THE PROJECT
WHAT IS CODEMA ESCAPE ROOM?
Locked in a room with a time limit (35 minutes in this case) to escape by solving a series of puzzles, escape rooms are a live-action gaming trend which have become a craze throughout the world.
Escape room at school is a gaming-based activity. Teachers have to create a series of challenges and link them to have a chain of discovery. Students have to solve the puzzles, working together, to get codes and unlock “clues”. The final challenge...escape from the room!
Note: in fact, students don't have to escape physically from the room (they get a final award!). In education, this type of game is called breakout but we were inspired in real escape room games and, as said before, these games have became a trend all over the world. We have decided to named this activity ESCAPE ROOM because is more engaging for students. We were able to verify that it was true; they showed really excited when teacher said...could you escape from the room!
Note: in fact, students don't have to escape physically from the room (they get a final award!). In education, this type of game is called breakout but we were inspired in real escape room games and, as said before, these games have became a trend all over the world. We have decided to named this activity ESCAPE ROOM because is more engaging for students. We were able to verify that it was true; they showed really excited when teacher said...could you escape from the room!
WHY ESCAPE ROOM AT SCHOOL?
Because it helps to develop several skills such as logic, maths, cooperative work and contents related to the subject. Morover, escape rooms games are a worldwide trend so it an opportunity to link real life and school which motivate and engage students to do their best. Learning by gaming.
WHO FOR?
Audience Target: this academic year the activity was developed in two different levels and two differente subjets. The activity was done independently but using the same basic kit. Teachers worked together to create the kit.
Level: 3 ESO.
Subject: technology (bilingual program)
Level: 1 ESO.
Subject: biology.
WHAT FOR? THE AIMS
Involve students working together, against the clock
Solve a series of puzzles using clues, strategy and sources which have been left on the table and around the room.
Improve and/or acquire
new knowledge and competences related to the subject
WHEN IT TAKES PLACE?
At the end of the term. After having studying the curricular contents in class.
At the end of March. In April worksheets are reviewed and we finish with the feedback and metacognition.
HOW THE ACTIVITY IS DESIGNED AND PERFOMED?
SET-UP: 7-8 groups (4 people)
CHALLENGES: teachers have to designed the challenges (according to the aims) and link them correctly. SEE...
ESCAPE KIT: teachers involved (technology and biology) worked together to create the basic kit. Later, each teacher include in the box the specific material needed for the escape room. The kit is an auto self decorated cardboard box for each group, which contains:
The basic kit
• 1 pencil
• 1 pen
• 1 adhesive tape
• 1 pair of scissors
• 1 pencil case, locked with a number combination locker
• 1 decoder wheel
 |
| the basic kit |
the wheel decoder
General material (in the room)
- 4 boxes
- 20 cylinders
- 20 ribbons
Located on the floor there are 4 boxes. Inside, cylinder decoders and ribbons with letters. One box contains the message congratulations you have escape from the room. The other 3 boxes contain the message for those teams that fail: you have failed, you have not escaped... (see description of the activity to discover how to get one number or another)
The boxes
Ribbon wound round the cylinder. The message can be decoded
TECHNOLOGY SPECIFIC MATERIAL (per group)
• 1 smartphone
• 1 sealed book (with adhesive tape) which contains hints
• 1 screw
• 1 puzzle (inside the pencil case)
• A piece of red acetate (inside the book)
• 1 caliper
• 1 plastic folder which contains a challenge
WHY?
Because by combining innovation, technology, interdisiplinarity and gaming students feel more motivated. Moreover, we are involved in a school change metodology, therefore this activity perfectly fits with R+I+i development in the school.
Gamification in the classroom, using virtual reality...it sounds interesting!
Discover this blog for further detail!
TECHNOLOGY ESCAPE ROOM: THE CHALLENGES
This escape room consists of 5 chanllenges that combine curricular contents, maths, logic...Here below the description of the challenges and how they are connected.
1. SCALING
challenge 1, correctly solved
Worksheet to guess the code. Be aware about the symbols below the number 1 and letter C
1. SCALING
challenge 1, including the key to link clues (created to use in this blog)
2. VOLTAGE MOTOR PUZZLE
The number combination opens the locker and
inside a pencil case there is a screw (needed for the third challenge), a puzzle
and a piece of paper with instructions
and hints to solve the riddle (maths operation).
When all the pieces of the puzzle are fit together, students have to solve the problem: at which
voltage should each motor work to satisfy the conditions given? When they guess
the voltage they have to solve a simple operation. The result indicates the
book page to which the have to go.
the puzzle (pieces fit by a team)
instructions
riddle to solve
3. WHO AM I? THE HIDDEN MESSAGE
Inside
the book there is a piece of paper. On
one side there is an easy riddle and a measurement problem. They have to measure the
length of a screw using the caliper (some students didn’t realize about the
screw inside the pencil case!). Following the symbols hints and arrows in the
worksheet they get the code to use the decoder wheel. Turning over the piece of paper, there is a message that is decoded using the wheel correctly.
message decoded using the wheel
Note:
the book is closed with adhesive tape in order to avoid discovering what is
inside at the beginning because students are usually excited when teacher says… ready, steady, go…). If they discover what is inside, it really doesn’t matter
because they can do nothing without the previous clues, but it is even more
excited discover each clue according to the plan...!)
