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Digital BreakoutEducational TrendsGood Teaching

Two Winter Digital Breakouts and a Bonus Puzzle

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Here are three wonderfully winter-themed activities that are 100% ready to use. Let’s take a look.

The Winter Breakout

Digital breakouts are my jam. My Winter Breakout has not been released publicly until right now! It is the easiest of the two breakouts in this post. Now you might be asking, how is it easier? 

  1. There are only two sections available for clues.
  2. The locks give an example.
  3. I included only one obvious distractor – the little birds in the trees.
  4. No commas, and the order of a color/number/letter is NOT mixed up. (But then again – insider tip – I never mix up the order of my locks. What you see is what you get: WYSIWYG! For further verification, the order is never in alphabetical order, backward, or any other order you might think of. )

The Snowstorm Stumper

I am so excited to release my newest breakout, The Snowstorm Stumper. This breakout has four locks:

  • Six Color Lock
  • Five Direction Lock
  • Four Number Lock
  • Four Letter Lock

Insider Tips

If you are new to my breakouts or a fanatic of my breakout creations, here are a few handy dandy insider tips. 

  1. I always try to include one or two hidden links for lock answers.
  2. I rarely use links to outside websites because I never know when the link might break or when inappropriate content could pop up. So best just to stay away!
  3. WYSIWYG is always in place. The order in which the clue is displayed on the page is the lock order. I never mix up text or images for an answer. 
  4. Sometimes I use a lock I created myself. It is called a Number Shape Lock. Look for an object you see a whole bunch of in the Google Form, the hidden locks, or even on the page itself. Determine the shape of the object: sphere, square, or perhaps a circle. Look for this object everywhere! Keep count of how many you spot, and this is the number you will use in the lock answer.

Tips for the brand new breaker-outer!

  • If your class has never solved a breakout, I would certainly solve a breakout together as a whole class activity. If that goes well, solve breakouts in small groups or even individually.
  • Model your thought process.
  • Always look at the locks on the Google Form and read through them first. This will give you a heads-up on what you are looking for. For example, if one of the locks is a Four Color Lock – look on the page for a group of four colors. 
  • Write down the combinations you have tried. This way, you won’t keep trying the same answer over and over.

Happy breaking out. Teachers, if you need the answers, please email Peggy at preimers@tcea.org. And if you have an idea for a breakout topic, leave me a comment, and I just might create one for you!

BONUS: Winter Syllacrostic Puzzle

I’m excited to share a syllacrostic puzzle with a winter theme! This is my second syllacrostic since I first tried my hand at this puzzle at Thanksgiving. The response was favorable, so here we go with a winter one! Just in case you are unfamiliar with this type of puzzle, here are the basics. A syllacrostic puzzle has 15 to 20 words to solve. You use the given pool of syllables to help you find the answers. The activity also has the following information as clues for each word:

  1. A related word or phrase
  2. The number of syllables in the word
  3. The number of letters for each word

Enjoy these festive activities with your students, and let me know how things go!

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Digital Breakout

Trick or Treat Digital Breakout

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Just like all my breakouts, I can provide the four lock answers if you email me at preimers@tcea.org. 

What is a digital breakout?

A digital breakout does not require a physical box and locks. Instead, this type of breakout needs a web page on a Google Site. The page contains images, text, and hidden hyperlinks that students can use to solve digital puzzles. A Google Form is used to create the digital locks. In order for a Google Form question to act as a lock, the question needs to have the response validation selected. You can find this option by clicking the Skinny Snowman (three horizontal dots) in the lower right-hand corner of each question. The most common locks are Direction, Color, Number, Word, Letter, and Date. 

Why should your students participate in a digital breakout?

  • Logic
  • Problem-solving
  • Critical thinking
  • Creativity
  • Team building
  • Communications
  • Collaboration

Tips for Making Digital Breakouts Easier for Everyone

A digital breakout can be a little confusing at first because directions are not provided or spelled out specifically. It helps for students to work in pairs (two brains process information differently, which really helps in finding answers). Try working out a digital breakout as a class first to model possible strategies. 

Try the Trick or Treat Digital Breakout

Will your students join the thousands of others who have broken out? Find out now!

ACCESS THE TRICK OR TREAT BREAKOUT

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Digital BreakoutUncategorized

The Boo Breakout

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

What is a digital breakout?

A digital breakout does not require a physical box and locks. Instead, this type of breakout needs a web page on a Google Site. The page contains images, text, and hidden hyperlinks that students can use to solve digital puzzles. A Google Form is used to create the digital locks. In order for a Google Form question to act as a lock, the question needs to have the response validation selected. You can find this option by clicking the Skinny Snowman (three horizontal dots) in the lower right-hand corner of each question. The most common locks are Direction, Color, Number, Word, Letter, and Date. 

