Abstract:

A prerequisite for a successful and effective educational process is the implementation of the results of research into pedagogical activity. The development of society and modern technologies have brought with them not only a number of new threats that the world faces, but also new challenges for education system, which should be able to prepare people to face these threats. The deterioration of critical thinking, the rise of alternative media, the decline of media literacy, the abundance of conspiracy theories, the growing trend of hate speech and violence have caused an increase in the incidence of bullying among young people, which is increasingly occurring in cyberspace. Also, not only among young people, but also among adults in the productive and post-productive period, the resistance to distinguish truth from disinformation decreases. In order to reduce the occurrence of these negative phenomena in society, it is necessary to implement new, modern and innovative elements that have been identified as part of research, into the process of education in schools, as well as lifelong learning. The aim of the contribution is to point out the results of the research activity of university students realized within the framework of two student projects, the common feature of which was the development of critical thinking through innovative educational tools. One of these tools is a web application, the purpose of which is to test the media literacy of the general public, while test is preceded by the study of training material, which contains all the necessary information to successfully pass the test. The output of the second student project is the creation of a board game, which represents and innovates traditional discussions and lectures for young people focused on Internet safety and prevention of bullying and hate speech. The design and development of these educational tools were preceded by surveys carried out as part of discussions with target groups. The web application with training material, as well as the board game, is designed for wide use in school and extracurricular environments for a wide audience, and its purpose is education through a game about important topics of today.

Keywords:

Education, research, critical thinking, bullying, disinformation, prevention.