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ryan_corris
in
This will be a true escape the room experience housed within a Canvas course. What happens if you don't escape in time? No big deal! You will have access to the course after the session and can escape whenever you want.
| The course for this session will be housed within resources.instructure.com. If you do not have an account for this instance of Canvas, you can save time by creating an account before this session. (Make sure to remember your password!) |
What will you experience when you attend?
- An interactive course where you can explore some features in Canvas and participate to learn a little bit about the Canvas Community at the same time.
- Modules with required items and prerequisites.
- Mastery Paths with a twist.
- The integration of BADGR (yep, spelled correctly
) to award digital badges for completing modules.
Benefits of escaping:
- You'll have the most fun you've ever had while using Canvas (Disclaimer: While there is no evidence to back this up, you should still have a good time.)
- Experience ways Canvas features are used to help facilitate learning.
- You will be awarded with digital photo props you can use to share your escape on social media using #Instcon.
- You will be awarded several digital badges for completing modules through the challenge.
Your choice regarding ways to participate in the escape:
However you decide to participate is entirely up to you. No matter what, you should be able to experience features within Canvas while also learning about the Canvas community.
- Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner scenario: Rush through and experience the features in Canvas to claim victory and share your escape. (Disclaimer: There will actually be no chicken dinner unless you take yourself out afterwards.)
- Valedictorian scenario: Take your time and really explore the content of the course and delve into the learning. This way may take a little longer with escape taking place after the session is over, but can still result in a successful escape.
- Hybrid scenario: This is a combination of the Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner and Valedictorian scenarios. This does not have to be a 50/50 split. You can decide what blend you want to your mixture. If you are more competitive, you may lean towards the Winner scenario. If not, you may gain a deeper understanding of the Canvas Community.
Itinerary for this session:
- Brief introduction to session details (5-10 min)
- You attempt to escape (20-25 min)
- Q&A...or continue to try to escape if you are that into it (10 min)
Participant needs
- Your own device (while the course works in a mobile browser, I find it more enjoyable on my laptop)
- Paper and pencil to keep track of clues and notes for yourself
- Willingness to participate and ask questions
Once session is over:
- Course should be open so you can complete it and escape, review it, share it with others.
- If all goes as planned, I will be sharing a copy of the escape course to the Commons. This way you can import it into your own course and explore how things are set up from a teacher perspective. (You will have to integrate the BADGR LTI into your course prior to using the badges and you may need to create your own badges.)
GideonWilliams
in
There are many articles in the Community that demonstrate how to create a digital Escape Room or Treasure Hunt or Scavenger Trail using a Canvas Module and the Requirements feature.
When I create my Treasure Hunts or Escape Rooms, I usually use Canvas pages and embed a puzzle feature on to the page from a (usually free) Web 2 tool.
My current "go to" tools are as follows:
Lockee https://en.lockee.fr/
A digital lock site with over 15 different types of locks including Musical, Switches, Patterns and Geotagged. You need to create an account first. On each lock, you can add some feedback when the lock is opened. This can be text, images, sound, video and links which are great for revealing a code to open a room or a clue to go to the next task.
LearningApps LearningApps - interactive and multimedia learning blocks
Another free site with over 20 different quiz types including grouping, number lines, matching, ordering and pairs. each activity uses the same template so very easy to pick up. What I like about Learning Apps is there is no score at the end which makes the activity great for starters or group tasks. The Embed code appear on every template and when you embed on a Canvas page, you can further increase the size of the viewing. On each quiz game, you can write some text feedback which is great for revealing a code to open a room or a clue to go to the next task.
Puzzel.org https://puzzel.org/
This site not free but a year subscription is only $30. The site has over 20 games including crosswords, word searches, cryptograms, Wordle and Sliding shapes. What I really like about the games is they are very easy to set up and there are lots of enhancement features. You also get a separate feedback screen which is great for revealing a code to open a room or a clue to go to the next task.
Puzzle Me on https://amuselabs.com/
I recently discovered this site. You need to create an account to store your quizzes. On the site you can make Wordsearches, crosswords, word flowers (how many words you can come up with), jigsaws and Code words among others. I have only made one quiz on it which is a wordsearch but I really liked the options you were given eg provide picture clues instead of words:
Embedding is straightforward and one embedded, you can update the quiz (in my case - make corrections) at any time and the changes are kept. The quiz also has a separate feedback pop up box which is great for revealing a code to open a room or a clue to go to the next task.
