Challenges students to collaborate and think creatively to solve problems

At first glance Breakout EDU was not my ideal choice to teach students in a history class however I was wrong. History is about thinking critically which is what this game requires of the user. I played three games trying to break out of the riddles and it was the most intense moment ever. I can’t deny it, I felt so much relief I after I passed this. These intense high order thinking skills and engaging games are a great collaborative activity that helps with classroom management. Further, this game is a great exercise to introduce a topic and have students reflect on.

I have witnessed students problem-solving, being challenged, persevering and working as a team while working on a Breakout challenge. I appreciate the cooperation that needs to happen amongst the students through the challenge. I appreciate that all learners can shine during this experience. i appreciate that Breakout EDU celebrates anyone who tries the challenge, not just those who complete the challenge. I am trying to figure how I can get students from their classrooms to be able to create their own breakout challenges. The breakout boxes and locks are expensive. I know teachers who have made their own. Thankfully a teacher received a grant for our boxes.

The setup is a little time-consuming, but there are videos that show how the game is played and all of the resources are in a shared drive folder. Now that I understand more how everything works, I think the setup time might be a little faster, but I would still allow about an hour for the first time. The invisible ink pens dry up, but I found some cheap ones online that worked just fine. There is a wide variety of subjects covered in both the physical and digital game versions, so I feel there is something for everyone. There is also a way for teacher-generated games to be shared on the site, so new games are being added all the time. I think this would be best used for front loading or review, but might be frustrating if used for teaching a new concept. For advanced kids, I think once they have solved a teacher-generated game, they could design one as a final unit project. It uses some higher-level thinking skills that would give the kids a challenge. I also had a chance to play a digital version in a faculty meeting, so I've also experienced the student side of this tool as well. It was a little confusing, and many teachers found shortcuts and were more focused on solving the puzzle that learning the content. I would make sure you look at several of the games generated by Breakout EDU before designing your own games so you are very familiar with how to create meaningful content and clues that are challenging but not too difficult to figure out in a limited time frame. That said, it could be used as a team building activity for any age group. Overall, it was a nice change of pace for my students that engaged them with the content and helped them learn. I would probably only do it once or twice a year or it would lose its novelty and not accomplish my purposes.