Tips for Making Digital Breakouts Easier for Everyone

A digital breakout can be a little confusing at first because directions are not provided or spelled out specifically. It helps for students to work in pairs (two brains process information differently, which really helps in finding answers). Try working out a digital breakout as a class first to model possible strategies. 

The Boo Breakout

Won’t you join over 4000 students and teachers who have solved The Boo Breakout? Just like all of my breakouts, you can email me for the answers at preimers@tcea.org.

ACCESS THE BOO BREAKOUT

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Digital BreakoutSTEM/STEAM

The PB&J Digital Breakout

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Did you know that the average American will have eaten over 2,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school? That’s correct. Over 2,000! With that fun fact, the PB&J digital breakout was born!

Why a digital breakout?

Digital breakouts are an interactive way for students to explore a variety of topics. The process involves using knowledge and reasoning to solve a series of clues that “unlock” digital locks, just as you might with a physical breakout box.

PB&J Digital Breakout

Students will have 30 minutes to solve the PB&J-themed breakout while learning about the greatest sandwich spread created. So give it a go. Can your students break out? Access the PB&J Breakout here.

If you have questions, please reach out to me.

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Valentine
Uncategorized

Sharing Virtual Valentine’s Cards

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

If your students are still learning remotely, it may be a little bit harder for them to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a class. But luckily, we have lots of digital tools available now to make it easier and fun. Here are some ideas from teachers:

Erin Flanagan has a great blog post on digital Valentine ideas. She offers tips for using Google Slides, Wakelet, Padlet, and Flipgrid. Others recommended using Jamboard for this holiday with one page for each student.

Squeaky Altman will have her students go “old school” first. “Instead of sending a card to each person, just make one overall card. Have students use crayons, markers, etc. and make one [Valentine] for the entire class. Then share it in class or via Flipgrid.”

Another teacher recommended the Virtual Valentines Project. “The Virtual Valentines Project is an easy, free project designed to teach students geographical awareness and cultural understanding while connecting classrooms all around the world for Valentine’s Day.” The free project is open to students in grades K-12 and offers two different options for global connections.

valentine

If your students are using Zoom, have them create a Valentine’s Day background. They can use some of Canva’s customizable templates and add their own creativity. (Please note that Canva is free to use, but does require an account.)

Older students might prefer creating a poem or other piece of writing than a card. If so, here are some good Valentine writing prompts:

  • Why do you think we get off school for certain holidays, like Thanksgiving, but not others, like Valentine’s Day? Should Valentine’s Day be a school holiday?
  • Write a twist on the classic poem “Roses are red, violets are blue…”
  • So many Valentine’s Day cards feature puns and wordplay. What’s the funniest Valentine’s Day pun you can think of?
  • Write a Valentine to someone who deserves a little extra love and thanks this year. 
  • Is Valentine’s Day only for romantic love, or is it also a celebration of friendship and family love? Defend your position.
  • Before computers and email, people sent more hand-written cards and letters. Is the fact that we use emails and text more often now a loss or a gain? Why or why not?

Valentine-themed templates for Google Slides and PowerPoint abound. Here are just a few I found:

How will you help your students celebrate the day of love this year?

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breakouts
Web 2.0 Tool

Spooky Breakouts and Games

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Some educators dread Halloween. The consequences of a late night mixed with a sugar crash make for quite a day in the classroom. You just never know what you’re going to walk into that day!

But I know from personal experience, we as educators will make the best of any situation. So dust off the cobwebs, break out the candy corn and let’s get our BOO on with some activities and breakouts for you and your students. Most can be played in your classroom with social distancing or adapted virtually. And teachers, if your own Halloween party is going virtual, many of these will work for family and adult fun.

Digital Breakouts

Tricker or Treat Header with Are you dreaming about your full trick or treat bag with all the goodies? You have 45 minutes, to solve the Trick or Treat Breakout and then you can dive into all your sweets and treats! Ready Set Boo!
Screenshot by author.

Try out my brand-spanking-new Halloween digital breakout, The Trick or Treat Breakout. Don’t forget you can always email me for the digital lock answers or any activity answers at preimers@tcea.org. If you are new to digital breakouts, read the getting-started information on a previous blog.

You almost might want to try out my original Halloween Breakout, The Boo Breakout. Since September 2017, more than 3,600 students and teachers have solved this breakout. 

Would You Rather?

Would You Rather Halloween Header with orange and yellow question marks.
Screenshot by author.

At a TCEA staff meeting, our Executive Director opened with a Would You Rather team building activity. We each had our own WYR statement. We announced our pick and followed up with the reason(s) why for the selection. It was a lot of fun to learn about my colleague’s choices, so I turned this idea into a Halloween-themed event. You can view the slide deck here or get your own copy of the game here.

