Review by Shaun Langevin, Common Sense Education | Updated October 2017
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GooseChase EDU

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Digital scavenger hunts provide dynamic, fresh learning experiences

Common Sense says
4
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Grades
3-12 This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
Great for:
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Price:  Free, Paid The free version supports one live game and 5 teams. The Plus version is $49 per year and supports unlimited live games, 10 teams, and 40 participants per game. The Premium version is $199 per year and supports 40 teams, 200 participants per game, and has email and phone support.
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

6 images
GooseChase EDU provides plenty of examples of effective scavenger hunts.
Helpful directions are provided when creating a new scavenger hunt.
Adding missions and assigning points is a simple process.
Administrators can model using GooseChase EDU during staff development.
Teachers can create their own teams.
Students find examples of different types of text genres around the school.

Pros: Highly engaging and fosters collaboration in any subject area.

Cons: Video recordings are a maximum of 15 seconds, which limits the depth of learning.

Bottom Line: Students and teachers will enjoy the powerful learning of a modern scavenger hunt.

Lesson & Activity Ideas

The types of scavenger hunts you can create with GooseChase EDU are only limited by your creativity. In language arts, try a vocabulary scavenger hunt; for the word "encumbered," students could snap a picture or take a short video of themselves carrying too many things. If students are studying using evidence from text, have them snap photos that back up a certain topic sentence. In math, students can find and submit photos of different geometric shapes or their solutions to problems. Teams could also submit videos (the maximum length is 15 seconds) explaining concepts like divisibility rules or strategies for multiplication facts. In science, students could find different elements around the school or go outside and search for different vegetation and wildlife. Physical education teachers might have students record short videos of different badminton or volleyball skills. World language teachers could have teams submit short conversations or name objects in a foreign language and have students submit photos of those objects.

Paid versions open up even more possibilities, including scavenger hunts for individual students and the ability to run an unlimited number of games at a time. After completing a GooseChase, it’s a good idea to bring the class together to process some of the findings.

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GooseChase EDU is a web-based platform that creates scavenger hunts for mobile (iOS and Android) devices. First, teachers go to the website to create a new game with a basic description. Teachers then add missions to their game. Each mission is a scavenger hunt clue, which comes in three types: photo/video, text, or location. Photo and video questions are the most popular, where students submit a picture or video (limited in length to 15 seconds). Text missions are completed by typing information. Location questions are interesting but less frequently used -- the teacher can set it so that mobile devices fulfill a clue by being in a certain area, down to a 50-meter radius (though they recommend 100 meters).

Students use an iOS or Android app as they complete the scavenger hunt. Teachers have the option to create teams and a starting/ending time for their scavenger hunt, and then assign each mission a point value, which is tallied as teams make their submissions. All team submissions can be monitored from a computer or mobile device. If a teacher feels a certain submission is incorrect, they can remove it and have the team try again. There are also example games on the GooseChase EDU site.

Beyond the free version, the Educator Plus plan ($49 per year) allows for up to ten teams of up to five devices each. This option also has an unlimited number of live games and the ability to do individual games for students. The Educator Premium plan ($199 per year) has the same capabilities but with up to 40 teams or 200 individual participants. Beyond this, school and district pricing is available.

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Goosechase EDU can be used create some amazing activities for any subject. Each step for creating a game has directions next to it making the process a breeze. And there are plenty of example games on the site, although often the learning doesn't go beyond identification. To make the most out of the tool, teachers will need to spend time creating thoughtful activities that dig deeper. More depth could be added by allowing lengthier video submissions. Goosechase EDU doesn't want to rack up a student's cellular data use, but including an option to upload video only when connected to WiFi would solve this problem. With a two-minute limit, teams could read a passage or provide an analysis that was more fleshed out and meaningful. It would also be helpful to have a built-in feature that would support students by reading the clues. The location style clues are cool, but a 50- or 100-meter radius limits their usefulness.

While the free version would be adequate for many teachers, it may frustrate others. For each game, teachers get up to five teams with five devices per team. There also can't be more than one live game at a time, which means teachers with several classes couldn't easily manage games that they wanted to go beyond the class period. The Goosechase EDU privacy policy states that its services are aimed at users aged 13 and up. Although this app can work well for students at elementary levels, teachers will need to create accounts linked to other email addresses for students this age -- a task well worth the hassle. Still, having a safe way for young students to sign up would be an improvement.

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Overall Rating
4
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?
5

Students will love working in teams and being creative with these fun digital scavenger hunts.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?
4

Students take photos and short videos to complete missions -- a powerful way for them to show learning. Teachers will need to create their own hunts to generate more meaningful learning.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?
4

Directions help teachers through the process of creating a scavenger hunt. Teams gain points, but the teacher should provide students with more specific feedback.

Common Sense Reviewer
Shaun Langevin Technology coordinator
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