rcps | Teaching with Technology

At the VSTE conference this year, I attended a session where the presenter, Kristine Vester (@kavester) shared her ideas for Hybrid Breakouts. Basically, Hybrid Breakouts were a mix of digital and hands-on Breakout Edu games. Students solved all the clues online, and then once they knew the lock combinations, they used those combinations on a physical box with actual locks. It was appealing to me because it meant you could use less boxes (between groups you could re-lock the box), it allowed for more participation for individual players, and the set-up was a lot easier on me! I still LOVE hands-on Breakout Edu games and will continue to use them, but this idea provided an alternative, especially when there was limited time to make physical game pieces.

I tried it out with two fourth grade Virginia Studies classes. I built a Jamestown Digital Breakout using Breakout Edu’s new platform. There were enough locks in the Digital version that every student on a team would be able to “drive” the computer for a lock.

At the end of the game, the reveal was the lock combinations for the physical box. There were enough locks on this one too that everyone in a group could open at least one lock.

After playing it a few times, I’ve adjusted the clues a bit. I think it’s perfect for students in Grades 4 and 5, which was just what I needed for our Virginia SOLS. All teams were able to Breakout in under 45 minutes, and they had a blast playing!

So, just in case someone else would like to use it, included a link below. For the Hybrid version, you will also need a Breakout Box with a 4 digit lock, 3 digit lock, word lock, direction lock, and key lock (combinations are shown at the end of the game).

Jamestown Breakout Edu – Hybrid (Play Code: 6XW-P1I-WEU)

I went ahead and created a completely digital version of the game too, just in case someone without access to a box would like to play.

Jamestown Breakout Edu-All Digital (Play Code: 8HY-TK7-IUY)