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Thing 46: Breakout EDU – Library Learning

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Thing 46: Breakout EDU – Library Learning

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I thought it was very sticking in the article that the librarian made a connection with math teachers as a result to using Breakout EDU. I've had the opportunity to experience Breakout EDU. I played at a conference day. I will say it was a fun experience working with my co-workers.

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Thing 46: BreakoutEDU | Erin Frawley Blogs

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Thing 46: BreakoutEDU | Erin Frawley Blogs

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How have I not heard about this? This looks awesome! My head was swirling with possible ideas! First, I can see where the cost might be a little off-putting, especially working in a district where there aren't a lot of funds. Also, my department is small and most of us work 1:1 with students.

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I first saw a Breakout game demonstrated at a library council meeting, and I thought it was fantastic. Since then, I've purchased a few Breakout kits and hooked many of my math and science teachers into using the kits in their classrooms as well as conduct Breakout sessions in the library.

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I love solving puzzles!
I had a chance to participate in 2 different demos of Breakout Edu last year but other than seeing the problems in a large group setting on the first one and totally enjoying the second experience, I didn't have a chance to go much further than talking about how I would love to do one on my own.

This year the school district offered a kit to borrow so I became more serious, but I decided that rather than waiting to borrow one, I could probably put together one on my own. I did this piecemeal and now I have a complete kit and more (several boxes - several locks etc.)

I then went on to the website and picked a few games to check out. I downloaded the info and read through the directions but again due to lack of time and some questions about the actual pieces involved I didn't get much further.

Thanks to your inclusion of this topic in the Cool Tools listing, I decided that now was the time I would fully investigate the process and create a game!

The initial ones that I looked were a little complicated (both in solving level and number of pieces to put together) so I went back on the site and found one that looked doable.

It was based on the story - If you take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff. I printed off the directions, watched a video setup explanation, printed off the clues and thought I was all set. The one piece that I had a problem with was a creation of a digital lock - it was part of the directions but I soon found out that the app to do that was something that required paid access through the platform at breakout edu. I had tried out the links that you provided in the cool tools write up and I even used them with my students separately from the breakout kit. The students had fun solving these on the smartboard and opening the "digital" locks.

I decided to bite the bullet and purchase access to the platform that included all of the subject packs, access to digital locks, and access to the ability to create a digital lock.

Then we put together the whole "Mouse" breakout edu and are ready to test it on students.

Once we have accomplished that, I will try out some of the other ones I printed earlier that were a little more complicated.

I also have some ideas for digital locks that are separate from the breakout edu game.

As always, games and learning are a great combination (get it?!)

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I love solving puzzles! I had a chance to participate in 2 different demos of Breakout Edu last year but other than seeing the problems in a large group setting on the first one and totally enjoying the second experience, I didn't have a chance to go much further than talking about how I would love to do one on my own.

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Sorry for the delay in getting started! There have been a tremendous amount of changes in my career this year and I'm not as on top of things as I would like.... anyway, I'm excited to be a part of this course again and to see so many new and interesting topics. For my first one I selected the BreakoutEDU thing because I have been very interested in this activity this year. I participated in my first "Breakout" in September at our first SLS joint Communication Coordinators and Council meeting with Molly Clark. She had us participate in an actual breakout as well as a digital one. I remember thinking this was fun but how would I use this in my new building. I then participated in another one at our conference in the fall and again enjoyed doing this but was beginning to see where I might be able to use this. I enjoyed the activity but I actually enjoyed observing the way the groups worked together more- I found that at our conference some didn't want to "share" the materials with people they didn't know - this was extremely interesting since we expect kids to just do this without any discussion of how to do it. It was also interesting the way the group approached the puzzles and who eventually was able to solve the clues for the combinations.

In addition to learning about these through the library world, my district has included this in our PD offerings which I have not had the opportunity to try yet. It was great to be able to talk to other teachers in my building about this new tool and about how we could use them in our classrooms. This year I am in a new building and I'm very fortunate to be working with some great teachers on extension activities in all grade levels.

As I began this lesson, I read through the information provided and visited the BreakoutEDU site to learn more about ways to create these for my elementary classes. I had already set up the free account for myself - our school now has purchased 2 boxes through this website so I do have access to their platform as well. In the free account I was amazed by what is offered - there are even library games and forms to use to help plan your own! I was unaware of the Facebook pages that are available for more ideas so I signed up for all that were recommended in the lesson. I will continue to explore these as I develop lessons using the breakout kits.

I liked how there were links to some breakouts that have already been created. For my first one I looked at the Totally Radical 80's Time Travel Adventure to see what they had included since I'm a 80's child. I thought it was really challenging and fun the way they developed their clues - this is not one I could do in my elementary classes but it did provide some ideas for less intense activities. I also tried the Elf Panic one and found it to be fun but difficult in some areas. I struggled with the 4 letter clue one because all that came up on the screen was a partial alphabet with no clues available. I have to admit that I looked up the answer because I was getting really frustrated. In my experience so far I have found the digital ones to be harder for me than the boxes for whatever reason.