Halloween Charades

4 Halloween charades cards: candy, fangs, mask, and trick or treat bag.
Screenshot by author.

I can definitely see charades working on a virtual platform. You could even shout things out while pantomiming because your microphone would be muted. I think this might help my acting abilities. My Halloween charades game contains 36 words or phrases to guess, along with a section of Double Trouble words (just in case you need a challenge.)

Make a copy here.

Halloween-Inspired Synonyms Challenge

Halloween Synonyms Google Form.
Screenshot by author.

When teaching writing to my fourth graders, we talked about overused words like “pretty,” “run,” “eat,” and “walk” that can be spiffed up. I still remember pinning word wheels to my classroom ceiling (back in the pre-Google years!) so my students had access to synonyms. But oh what a pain to take them all down for the standardized writing test.

Check out a Halloween Synonyms Challenge to boost your spooky letter combinations (just another way to say “words”). This could easily be incorporated in an upper elementary or middle school language arts class.

Oldies But Goodies – Guessing and Trivia

I wanted to share a couple more activities I played back in the day with my elementary students. The first,  Name That Costume, is where I read out loud a list of clothing articles and props to my class. My students had pen and paper to guess the costumes. Another game we played was a Halloween Trivia Challenge. This has a little bit of a twist to your typical trivia challenge. In my opinion, there is nothing more frustrating than trying to answer trivia questions if you have no clue – very discouraging. Instead, I gave each student a multiple choice answer sheet with four options with the occasional silly answer blended in for some humor. Make a copy here.

Create the Right Ambience

The Novel Effect app is available in the iOS App store or Google Play. The app contains music and sounds for tons of children’s books and poems. According to the email I just received, Novel Effect is announcing, “FAB-BOO-LOUS New Releases) when it comes to the creepy and the crawly literature. Check out their website.

Want to add music to an activity, silent reading or writing time, or while taking on breakouts? Ambient Mixer is the place to get 57,000 free sound track mixes. If you are a Harry Potter fan, here is the mixer list for you. Check out Lori Gracey’s blog  “The Perfect Music to Read By” for more details. 

May you all have a safe and happy Halloween. And as always, if you have questions or need answers, please email me at preimers@tcea.org.

Image by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay

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Featured Image created by author in Google Slides.

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ed tech news
Educational Trends

Ed Tech News Roundup: 5G, Accessibility, and Profitability

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Howdy, folks! Welcome to another in a series of periodic ed tech news roundups. We hope you enjoy this one, and if you have a story you’d like to see included, let us know.

The Next Generation

Wireless providers have been rolling out 5G networks for a few years. This fifth generation of wireless transmission is poised to bring more devices into the world of cellular communication, and with faster speeds. What will that mean for education? A lot.

  • The new cellular technology will expand access to educations, as well as create more immersive learning experiences, according to former teacher and writer Larry Bernstein. [EdTech]
  • Meanwhile, the rollout of 5G networks requires the installation of new cellular towers, a move that has seen pushback around schools and in residential areas across the country, notably in Chicago, South Carolina, and Los Angeles. [CBS Chicago, Post and Courier, Los Angeles Times]

Access Granted

Accessibility is one of the most vital and powerful uses of ed tech. As technology advances, new ways of making learning available to all students are growing along with it.

  • In their look ahead to 2020 trends, EdTech sees continued creativity and utility in tech for accessibility. [EdTech]
  • Among all the spaces being opened by technology, the gaming industry is making a major push to create games that are designed around special-needs learners. [EdWeek Market Brief]

Market Forces

Educational technology has not only become a day-to-day part of life in education, it’s become a big business. Here’s how the ed tech market is growing into a new decade.

  • U.S. ed tech firms closed out the previous decade with a whopping $1.7 billion raised in funding in 2019. [EdSurge]
  • A review of ed tech trends suggests continued growth in the market in the coming years — including the minting of more billionaires in the industry. [Forbes]

…And Finally

Trading Valentines in class is a time-honored tradition, and most people can remember collecting cards from classmates in little construction-paper boxes. A small Illinois museum is currently recreating a 1950’s Valentine’s Day celebration, letting visitors step back into a vintage classroom party.

unsplash-logoPhoto: James Wainscoat
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Digital BreakoutSocial Studies

MLK Jr. Digital Breakout

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Every third Monday in January is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a commemoration of the life of the civil rights leader on the occasion of his birthday. Signed into law in 1983 and first observed in 1986, today it is a federal holiday celebrating the enduring power of the civil rights movement and one of its most prominent voices.

If you are looking for a supplemental activity to add to your exploration of this national celebration, try the MLK Digital Breakout.

Engage Your Students with a Digital Breakout

Digital breakouts are an interactive way for students to explore a variety of topics. The process involves using knowledge and reasoning to solve a series of clues that “unlock” digital locks, just as you might with a physical breakout box.

Screenshot of the digital breakout by author.

