Author: saipangroup2023

By: Chelsea Yangirelfil, Maria Simeon, and Yijia Zhao

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Description: The main objective of the module is to explore and analyze a game as a creative multimedia technology. The goal is to explore how games can be creatively utilized to address skills objectives and meet existing standards. Games and play are great because they typically involve multiple domains of learning simultaneously and seamlessly: psychological, social, emotional, as well as content.

Escape Room

Game Site: https://online-escape-room.com/

Escape Room Introduction Video

Escape Room Game Play

Escape Room Discussion

Escape Room Bloopers

Question #1: What are the barriers in the game? 

Internet speed – Without fast-speed internet, the game cannot be streamed. So students without internet access or fast internet might feel frustrated and excluded in the game. 

Lagging computers – Frozen screen and lagging computers might add to the frustrations. 

Lacking devices – Students need to have at least one digital device to play the virtual Escape Rooms game. The device can be a smartphone, iPad, or laptop. 

Only one screen – When playing the game, we realized it would be so nice if we could have multiple screens, for example, one screen for the map, one screen for the clue, one screen to answer the questions, etc. Having multiple devices could be really helpful. That’s why we encourage teamwork.

Limited open-ended questions – The questions we answered cover a variety of subjects, Math, English, science, however, most are not open-ended questions. We need to think of ways to incorporate more open-ended questions into the game. 

Limited space – If we were to design/create a physical escape room, limited space in school/classroom is a challenge.

Time consuming – it is very time-consuming when teachers or students try to design/create the game. Teachers might want to work as a team. It can be an end-of-the-year group project for students as well.

Question #2: Who might be excluded (without proper support)? 

ELL students who might have difficulty understanding the language spoken, and the text displayed in the game. When we are grouping the students, we need to take that into consideration. 

Some students with IEP might be excluded if there is no proper support. For example, some students might need the text displayed to be read out loud. 

Questions #3: How does the game foster creativity and critical thinking? 

Students get to explore and problem solve throughout the game.

Students are retrieving prior knowledge when answering questions.

Students are thinking outside the box.

Students can reflect on their learning and relate it to real-life situations.

We can customize the game so there are more ways to “escape”. We can also design it to adapt to students’ learning styles.

The game has a theme (for example, the one we did in the video was called “Pirate Panic”). We can have different themes and give students choices to choose one or create their own theme.

Questions #4: What content is handled? What skills are being activated in the game? 

We can include a variety of subjects. The questions in the Escape Rooms game can be for any subject areas (for example, the game we played had math, cardinal directions, Language/Vocabulary). We can also include Social Studies and Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Skills being activated :

–Problem-solving

–Critical thinking

-Teamwork

–Awareness skill (be aware of your surroundings)

–Creativity

Question #5: How will you assess if learning is happening? 

We can assess student learning throughout the game when students are answering the questions and figuring their way out.

We can assess the language used during the game.

We can assess the interaction and teamwork between the students.

1. Identify – Provide students character profiles or identification that are connected to the escape room’s subject.
2. Interaction – To unlock the series of tasks, students must interact with one another and exchange knowledge.Students work as a team (one leader, two supporters) and they can communicate and solve problems together.
3. Production – Students can take part in creating the hands-on interactive creation of the “escape rooms”. 
4. Risk Taking – Educate students to decision-making or timed problems that need risk-taking. Students are able to take risks and continue playing. They can try the game again even if they fail.

5. Customization – Offer many paths for resolving riddles or optional challenges to give students the option of customizing their gameplay experience. Students can choose game sets that align with their interest and subject matter allowing them to be more engaged.
6. Agency – Identify opportunities for students to make decisions and take actions that directly affect the game.Students get to choose a theme for the game and they can also take part in creating the game, so they have a real sense of ownership over what they are doing.  
7. Well-order problems- Create challenges and riddles that get tougher over time so that students can improve their abilities and knowledge as they move through the game. The Escape Room Games will have step by step instructions and questions for the students to answer in order. They are able to either answer them in order or to explore freely. 
8. Challenge and consolidation – It allows students the chance to reflect  on what they have learned after surpassing the challenges.The Escape Games will not have the adaptive system to create questions created for each specific student. The questions are already set.
9. “Just in Time” or “On Demand” – The hints (“on demand”) are placed when students get stuck on a problem, they have the option to get help (sometimes it is limited from 2 up to 11 hints) and these hints are useful. When we answer a question correctly, we get the clues “just in time”. These clues should be properly placed to offer help when it’s needed, ensuring that students get help just in time to keep the game moving forward.
10. Situated Meanings – Students can match the obstacles and riddles to the escape room’s general concept and narrative. They are able to utilize and learn different vocabulary words as they explore. They are able to relate the words to the events and images or symbols in the game. 
11. Pleasantly frustrating – Create tasks that are challenging enough to encourage students to use their critical thinking skills and to persevere and explore in order to find solutions. The game is doable but challenging. Throughout the game, we get stuck on certain questions but eventually we figure it out as a team.
12. System thinking : Students need to manipulate and comprehend the causal connections about what events will happen from their decisions. As they explore and solve questions, they will think critically about how the game will react as well as their team players. 
13. Explore, think laterally and rethink – The game gives the opportunity for exploration and discovery as they try to escape. Students can go back and forth through the questions and hints to help them solve the problems.
14. Smart tools and distributed knowledge – Students can use digital tools such as tablets and laptops and software designed for cumulative data and record keeping, simulating real data learning  and integrating the game-like experience to improve educational results.
15. Cross functional teams – It is a multi-player game. Students get to play in teams and each player has a different set of skills (teacher can keep that in mind when grouping students).Teamwork and knowledge sharing are crucial to succeed.
16. Performance before competence-“Learning by doing” Students can learn to play the game while exploring the game. Students are performing all throughout the learning process. They learn through exploration and go beyond what is expected. 

Escape Room Experience in Seoul

I was able to travel to Korea in April and experience an actual escape room. It was amazing and the riddles were very fun to solve. Communication and Teamwork was a big factor in solving the riddles and escaping the room. Comparing the two experiences (online and physical), each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. Both of them encourage a lot of problem solving and critical thinking. It was also challenging and involved a lot of prior knowledge retrieval. Students would definitely enjoy these types of games in the classroom. 

Chelsea