The LEGO Group has launched a suite of new interactive guides, games and activities designed to support families in becoming digitally-savvy.
With society spending more time online than ever before, the programme is designed to instil a better understanding of digital citizenship skills such as empathy, screen time management, and privacy and safe sharing in parents and students alike.
The tools and resources have been developed in collaboration with the DQ Institute – a think tank dedicated to digital citizenship and child online safety.
Doom the Gloom – a mix of mini-games and interactive videos – underpins the LEGO Group’s new offerings, giving children the chance to explore and learn about safety and wellbeing in the digital world.
The Doom the Gloom experience deals with eight key competency areas laid out in the DQ Institute’s DQ Framework, teaching young people to become positive digital citizens, contributing to a healthy digital society.
The learning experiences include:
Interactive videos:
- Stay True to You – to help children understand what their digital footprint is and how their online interactions can leave a lasting digital trail
- What Online Hero Are You? – to show the importance of being kind to each other online
- Train Your Digi-Sense – to help children develop their critical reasoning skills so they can evaluate information, content and friendships they may encounter online
Mini-games
- Power Up to Power Down – a playful exploration of screen time management
- Get Digi-Defensive – a fun introduction to privacy and cybersecurity management that helps children learn how to create and protect strong passwords
The Hero Builder feature allows children to design their own virtual mini-figures and add accessories they gather throughout the experience. Accessories are unlocked after each mini-game or video is completed, and players are invited to upload screenshots of their creations to the LEGO Life platform.
The programme also includes a range of resources for parents and the whole family to engage with, including:
- The Digitally Smart Guide offers parents a ‘crash course’ of the key digital citizenship skills children will learn throughout the experience
- The Digitally Smart Explorer is a board game-style quiz for families, with questions relating to topics covered throughout the experience to reinforce the knowledge gained
- Two new narrative Build & Talk activity packs to inspire conversations about how families can manage screen time , as well as how to spot fake information online, over LEGO building
Kathrine Kirk Muff, VP of social responsibility at the LEGO Group, commented: “Play should be as safe in the digital world as in the physical one. That’s why we design all our digital products and experiences with child safety at the core. What’s more, we want to play our part in ensuring children and families can learn about digital safety and wellbeing through playful experiences. We hope these new activities enable families to playfully explore what it means to be a good friend and player online – a digital citizen – to nurture healthy digital safety habits and better understand how they can contribute to safer and more positive communities in a digital age.”
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