With this MLK-themed breakout, students can learn about Dr. King’s family and early life, his influences, and the achievements he gained over the course of his celebrated career. Give it a try yourself. You can find our MLK Breakout here.

If you have questions, please reach out to me.

More MLK Day Resources

Digital Resources for MLK Day

Teaching and Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Fliphunt

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Featured image designed by TCEA.

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Digital BreakoutGood Teaching

Falling for Digital Breakouts

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

The days are cooling down, the leaves are turning beautiful colors, and football season has kicked off. Fall is here, even though the thermometer has hit 98º as I write this. But officially, the calendar does state that fall has arrived. Instead of heading for the goal line or intercepting the football, how about grabbing an apple cider and tackling a digital breakout?

The Game Plan (What is a digital breakout?)

A digital breakout does not require a physical box and locks. Instead, this type of breakout needs a web page on a Google Site. The page contains images, text, and hidden hyperlinks that students can use to solve digital puzzles. A Google Form is used to create the digital locks. In order for a Google Form question to act as a lock, the question needs to have the response validation selected. You can find this option by clicking the Skinny Snowman (three horizontal dots) in the lower right-hand corner of each question. The most common locks are Direction, Color, Number, Word, Letter, and Date. 

Texas State Symbols

Opening Digital Locks

Here is one process for finding the answer for a digital lock. Let’s say you have a Six-Letter Lock on a digital breakout themed around the state of Texas.  Students use the website to find the answer. They might first think that the Six-Letter lock is Austin because there is an image of the capitol building with information about the city. Could the word be Austin? A student would type Austin in the Google Form under that particular lock. If it is not the correct word, students keep looking for more clues that would lead to a different six-letter word. Perusing down farther on the website,  there is a group of state symbols as pictured above. Which word has exactly six letters? Could one of those state symbols be the Six-Letter Lock?

 Do be aware that there are “red herrings” in most digital breakouts that will distract players and could lead them on a wild goose chase.

Tips for Making Digital Breakouts Easier for Everyone

A digital breakout can be a little confusing at first because directions are not provided or spelled out specifically. It helps for students to work in pairs (two brains process information differently, which really helps in finding answers). Try working out a digital breakout as a class first to model possible strategies. Find my easy breakouts here.

Breakouts for Fall

Fall Is Here Breakout

The Boo Breakout

The Gobble Gobble Breakout

The Merry Merry Breakout

Bonus: Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Remember that if you need a hint or two, please email me at preimers@tcea.org. And be sure to check out our other digital breakouts here. Happy Breaking Out!

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Featured image created by TCEA.

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top take aways from TCEA 2019 Convention
Content AreasEducational TrendsGood TeachingGoogle Tips and TricksMicrosoft Tips and Tricks

Top Take-Aways from the TCEA 2019 Convention, Part 2

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

If you weren’t able to be at the TCEA 2019 Convention & Exposition last week, you can still participate in the great learning that happened there. In this blog, I’ll be sharing some more of the fabulous strategies, ideas, and tools that attendees found particularly useful. You can also find more of them in Part 1 of this blog series here.

New Tools to Try

  • Want to create exciting infographics? You can use the TCEA Infographics Made Simple website. Or try this site a session participant shared with me.
  • Learning Ally is a collection of free audio books for students in Texas public schools who have reading disabilities or vision impairment. If teachers have struggling readers, this would be a great place to start to try to engage them in reading.
  • Take a look at the many accessibility tools that Microsoft offers, including Immersive Reader and Learning Tools.
  • Prompts are a great way to hook your students on writing. You can find lots of them here, here, and here.
  • To set a default font in Google Docs, open a new Google Doc and type any text. Then highlight that text. Select Format – Paragraph styles – Update normal text to match. Select Format again – Paragraph styles – Options and save as My default style. (Thanks to Suzette Ross for this tip!)
  • The Novel Effect app uses invisible technology to follow along as you read a book. Music and sounds play while you are reading. Smart voice recognition stays in sync with your reading style, if you skip ahead or read a favorite part again and again.
  • Experience Real History: Alamo Edition – Travel back in time and visit the Alamo with these augmented reality products. Students can engage in historically accurate adventure scenes with Personalized Reality Boards, Reality Books and Trading Reality Cards. Download the IOS and Google Play apps here.
  • If you’re looking for some fun greenscreen projects for Valentine’s Day, you’ll discover some excellent ones here.
  • NewseumED provides free educational programs, primary sources, and standards-aligned (national) resources that focus on history, media literacy, civics, and the First Amendment. Check out the resources that are available in Spanish.
  • Anchor.fm is a powerful and free way to make a podcast and it works well with students. (Thanks to Dr. Roland Rios for this tip.)

I hope that you found these shared resources useful. Consider attending the 2020 Convention & Exposition in Austin next year February 3-7 and gather even more amazing strategies, new ideas, and tech tools yourself!

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