La Digitale La Digitale - Open services for education
This was shared with me on social media. It is a French site but you can choose an EN option. Lots of free resources including the ability to download H5P to make quizzes offline. I have been playing with the digital locks. There are a lot more features that Lockee including ordering, matching, word search and the embedding element is very impressive indeed. The quiz also has a separate feedback pop up box which is great for revealing a code to open a room or a clue to go to the next task.
Have a look at Marie Allirot's wonderful post on genially explaining the different types of locks - Locks La Digitale (genial.ly)
In my last Escape game, I included a Canvas New Quizzes as part of the activity. I knew that you can password protect the quiz in Settings and this would make a great feature to unlock a room:
Students have to enter the password to start the quiz eg
What I didn't realise, was that when the quiz opens, in addition to the password box, you can see the title page with instructions!
I took a digital lock that I made on Las Digitale and then copied the <iframe> embed code into the introduction and wow! You can play and solve the puzzle embedded on the title page and then enter the password in the pop-up to open the quiz!
This certainly adds another dimension and feature when making Treasure Hunt/Escape Room style games.
So a few thoughts about gamification. If anyone has any other free tools they use to embed content on pages, I would love to hear about them. Post a comment below and get in touch...
GideonWilliams
in
I was recently asked by a Maths teacher if I could help with some ideas for a Treasure Hunt style game on Canvas. The teacher had read the previous post on Canvas (Scavenger Hunts in Canvas - My Light Bulb Moment! - Instructure Community - 601989 (canvaslms.com)) and was keen to use this sort of idea.
The teacher has some pdf worksheets and wondered how they could be incorporated into the game as a clue.
My suggestion was to insert the pdf worksheet into the Canvas page using the Insert > Document feature and upload the worksheet:
When the document is uploaded, you can click on it and choose Link Options:
On the right-hand side of the page, you get the Link Options pop-up menu where you can select Preview Inline and Expand Preview by Default:
What this does to the document is sort of 'embed' it so it appears on the page:
So how do you include a worksheet as a clue as part of a Treasure Hunt and more importantly make sure students do all the questions?
We used the Lockee digital lock tool - https://en.lockee.fr/ and set a password of 25168 with a link to go to the next page.
Why 25168?
Its in the instructions...!
Although being a bit sneaky, and in theme with a Treasure Hunt, I changed the font colour of key information to white so it did not show up!
Anyone have other creative ways for using worksheets in Canvas? Do get in touch....
scottdennis
in
Attendees will experience an interactive escape-the-room session, immersing participants in a gamified Canvas course. The topics of learning include participating in the Canvas Community, showcasing the use of modules, MasteryPaths, and awarding some carnival-themed badges (Badgr). Explanation of how course was put together will be included.
mjennings
in
TL;DR
Live, interactive demo of an escape the room course.
Session Notes
Escape the Room: Canvas Carnival
heidiadams | Digital Learning Specialist | Lakota Local Schools
@ryan_corris |Digital Learning Specialist | Lakota Local Schools
LET'S ESCAPE!
After playing in the course for a while, I can attest that this is a cool concept and I look forward to further exploration soon.
*All of the content here is from my live session notes or straight from my memory. This means that I may miss something or be mistaken in my content. Please feel free to add to, put in context, or correct any mistakes by using the comments below.
GENIALLY
in
Links
About
Genially is a content creation tool that teachers and instructional designers around the world use to create interactive presentations and learning resources. There are hundreds of templates available and educators are able to create stunning presentations, courses, infographics, escape rooms, quizzes, interactive images and more! No programming or design skills required.
We aim to change the way we communicate, from static boring content, to memorable communication experiences. Use Genially to create better learning materials for both, distance learning and the in-person class. Add layers of interactivity and animations to engage your students like never before. Genially also allows you to integrate other applications within your presentation: have your students watch a Youtube video, or visit Google Maps without leaving the slide. There's also a collaborative mode that allows you to work as a team. Changes are saved automatically in real time.
If you have older materials, you can still use Genially. Import your Power Points and make them interactive!
With 11 million users around the world, Genially continues to change the way we teach, learn and communicate. Genially was recently recognized as the most promising Edtech Startup during BETT 2020 (GESA Awards) in London, and EnlightED Awards 2020 (most scalable Startup).
Need inspiration? Visit our inspiration section and see what others are creating.
Need help? Visit the Genially Academy ( https://academy.genial.ly/) and take courses for FREE. Learn how to use the tool while you sharpen your general design and teaching skills.
