Thing 15 Breakout EDU
As a new blogger I am realizing I really like to put my "before" thoughts down before looking at my decided on thing. So far it has helped me to really see how wrong I might be about things, how much I learn and how helpful this course has been!
I have been to one BreakoutEDU session at a library conference and tried to be successful in different escape room experiences with my family 3 times. While I think they are super cool, I found them as a user to be a tad frustrating and confusing. At the conference session, there were so many of us, I never even got to see the clues, and in my family experiences, my son seems to get everything figured out before I even finish reading! However I LOVE the idea of them, solving clues to unlock a box-it should be so fun and motivating for students. And the bonus of having it tie into your curriculum? What could be bad? I think that is another reason I chose this topic. I am hoping my negative impressions will be eased. We do have Breakout activities available in my district, but I have been so hesitant to try them because of those feelings. So-now to start studying!
One of my favorite quotes from this Thing 15, I found on Amy's Introduction page. "Breakout EDU is great for teaching and encouraging those soft skills that are so important in life, but can be hard to teach. Communication, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration....students must persevere, attempt solutions, fail and try again."
I was amazed at the variety of excellent activities the website had to offer-so much more than I realized. And they all look so fun! The Pinterest Boards, Face Book and Blog pages are great as resources for someone new starting out. It is so helpful to be able to chat with others who have done these activities and have hints and tips to offer those of us with questions.
I also really liked the Extra resources. I was thrilled to discover and read my friend Stacey's blog about her Dewey Breakout and know I will be trying it out next year! Such an important topic that students usually moan and groan about-this will be way more engaging. Bethany's site that provided the digital Breakout Edu ideas was also a great find. Money is often an issue, so to have this as a resource is great.
The Digital Games definitely intrigued me most. I loved that teachers and even the students are encouraged to create share games. The site and resources provided all the help you would need to make your game.
I created a free account and decided to try some of the digital games. I went with Elementary and the first free one I tried was Silly, Snacky Sight words. It was tricky, but the more I looked and practiced, the better I got! I learned quickly how important it was to pay attention to directions, colors and numbers. Perseverance was important, but so engaging and challenging that you wanted to keep trying. The more I tried, the more I realized that this is another resource I know my teachers will want to know about. The math, science and social studies elementary digital breakouts that I tired were so engaging-time flew and I was surprised at how long I had spent on each. (I wish there had been an easier way to find the unlocked ones...didn't find that in the filter! :-)
Call me a Breakout EDU convert! I have emailed my district contact and have been put into the schedule to borrow ours for the last few weeks of June. I am so excited to give this a try with my students, and am working on having my principal give me some time to introduce it to staff in the hopes that he can be convinced to purchase it for our building. Fingers crossed!
I have been to one BreakoutEDU session at a library conference and tried to be successful in different escape room experiences with my family 3 times. While I think they are super cool, I found them as a user to be a tad frustrating and confusing. At the conference session, there were so many of us, I never even got to see the clues, and in my family experiences, my son seems to get everything figured out before I even finish reading! However I LOVE the idea of them, solving clues to unlock a box-it should be so fun and motivating for students. And the bonus of having it tie into your curriculum? What could be bad? I think that is another reason I chose this topic. I am hoping my negative impressions will be eased. We do have Breakout activities available in my district, but I have been so hesitant to try them because of those feelings. So-now to start studying!
One of my favorite quotes from this Thing 15, I found on Amy's Introduction page. "Breakout EDU is great for teaching and encouraging those soft skills that are so important in life, but can be hard to teach. Communication, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration....students must persevere, attempt solutions, fail and try again."
I was amazed at the variety of excellent activities the website had to offer-so much more than I realized. And they all look so fun! The Pinterest Boards, Face Book and Blog pages are great as resources for someone new starting out. It is so helpful to be able to chat with others who have done these activities and have hints and tips to offer those of us with questions.
I also really liked the Extra resources. I was thrilled to discover and read my friend Stacey's blog about her Dewey Breakout and know I will be trying it out next year! Such an important topic that students usually moan and groan about-this will be way more engaging. Bethany's site that provided the digital Breakout Edu ideas was also a great find. Money is often an issue, so to have this as a resource is great.
The Digital Games definitely intrigued me most. I loved that teachers and even the students are encouraged to create share games. The site and resources provided all the help you would need to make your game.
I created a free account and decided to try some of the digital games. I went with Elementary and the first free one I tried was Silly, Snacky Sight words. It was tricky, but the more I looked and practiced, the better I got! I learned quickly how important it was to pay attention to directions, colors and numbers. Perseverance was important, but so engaging and challenging that you wanted to keep trying. The more I tried, the more I realized that this is another resource I know my teachers will want to know about. The math, science and social studies elementary digital breakouts that I tired were so engaging-time flew and I was surprised at how long I had spent on each. (I wish there had been an easier way to find the unlocked ones...didn't find that in the filter! :-)
Call me a Breakout EDU convert! I have emailed my district contact and have been put into the schedule to borrow ours for the last few weeks of June. I am so excited to give this a try with my students, and am working on having my principal give me some time to introduce it to staff in the hopes that he can be convinced to purchase it for our building. Fingers crossed!
I enjoy reading your before and after notes and thoughts. Interesting to see the thought process. (Can I confess, I couldn't solve a breakout that was designed for kindergarten!)
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