As I mentioned earlier, I am working with a great group of teachers that want to collaborate on many projects. I began the year working only with 3rd grade - I pull 6 to 9 students to work on an extension activity based on the domain they were working on for half an hour each day- our first group did an author study on Kenneth Graham and Roald Dahl. The topic of study for my second group was the Human Body - I immediately thought the BreakoutEDU kit would be perfect for this - the kids would be able to create questions that support what they are learning in the classroom! I explained what a breakout was and showed them some examples from the ones I participated in and they were hooked! We also created a bingo game and a lung activity so that the kids would rotate between three centers.

I helped the students develop their tasks/clues but I found that some were more interested in the locks themselves! For our first lock the kids and I came up with a paragraph that had bold text words - they then had to go to the chart to find the words and the number it corresponded to - this was our 4 digit number lock. Next we had a directional lock that they had to use the pictures to find what direction the lock had to be. Our third clue was for the key - the kids had a question that needed to be answered and then the students had to find the key under the correct cup. If they lost they had to answer another question to get the key. Their 4th lock was a word scramble and the last lock was a question for the 3 digit number lock.

From this experience I learned/observed many things - the boys in my group that designed the game wanted to have control of the locks. Also, the kids that developed this wanted to do the activity for the other students rather than watch and give clues as needed. For the students that were trying to solve this - the first group each of the three days we did this were unsuccessful in opening the box in the time given. The groups that worked together were more successful - again there were some in each group that tried to be the leader and would not share responsibilities or listen to the "quiet" ones. Many times these "leaders" were incorrect in what they were trying to do even after the student in charge told them they were doing it wrong. The students that typically do not participate in answering questions out loud were very good at solving the clues but were often too timid to speak up because they are used to not be listened to by their peers. I also found that the directional lock was the one students struggled with the most which I had thought was the easiest. I also observed that the kids did not want to write down possible combinations as they tried them so that they didn't repeat mistakes.

It was very interesting to discuss my observations with the 3rd grade teachers as well, we were not surprised by the results but it did open my eyes on the different ways people learn or approach problems. The students that excelled at this were often the ones that do not do as well on standard question/answer activities. I hope to be able to use this more in the future to give these types of learners more time to shine! In fact, I'll be working with a new group of 3rd graders after break on their astronomy unit. I hand picked three from one class that I observed excelling in the first breakout and they want to create another one for the class. I did poll the classes to find out what they liked the best and the majority of them loved the breakout - regardless of whether they were able to open all of the boxes in the time allotted.

Two of my 5th grade teachers have also expressed an interest on using the BreakoutEDU kits with their classes. One of them had her class do the turkey one at Thanksgiving without using the kits. She set up her room with the clues and the kids had to write down the combinations and show her - she would tell them if they were correct so they could move on. She noted the same things I had with the third graders about group work, sharing responsibility, etc. Her class was not successful in saving the turkey in their time allotted but it did provide for some really good discussion about how they could have changed their approach. Another 5th grade teacher was going to have her class do a digital breakout and was asking for some feedback from the other ones I had done. I have not had an opportunity to chat with her to see how the class did.
I'm excited to learn more about these and to continue using them with the classes. I do have to try and develop some that would work with my younger students but that may have to be a summer activity. My limited knowledge of this in the beginning of the year was great in opening up discussions with the teachers - some had never heard of it prior to our PD or my talking about it. I think it's a great way to tap in to different learning strategies and a way to help build the confidence of those learners that like to think outside the box. Thank you for providing me more resources to continue learning about this and for allowing me to share them with my colleagues.

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Sorry for the delay in getting started! There have been a tremendous amount of changes in my career this year and I'm not as on top of things as I would like.... anyway, I'm excited to be a part of this course again and to see so many new and interesting topics.

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Cool Tools for School : Thing 46: Breakout EDU

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Cool Tools for School : Thing 46: Breakout EDU

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Thing 46: Breakout EDU

I was exited to see that Breakout EDU was included in the list of things to explore this year! I love the idea of using Breakout EDU in the library. I think it is a great way to promote collaboration, not just with colleagues but also among students as they work together to problem solve. School Library Journal has an about the use of Breakout EDU in the library, Breakout EDU "can be used to introduce a new lesson or concept, to reinforce and strengthen learning, or at the end of a unit to bring closure to a lesson and reinforce skills and concepts learned, all in a fun new way." I agree that Breakout EDU provides opportunities to engage students learning in a new entertaining way. The way students learn is continually changing and it's important to offer new learning opportunities that engage students.

The article also mentions that "facilitating inquiry, problem solving, and collaboration, the Breakout EDU kit is a tool that can add an exciting component to our libraries and classrooms with minimal setup and a strong positive outcome for our students." Breakout EDU allows students to explore, investigate and work together as they are learning. Gone are the days of sitting in rows in the classroom copying verbatim the teacher's notes on the overhead projector. Learning and inquiry has become much more active allowing the student to become an active participant.