Privacy
Integration Instructions
Canvas + Genially Article: https://blog.genial.ly/en/the-growth-mindset-and-blended-learning/
Genially Integrations Info: https://blog.genial.ly/en/integration-a-tool/
tutoom
in
Links
| Website: tutoom.com | Documentation: tutoom.com/help | |
| HQ: Lima, Perú | Sales Contact: hello@tutoom.com |    |
About
Tutoom is a digital classroom with all tools you need to make virtual classes:
- Videoconference: Share audio and video, and control the participant devices easily for seamless communication.
- Whiteboard: Make annotations in your presentations with different drawing and text tools.
- Library: Share documents and online videos (YouTube & Vimeo) with your participants and let them download them if needed.
- Shared Notes: Quickly share notes with the whole class.
- Polls: Make simple quizzes or just quick vows during the presentation, everyone can participate.
- Breakout rooms: Easily group your participants in rooms for brainstorming and group work.
A commercial subscription is required to access all features. Get 7 days free (no credit card required) https://myaccount.tutoom.com/register
Check our subscription plans: https://tutoom.com/pricing
GideonWilliams
in
My Light Bulb Moment
I am often very guilty of spending far too long looking for additional software tools to work with Canvas because "there is nothing on Canvas that does what I want to do". Writing this blog post is to share with you two points:
- The tool that you want very rarely exists!
- You can easily forget that a simpler solution might be staring you in your face!
I create a few Escape Room like games in Canvas.. In most cases, I want other rooms to open only when students have solved the challenge in the previous one.
Canvas has only one feature that you can apply a password to and that is the Quiz. I use this a lot, but I don't always want to have every room or task in that format.
What I really want is to use Canvas Pages for different rooms as they offer so much flexibility by way of adding multimedia elements and embedding a range of external tools via iframes (see previous posts on Web2 tools). The problem is that Canva pages cannot be password protected.
BUT THEY CAN BE HIDDEN!!
(And that was my Eureka/ light bulb moment)
If they can be hidden, then they can be accessed if you provide the student with a link...
With this new knowledge learned let me tell you how I created a Periodic Table Elements Scavenger Hunt using Canvas Pages, Online locks from https://ladigitale.dev/ QR codes from https://app.qr-code-generator.com/ and quizzes from H5P.com
Game Idea
I want students to reinforce their understanding of the first 20 chemical elements by playing a Scavenger Hunt. I want a board of different puzzles that give clues to the location of a QR code. Scanning the QR code tells the student what element they have found, some details about it, and a combination to open a Canvas page. On the Canvas page will be a quiz that they carry out. If they get full marks then they receive part of a message. There will be 9 different locations so 9 elements in total. Putting together the message in the right order will give them the combination to Mendeleev's Safe and the winning prize.
Creating the Canvas Pages
The first thing I did was hide Pages from the students in the Navigation menu:
I then created blank pages for each Element in Canvas. This is where I would add in the H5P Quiz later on::
The Element Cards
The element cards would open when you scan the QR code. I know that Bitly's QR code generator lets you link PDFs to QR codes. I created the Element Car in Word and saved as a PDF. The card contains information about the element and the important combination to open the lock:
QR Codes
I then created a series of QR codes in Bitly's Code generator. This offers you a time limited (12 days) opportunity to create and save QR codes linked to PDF, images, text URLs etc:
Creating the Digital Lock
I chose to use La Digitale's free online digital locks - Digilock by La Digitale The reason is they offer an embed feature and have a range of different types.
I chose the 3 x 3 Points grid option where students had to join up points to make a shape. In the PDF I told them what shape to make and added this to the lock:
Adding the Puzzle
At the top of the lock, I wrote the puzzle for the location in the school where they would find the QR code:
At the bottom of the lock, I wrote the message that would appear when they successfully opened the lock AND a link to the all important Canvas page:
When you save the lock it looks like this:
When you enter the correct code, it displays the link to the Canvas page as a named button with familiar confetti!
Creating the Scavenger Map
I made 9 locks in total. La Digitale allows you to embed them using iFrames. I created a 3 x 3 invisible table on a Canvas page and embedded each one ( I also added a background colour to the page to make the locks stand out:
<div style="background-color: #fe9900; padding: 15px;">
Unfortunately, you cannot expand the iframe so perhaps they might have been a little cramped for room:
Although I didn't this time, but often do, you can make the embedded iframe stand out by adding this line of html code inside the <iframe>
style="border: 1px solid black;"
Creating the Quizzes
I wanted some quick and simple text based quizzes to use and this time went to H5p (Curriki Studio have similar). I could have used LearningApps too.
I created the quiz in H5P and altered various options like removing the Show Solution option. I also added in a comment to appear when they got 100%:
I grabbed the embed code and embedded them into the blank Canvas pages I created:
At the bottom, I added the all important link to take you back to the Scavenger main page:
I repeated this nine times for each of the quizzes.
