Monday 14 December 2015

BreakoutEDUau Launch at Google Sydney

You are stuck in a room with a number of like minded people. You are told that you have been set a challenge - open this box - there are 5 locks on it. Your instructions are:

"There are clues around this room that link to the locks that are on this box. You have 45 minutes and whatever resources you have on you to solve the puzzles to open the box. GO!"

Welcome to BreakoutEDUau.

This week I had the fantastic opportunity to experience the BreakoutEDUau launch at Google Headquarters in Sydney. 

I was part of the second launch group with trail blazing Australian Educators showing us the way; Kim Sutton, Chris Betcha and Nick Brierley. I have to say that there is no better way to launch an idea with educators than to get us to participate. Playing this game allowed me to see what this could look like in my classroom or even as a staff training exercise to get us thinking the way we want our students thinking.

This game was focused around the history of communication. The clues included invisible ink, images, codes, hieroglyphs, riddles, knotted strings, QR codes, websites and email addresses. There was so much opportunity to think laterally, work collaboratively and look at a couple of problems in a number of ways. It required persistence, group work, mathematics, history, use of technology and drawing on past knowledge.

This concept was launched in the USA earlier in the year by James Sanders- founder of @BreakoutEdu. On his website James states that:


Photo by @kehall16
"Breakout EDU creates ultra-engaging learning games for people of all ages. Games (Breakouts) teach teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and troubleshooting by presenting participants with challenges that ignite their natural drive to problem-solve."

From what I experienced this week BreakoutEDUau stays true to the experience that the founder had in mind. This educational concept was born from James Sanders playing the games in "Breakout Rooms" and from there he prototyped and developed the breakout box. If you are like me and like to meet the developer, James Sanders, and hear him explain the game and process of development then watch this interview.

The great part of this game is that you can use it as you buy it or you can make it totally your own. The BreakoutEDU community is growing and organically sharing ideas and clues, as well as whole games. This community will continue to grow as more educators get on board. 


Remember that it should always be about the thinking and learning!
This is perfect!

If you are looking for something new to truly incorporate the 21st Century Skills and those soft skills that our students will need in the real world then take a look at - 


BreakoutEDUau

2 comments:

  1. This is great! Thanks for putting this together Jason! You should consider writing a post sometime for the Breakout EDU Blog!

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  2. Sounds like lots of fun! Check out our new educational game, The Voyage: https://anmm.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/the-voyage-game-launches-today/

    ReplyDelete