Abstract:

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly expanding across multiple domains of daily life. These tools enable users to create presentations, documents, images, songs, etc. In this case, we focus specifically on image generation. GenAI tools can produce both photorealistic images and illustrations, offering advantages but also raising important concerns. Among the latter is the potential creation of misleading or fabricated images, which may contribute to the spread of fake news.

In the field of education, these tools offer opportunities for generating images for the design and development of teaching materials. In fact, students from all degree programs are increasingly using GenAI to support their coursework, including the creation of images for presentations, videos, and other academic resources. However, GenAI tools can also reproduce various biases (such as gender or racial biases) that must be considered. If such biased images were incorporated into teaching materials without critical awareness, the quality and inclusivity of those materials could be compromised.

In response to this, we are conducting a teaching innovation project (ID2025/225 “Artificial, my dear Watson. Educational detectives of IAGen biases: learning about biases in images through gamified teaching materials," funded and approved by the University of Salamanca). This project proposes the creation of a gamified teaching material in an educational breakout format to raise university students’ awareness of biases in GenAI-generated images. Given that the target audience is students enrolled in Education Degree programs (Degree in Early Childhood Education, Degree in Pedagogy, and Degree in Primary Education), the project focuses on scenarios in which future educators use these tools to produce images for teaching materials in their professional practice. Future early childhood and primary school teachers design and adapt materials for their students, while graduates in pedagogy may also participate in the design, development, and evaluation of teaching materials and resources in companies, organizations, and institutions.

Using the Genially platform, the project proposes the creation of a gamified teaching material tailored to the needs of university students in education. Once completed, the resource will be tested in various courses across the aforementioned degree programs. Data will be collected from students regarding usability, pedagogical and technical suitability, satisfaction with the resource, and knowledge about GenAI and its associated biases. Ultimately, the project aims to achieve high levels of student satisfaction with the resource, and to foster critical understanding of GenAI and the biases present in image generation.

Finally, this initiative will contribute to expanding the availability of open-access teaching materials for critical training on GenAI for future teachers and educators. The resource aligns with a broader line of work dedicated to developing educational materials and resources that promote critical literacy about GenAI. This line of work also includes other digital resources currently being developed, such as those from the research project “Design, development, and evaluation of a serious game as a digital teaching material to address AI safety controversies from an ethical and pedagogical perspective” (University of Salamanca).

Keywords:

Education, gamification, teaching materials, generative artificial intelligence, pre-service teachers, higher education.