I am hoping to be able to secure a Breakout EDU kit in the future for my library. I believe it would encourage collaboration with teachers as lessons could be created that included curriculum connections. In the meantime I have tried some of the digital games available on Breakout EDU, below is a screenshot of an art perspective lesson I tried. I do have to admit that I did struggle with a few of them, but I imagine my students would be much better than me at solving them!

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I was exited to see that Breakout EDU was included in the list of things to explore this year! I love the idea of using Breakout EDU in the library. I think it is a great way to promote collaboration, not just with colleagues but also among students as they work together to problem solve.

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The first time I heard about Breakout was at a School Library Systems meeting. We participated in a digital breakout and it was a bit frustrating as I had never seen one before and really didn't understand the whole process. I spent more time watching others and trying to figure it all out.

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Thing 46: Breakout EDU

I'm so excited to have an option to explore Breakout EDU more completely. I actually first became interested in Breakout a year and a half ago. It was one of the first things that caught my eye as something that looked interesting when I first became a teacher librarian. I joined the Facebook group and "stalked" people on there and my interest grew. Last school year I wanted to go to a workshop to learn about it, but it conflicted with something else so I was not able to. In December of this school year, I was able to go to a day long workshop and experienced three different breakout games. One was my first experience with a digital breakout. We also learned about setting and resetting locks at the workshop which I think was so valuable.

Through that workshop I received one breakout kit, and my principal approved the purchase of another. Later in December I asked if I could share a couple of breakouts with the faculty at the end of January Superintendent's Conference Day. The principal agreed that it would be fun and gave me the go ahead to set up three sessions for that day. I was very nervous about finding games that would be interesting for staff, and would also promote their interest in using them with their students. While I was looking into that, I had a day where two unexpected classes came to the library with nothing to do. I put the Frosty digital breakout up on the screen and the students had a great time playing it. I also used the game with a self-contained special education class and they loved it!

For the Superintendent's Day I ended up using the games "What's the Matter?" and "Shakespeare: Lost in Time." I sent out a form for staff to sign up and was pleasantly surprised (the principal did not require anyone to attend) to have 35 people participate in a total of six breakouts. A couple people enjoyed one breakout so much they came back for another! Due to that day, I have had six teachers talk with me about completing breakouts with their classes. As Amy Carpenter mentioned, math teachers are not always the easiest to find things to do with and I have a math teacher interested in trying a calculus game. This coming week I'll be using a Spanish game with a senior class. I've also been looking into the "Confucius Says" game to use with social studies classes. The teacher chose the game and it is looking very cumbersome and difficult right now. I'll be studying it more to see if it will be doable.

The Spanish breakout went really well. Students were a bit hesitant at first, but once they got into it they had fun and a couple who saw me later in the day asked to do more. The teacher has decided to repeat the game with her 9th grade class. I made the suggestion that a couple of her seniors help to facilitate. We'll be splitting the class in half with one group in the classroom with her, and the other group in the library with me. Having the seniors will be a great help to me as I cannot read the clues so can't give hints if the students need them!

Since beginning this post, I saw Amy Carpenter at a Communication Coordinator's meeting. I asked about a game that she mentioned last year involving money and pizza. I've been working on money with a special education class, and am looking forward to borrowing the materials from Amy to try that game with them later this year.

I'm going to share the link to the subject centered breakout groups with all of our teachers. I couldn't handle joining all of the separate groups as it would take too much time to keep up with them all. However if interested teachers joined the group applicable to them, they can share/ask me about things they find. It might be a great way for all of us to learn more about the subject specific information.

I have a question about the part of the breakout info posted below. How does each group see the clue for the lock that they are to work on if the game is on the main screen?

You may also want to check out a digital game. These can be played individually or as a team. One of our favorite things with digital games is project them onto the screen at the front of the room, then break the class into groups and assign each group a lock. This way each group has a goal, but all are working together to solve the whole game. If a group solves their lock, they put the code into the main computer so everyone can see that it has been solved, then they can move on and try another puzzle.
Amy also mentions not looking at answers for a digital game. I know I've seen it posted somewhere that there is a way to look up the answers, but can't recall where or how. Can someone help with that?
I'm looking forward to continuing use of Breakout EDU. I've suggested to one teacher that she have her students create her own and I'm thinking I might suggest that to our tech teacher also. Thanks for the opportunity to delve more into Breakout. It's so much fun! :)

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Thing 46: Breakout EDU I'm so excited to have an option to explore Breakout EDU more completely. I actually first became interested in Breakout a year and a half ago. It was one of the first things that caught my eye as something that looked interesting when I first became a teacher librarian.

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Thing 46: BreakoutEDU - Ms. Satta's Cool Tools Journal

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Thing 46: BreakoutEDU - Ms. Satta's Cool Tools Journal

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At our orientation session at the beginning of the school year, the librarians in the Rochester City School District had the opportunity to experience BreakoutEDU and Google Expeditions. Tackling...