BreakoutEDU: It’s time for something different

Hello! Follow along at goo.gl/tc8o6V Megan Scott Clinton Prairie Jr/Sr High School @gopherlibrarian megscott@cpsc.k12.in.us Follow along at goo.gl/tc8o6V

1. What? A Brief Overview

In a nutshell BreakoutEDU brings the popular escape room experience to your classroom by rooting the clues and puzzles in your curriculum.

James Sanders and Adam Bellow co-founded this company last year. Where did this start? James Sanders and Adam Bellow co-founded this company last year. Clinton Prairie’s story I went to an escape room with several other teachers at Thanksgiving last year, and after when we were talking, we thought about how great it would be to bring that experience to students. One week later, I googled Classroom Escape Room and stumbled across Breakout. In January, my principal charged me with trying something new during monthly PD, so we started exploring Breakout in earnest and putting together everything we’d need to make it work. We took morning PD time and ran three simultaneous breakouts with our staff and then followed up with ways Breakout could be used in the classroom.

2. Getting Started How does it work?

Collect materials needed for the games you want to play Breakoutedu.com Go to breakoutedu.com Sign up as a beta tester Check out the games Collect materials needed for the games you want to play Join the community (FB, Twitter, Voxer) Signing up as a tester gets you access to the password to all of the games.

Materials Premade: Purchase kit from BreakoutEDU Open Source: Locks Boxes UV Flashlight Invisible Ink Pens When we open-sourced our needs, we ended up with a TON of supplies (see slide 11). It becomes an addiction, and we had some funding.

Check with coaches, maintenance dept Personal funds Ask parents Funding Community Grants School Grants Donations Check with coaches, maintenance dept Personal funds Ask parents I’ve spent probably $50 on breakout because I wanted some things beyond the basics and when we did PD, there wasn’t time to wait for the ed foundation grant or the Breakout box to arrive. My principal also purchased some items to help get things off the ground.

My Storage Area

Using Games Search for a game that fits your needs All subject areas & grade levels are represented Watch the set up video if there is one Follow directions as closely as possible Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the creator Give yourself time

Tips Test the game with family or friends before your class Have kids turn in opened locks as they go Laminate pages to reuse if you can Put stickers on game materials as you hide them so students don’t get confused

Tips Collect clues and place in original boxes with locks as soon as students are done with them if you have to reset for another class Large classes: Multiple boxes Large classes: Ticket System Etiquette: Never post solutions anywhere that isn’t password protected

Any Questions so Far?

3. Creating Your Own Best Practices

Start with the game design template Determine what process works for you What works for me Sample Folder What works for me: Determine topics covered in game with teacher Determine basic story and how many puzzles we want to do Decide which types of locks or puzzles will work for each topic Plan on a whiteboard or butcher paper first Transfer to template as I create supplies for each puzzle Puzzle documents/drawings/forms are all labeled “Puzzle #” and are linked in the master template All documents go in a Google Folder

4. Creating with students Tools & Methods

Planning student breakouts Why? How? Sample Reflection Form Time? A day here and there over a month 4 full days leading up to the breakout Why? Students can show knowledge in a different way. Students delegate work and have to really plan together in order to make it work. Students exercise different muscles. It’s easy to regurgitate, but it’s hard to communicate with others, plan, and troubleshoot. How? See sample folder Determine with teacher what concepts to cover, how many puzzles Walk students through the process of Breakout creation

Credits This wouldn’t be possible without the work of the BreakoutEDU team. Special thanks to all the people who made and released these awesome resources for free: Presentation template by SlidesCarnival Photographs by Startupstockphotos