Digital Breakouts and Distance Learning

Distance learning has presented us with many new challenges. When it comes to teaching, one of the biggest challenges I have found is a way to provide instruction to my students in a way that will keep them engaged and focused. I know that is always a concern, but when students are working from home it is much more difficult.

So as we transitioned to online learning digital escape rooms seemed like the perfect lesson to assign students. And while of the benefits of an escape or breakout activity is the opportunity for students to work cooperatively together, they are still useful to use during a remote lesson for distance learning. Read below for some tips and ideas on how to do this.

Google Sites Breakouts

Most of my escape rooms are created with Google Sites and include Google Slides and Sheets activities. Students will need to have a Google account and be signed in to their account to use this type of escape activity. If you use Google Classroom then it is very easy to share the link to the distance learning escape challenge with students and have them complete it at home. Students can also complete this type of breakout in more than one sitting. Just tell them to write down the lock code for each individual challenge when they are finished.

Google Forms Breakouts

I have started to convert some of my breakouts to Google Forms. This is because many schools block student access to a site that is outside of their school domain. Students do not need to have a Google account to complete these types of breakouts. All you need to do is send them the link to the form. And you can still push this kind of breakout out through Google Classroom.

One disadvantage of the Google forms version during distance learning is that students should complete the lesson in one sitting. If a student stops in the middle of the activity, they will have to start over from the beginning the next time they work on it.

Virtual Meetings

Having a virtual meeting through Google Meet or Zoom? Distance learning digital escape activities are perfect for this! Assign the lesson to students and work together to solve the challenges. You can provide extra instruction on the specific content of the escape and the technological aspect as well. You can also share your screen with students.

Seeing Student Work during Distance Learning

You will not be able to see student work after they have completed an escape room. But the way the activities are set up, students will not be able to submit the Google form unless they have entered the codes correctly. You can ask students to send you a screenshot once they solved each challenge or of the final congratulations message during a distance learning scenario.