: Hrvoje Selec, a media technician and educator with years of experience in media culture; Ivan Todorović, head of Makerspace Varaždin and an experienced educator in digital literacy and digital tools; and Alenka Čović, Master of European Public Administration and Project Management, who contributed to the training with insights from European education policies and evaluation approaches.
The evaluation conducted at the end of the activity showed that most participants rated the training as useful, content-relevant, and highly applicable in their daily teaching work. More than 80% of participants stated that, after the workshop, they felt more confident in identifying and explaining concepts such as disinformation, fake news, and deepfakes, as well as in guiding students through processes of critical thinking. The importance of experiential learning was particularly emphasized, through the game, participants had the opportunity to experience the student’s perspective and understand the pedagogical potential of the game in fostering critical awareness and reflective thinking. During the practical part, participants designed their own applications of the game in various teaching contexts (e.g., Croatian language, civic education, sociology, informatics), further confirming the flexibility and transversal value of Media Masters as a tool. In their reflective responses, participants expressed that such workshops should be held more often and included in teacher professional development programs. Some suggested the creation of additional game modules adapted to different student age groups, as well as the possibility of digitizing the game to facilitate implementation in online teaching.
The implementation of this activity demonstrated that media literacy can be not only the content of teaching, but also its method. Using games as educational tools positively affects student motivation, encourages inquiry-based learning, and empowers teachers for innovative teaching. Makerspace Varaždin plans to continue offering such trainings in future programs, as well as developing additional educational resources for teachers. This activity represents an important contribution to the objectives of the MEDIA MASTERS project, which is based on the idea that by strengthening the capacities of teachers and educators to teach about media, we also strengthen the resilience of young people to manipulation, fake news, and propaganda, thus directly contributing to the defense of democratic values and fact-based societies.