Encrypta: Desenvolvimento e Avaliação de um Jogo Educacional para o Ensino de Cibersegurança no Ensino Fundamental I e II

Abstract

The significant increase in the number of cyberattacks in the country, combined with the growing use of digital devices by children and adolescents, highlights a major concern regarding the safety of these individuals in the online environment. Given this situation, it is necessary to develop educational strategies that can promote awareness and the adoption of safe practices in the use of digital technologies. This need is also recognized by the National Common Curriculum Base (BNCC), which encourages the development of skills related to the critical, ethical, and responsible use of digital technologies. In this context, this dissertation proposes Encrypta, an educational digital game developed to support cybersecurity education for elementary school students. The application addresses fundamental topics in the field, including the creation of secure passwords, the identification of malicious files, websites, and emails, as well as the importance of performing backups. Methodologically, this research is exploratory in nature, as it investigates a topic that is still emerging within the educational context and seeks to understand how elements related to digital games contribute to cybersecurity learning. The effectiveness of the proposed solution was assessed through the application of evaluation instruments. The study was conducted with elementary school students at the Application School of the Federal University of Uberlândia (CAp/UFU) through the use of the educational game developed for this purpose and the collection of quantitative and qualitative data, with the aim of evaluating the participants’ learning, the tool’s usability, and their perceptions of it. The main results indicate an increase in students’ knowledge levels, as well as positive evaluations regarding usability and user experience while using the application, highlighting the game’s potential as a tool to support cybersecurity education.