Social media algorithms are often invisible to students, but "The Feed" makes them tangible. In this competitive card game, players stop being passive scrollers and start acting as the manipulators - embodying trolls, influencers, and content farms to "win" in our attention economy. By gamifying the spread of information, students actively model the tactics that drive viral content, transforming abstract concepts of algorithmic amplification into a concrete, hands-on experience.
Join the MediaEd Club for an interactive session with game creators Scott DeJong and Shawn Lee. We will move beyond theory to "play" the media environment ourselves, exploring how this research-backed tool helps learners connect gameplay mechanics to their real-world digital lives.
Date: Monday, January 5, 2026
Time: 12 pm EST | 6 pm CET | 10:30 pm IST
LOCATION: Register here for the webinar series.
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Recommended Media (please preview before attending)
- Website: The Feed: A Game of Social Media Mischief (Official Site) Explore the game overview and the specific "actors" players can embody.
- Portfolio: The Feed Project Overview (Scott DeJong) A deeper look at the design philosophy behind the game from creator Scott DeJong.
Optional Media (enrich your learning)
- Academic Study: Bad News in the civics classroom: How serious gameplay fosters teenagers' ability to discern misinformation (Taylor & Francis Online, 19 Apr 2024) A recent study evaluating the effectiveness of "inoculation" games in formal education settings.
- Article: The Impact of Gamification in Media Education (EditMentor, 5 July 2024) A practical overview of how game design elements like competition and role-playing can enhance critical thinking and retention.
- Critical Perspective: Re-Examining the "Bad News" Game (ResearchGate, Aug 2025) A look at the limitations of gamified interventions, offering a necessary critical lens on where these tools succeed and fail.
- Resource List: Media Literacy Games Collection (UNC Charlotte) A curated list of other games in this genre (like Fake It To Make It and Harmony Square) for comparative teaching.
- Creator Bio: Scott DeJong (Researcher & Fulbright Scholar) Read about Scott's work with media literacy and games, including his time as a visiting Fulbright Scholar.
- Context: The Role of the Teacher-Creator (University of Washington) Learn about co-creator Shawn Lee, a high-school teacher who ensured the game was designed specifically for modern classrooms.
Host: Dr. Wesley Fryer
Wesley Fryer, PhD, is a middle school STEM and media literacy middle school teacher at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina. As an educational technology “early adopter / innovator” since the late 1990s, Wes continues to share regularly on social media. Learn more on wesfryer.com.
Please get in touch with us if you want to suggest future Media Club meeting topics to discuss an article, book, podcast, video or any media related to our interests.
Dr. Wes Fryer, Webinar Series Manager | wes.fryer@providenceday.org
* AI Image (for this webinar) generated by Wes Fryer using ChatGPT 5.