Initial Development of "Infection Defender": A Children's Educational Game for Pandemic Prevention Measurements

Nikolov, I.; Madsen, C.

Using serious games to communicate and teach complex topics to children and adolescence has gained a lot of popularity, especially in the medical fields. The spread of COVID-19 and the need to change everyday habits has opened up the need to teach children the required precautions for limiting the spread of potential pandemics. In this paper we present the initial development of the game Infection Defender, promoting children's awareness of closing schools, social distancing, testing and hospitalization for fighting the spread of infectious diseases in Denmark. These activities are given in the hands of children, between 10 and 13 years old, and the goal of the game is achieving a balanced response to a possible infectious decease outbreak. We present the game, its design considerations and how the learning objectives are integrated into it. An analysis of the game by pedagogical workers is made and a pilot test is carried out assessing children's reactions to it. Initial positive feedback shows that the game sparks interest and discussion in children and can be used as part of the study curriculum to help children understand the need for certain measurements.