Mendeleev's Safe
By this time all my creative thoughts had left me, so this was just another La Digital safe with some instructions on what to put in:
If students got the correct code - they got a message and a 30s musical skip of Queen's We are the Champions!
A Tiny Reflection
So there is the Scavenger Hunt. Took me about 6 hours in total (for a 1 hour lesson) but learned lots along the way and most importantly found a great and simple way to create and lock Canvas Page!
Like all my escape style games they are a mixture of online and real life. I like challenging students to think out of the box and also to work together to solve problems in teams.
As ever, if you have ideas about this or things you have done similar then would love to hear bout them....
GideonWilliams
in
The Idea
I am teaching Gravitational Fields to Year 12 Physics. It is our last double lesson of the year, we've finished the topic and I wanted to make a treasure hunt with them as a fun way of reviewing the topic. One aspect of Gravitation Fields topic that is challenging (for everyone concerned) is the idea that Gravitational Potential Energy in space is negative and the biggest amount of potential energy you can have, is at infinity where the energy = 0. This sort of flips common sense on its head. Anyway, that made me think about flipping the Treasure Hunt quiz idea I have used in previous lessons.
Making the Standard Treasure Hunt
You are welcome to have a look through previous blogs to see how I do this. Put simply, I tend to give students a clue which will lead them to a location in school that has a QR code. Scanning this will usually give them an item to collect and a password to unlock a Canvas Quiz with one or two questions. Students have to score 100% and in their feedback, they will get a clue to another location which has a QR code linked to another quiz and so on. I usually have between 8 and 10 clues and quizzes and have different groups starting at different points. I often use the free QR code website - me-qr.com as it includes a range of different items you can make as QR codes:
Flipping the Idea
My flipped Treasure Hunt was made up as follows
- 9 Quizzes, each with 1 multiple choice quiz question (I took mine from the Item bank I had already set up)
- Quiz settings to allow multiple attempts and feedback but NO indication of a correct/wrong answer (see below)
- Adding a short delay to 'penalise' students with repeated wrong answers and perhaps to stop them just guessing and gaming the system
- Each correct answer would give the location of a QR code that when scanned would give part of a further puzzle
- Each wrong answer would also give the location of a QR code but when you scanned it, you were told the answer was wrong
Quiz Settings used
Top Tip!!!
Save time by getting all the settings sorted as you need them and then duplicating the quiz for each event.
Each question was a Physics question that I already had saved in Item Banks eg
After a group submits an answer, they get a cryptic clue to the location of the QR code eg:
The feedback is different depending on the answer you give eg:
When students scan the QR code, they will get one of two answers depending on whether their multiple-choice guess was correct or wrong
Wrong Answer:
Right Answer:
Students had to make sure they kept the correct answers from the QR code as they needed to solve a further puzzle. In this case, the puzzle contained different parts of a formula that made up Kepler's 3rd Law eg T, G, M, 2, 3, 4, π etc.
Students could do the questions in any order, so (by luck) some may have got better parts of the puzzle than other eg a letter rather than a number.
Setting up the Treasure Hunt (After it finished!)
This next section I have added in. I did not do this on the day, mainly because I had the original idea a couple of hours before the lesson. If I were to do it again then I would include all of the following:
I want students to make sure they attempt all the questions rather than make an inspired guess after 3 attempts. To ensure they do this, I would put the quiz questions in a separate module and added a Requirement feature for Module completion. I would also did not set an order, so students could do questions in any order they wanted.
For the Quiz, I just used Score at least and then set it to 0/1, which meant they could get the answer wrong, and it would not stop them from trying to solve the puzzle at the end.
Adding the Puzzle
Rather than get the students to tell me the answer to the puzzle at the end of the lesson, I would create a final Puzzle link in a separate Module probably using the amazing Lockee online digital locks. I would choose a simple Password lock and make sure students did not need to worry about case or spaces or punctuation. I would also add in the page some guidelines for solving the problem:
Confetti falls if they crack the code and some suitable music plays too:
I would embed the lock on to a Canvas Page. I would then place the page in a new module and set the Prerequisite for this to open when students had attempted (successfully or otherwise) all of the previous questions:
Simple Canvas page with instructions and embedded Lockee clue
How the Modules look:
And that is that. Without some of the final section, the students still enjoyed it the activity and worked in groups or 2 or 3. They also rather liked the flip idea too. I am sure with the extra features described above it will enhance the experience.
Give it a go and let me know how things went in the comments....