4. RED ACETATE
The hidden message says
open the browser and go to https://codemaer.blogspot.com.es/ . The post opens the students mind to use the red acetate that they
found inside the book. In the post they also find the next message One memeber of the team (only one!) go to the gamemaster and say to her...COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE ME THE HINT...? So, the
student comes to me and I give him or her a cardboard tube that contains a
piece paper with a message that has to be revealed using the red acetate. Hidden
between senseless sentences there is one that says TAKE THE ENVELOPE UNDER THE TABLE.
The red message. It can be decode using red acetate
The hidden message. Highlighted is the key sentence (this is a mock example)
5. THE DANCER BLACK SQUARE
The last puzzle leads the team to the
ultimate “prize” to escape. This puzzle consists of 4 grids (see picture). Students have to realize that the trick is rotate the grid until the black square is at the top. This way, if the grids are superimposed, the word POLYESTER appears. Turning the piece of paper over there is a code that associates one number to each letter. Following the instructions, students have to do the operation using the numbers associated to the letters located in the diagonal. The result is 4.
Note: Why POLYESTER? Because textiles is a content studied during this term.
6. THE FINAL DECODER
On the floor there are 4 boxes. The box number 4 contains the winner decoder. At the beginning students don't know what to do with the cylinder and the ribbon full of letters, it seems to be senseless! But when the ribbon is wound round the cylinder...CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE ESCAPED FROM THE ROOM!
If a team fails (get number 1, 2 or 3) the message that appears is YOU HAVE FAILED, YOU HAVE NOT ESCAPED...
Note: Why POLYESTER? Because textiles is a content studied during this term.
The grids
The grids and how to rotate them (picture only used for explanation)
The solution
Letter-number code, diagonal and the operation that leads to the final prize.
6. THE FINAL DECODER
On the floor there are 4 boxes. The box number 4 contains the winner decoder. At the beginning students don't know what to do with the cylinder and the ribbon full of letters, it seems to be senseless! But when the ribbon is wound round the cylinder...CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE ESCAPED FROM THE ROOM!
If a team fails (get number 1, 2 or 3) the message that appears is YOU HAVE FAILED, YOU HAVE NOT ESCAPED...
The 4 boxes. Cylinder decoders inside.
The decoder. CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE ESCAPED FROM THE ROOM!
BIOLOGY ESCAPE ROOM: THE CHALLENGES
This escape room consists of 7 challenges that combine curricular contents, maths, logic...This activity was done in 1st level, in biology. This subject is taught in Spanish.
Here below the description of the challenges and how they are connected (in Spanish, if you would like to have it in English, please don't hesitate to contact us)
Prueba 1 y 2
Prueba 3
Here below the description of the challenges and how they are connected (in Spanish, if you would like to have it in English, please don't hesitate to contact us)
Prueba 1 y 2
Cuando los alumnos abren la caja lo primero que encuentran es un sobre una carta con lo que tienen que hacer con los dos primeros desafíos. El primer desafío es una foto en forma de puzle que tienen que montar. Por la parte de atrás está el segundo desafío que consiste en ordenar cronológicamente los distintos momentos de formación de un fósil. Cuando los ordenan en la parte de abajo hay una tabla de seis números y debajo en blanco para colocar las letras del orden cronológico. De esos seis números hay tres que están sombreados. Si ordenan esos tres números según las letras del alfabeto obtendrán la clave del candado para abrir el estuche que hay en la caja.
(Prueba 1) (Foto que está en forma de puzle y que tienen que montar)
(Prueba 2)
Prueba 3
Dentro del estuche hay un mensaje oculto. Con una rueda de números y letras tendrán que descifrar dicho mensaje. Se les da la clave para colocar bien los números y letras en la rueda. El mensaje oculto son las funciones de las vacuolas y las mitocondrias
(Prueba 3)
Prueba 4
La prueba tres le manda buscar un esqueleto que está colgado en la clase en cuyos pies está la siguiente prueba.
La prueba cuatro es un crucigrama con preguntas de biología y el cual cuando lo resuelven les sale un mensaje de que busquen un sobre debajo de la mesa que contendrá la prueba siguiente
Prueba 5
La prueba cinco es una prueba lógico-espacial en la cual deben colocar unas figuras en el cuadrado de resultados y con ese cuadrado resuelto cambiar las figuras por sus valores numéricos. Cuando lo hayan conseguido tienen que calcular la suma de la diagonal del cuadrado. Con ese resultado buscaran unas cajas que hay por la clase con los números del 1 al 4.
(Prueba 5)
Prueba 6
Las cajas contienen unos tubos con unas cintas que tienen que enrollar y descubrir el mensaje que pone. En las cajas 1, 2 y 3 el mensaje que pone es que la prueba ha terminado y no han conseguido llegar a la última prueba. Solamente los tubos de la caja 4 ponen el mensaje de Ilumínate y vencerás que es la clave para buscar un sobre que hay por la clase colgado con la última prueba.
(Prueba 6)
Prueba 7
Al lado del sobre encontrarán una linterna de luz violeta que al enfocar el sobre aparecerá el mensaje oculto con tinta invisible que pone AURASMA. Los alumnos cogerán el móvil y abrirán la aplicación de AURASMA. Cuando enfoque el sobre con el móvil les aparecerá el siguiente mensaje diciéndoles que han llegado al final y superado el Escape Room
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