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Back to SchoolGood TeachingSocial-Emotional Learning

“This, Not That” Bellringers

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

BIG news! Edition 4 of my “This, Not That” bellringer puzzles is now released, just in time for back to school. One change for these bellringers is the format from Google’s Jamboard, which is ending soon, to Google Slides or Canva Presentations. I’ve changed all previous bellringer puzzles to those formats as ell.

How Does a “This, Not That” Puzzle Work? 

bellringers

Think of the “This, Not That” bellringers as a mind-challenge puzzle. Each puzzle gives you five statements, and the goal is to figure out a commonality from the five statements. The words after the “but not” part of the statements sometimes help with the solutions. But sometimes, they are just distractions to the thought process. My “This, Not That” puzzles usually follow two lines of solutions: shared features or attributes of the items in the statements or shared features or attributes of the words in the statements. 

Here is the thinking strategy of the shared features of the five items. Let’s look at the first example, Emily:

  1. She likes minutes, not hours. (What is the difference between these two units of time?)
  2. She likes the Seven Dwarves, but not Snow White. (What is a noticeable difference between Snow and a dwarf?)
  3. She likes poems, not novels (How are poems different from a novel?)
  4. She likes power naps, not dusk-to-dawn sleep. (How is a nap different than a night’s sleep?)
  5. She likes skirts, not jeans. (Picture a skirt and jeans in your mind.)

If your reasoning led you to believe she likes things that are short, you nailed this bellringer!

Here is a solution involving commonalities among the words themselves. For example, let’s take look at the second example, Miguel:

  1. He likes juggling at the circus, not the plate spinning.
  2. He likes eggplant, not zucchini.
  3. He doesn’t mind driving in foggy conditions, but not snowstorms.
  4. He likes Reggae music, not Country-Western.
  5. He likes blogging, not writing newsletters.

What do you notice about the words “juggling,” “eggplant,” “foggy,” “Reggae,” and “blogging?” When you are working with your students, remind them to write down the main words to see if any commonalities appear. And the answer is: If your analysis led you to conclude that Miguel likes words containing a double “g,” you hit the bullseye!

This, Not That Edition No. 1

This, Not That Edition No. 2

This, Not That Edition No. 3

This, Not That Edition No. 4

This, Not That Edition No. 1

This, Not That Edition No. 2

This, Not That Edition No. 3

This, Not That Edition No. 4


Sometimes these bellringer puzzles can be a little tricky. So if you do not have time to figure out the answers, email me at preimers@tcea.org, and I’ll send them to you. Please include your school information in the email signature.

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Three children are gathered around a laptop solving a digital breakout. The title "What is a digital breakout?" appears on top of a white lock. Subheading text says, "Do digital breakouts have you puzzled? Learn what they are, how to solve them, and get access to 15+ breakouts."
Digital Breakout

Digital Breakouts 101

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

If you follow TCEA’s TechNotes blog, you’ve probably noticed that I really love creating digital breakouts for teachers across Texas, the United States, and the world. I receive lots of emails requesting the answers, but every once in a while, I receive questions like these:

“I don’t see the part where the students solve the clues. I see the facts and the Google form for submitting answers, but not the clues to solve. What am I missing?”

“Where is the information for the kids to read?”

“I see the Digital Breakout Activity; however, I do not see instructions for where to find the needed codes.“

If you’re new to digital breakouts or find yourself scratching your head about how they’re solved, here are the answers to all your questions! Let’s dive into the ins and outs of digital breakouts. 

Digital Breakout FAQs

What exactly is an educational breakout?

James Sanders and Mark Hammons formed Breakout EDU in the spring of 2015. In a Breakout EDU game, learners solve a series of puzzles to open a locked box. Each game focuses on teaching critical thinking, teamwork, and complex problem-solving. Breakout EDU has evolved into a subscription-priced membership that offers physical kits with tools like invisible ink pens, various locks, and UV flashlights, as well as digital and hybrid game options.

What is a digital breakout?

A digital breakout does not require a physical box and locks. Instead, this type of breakout needs a Google Site page. The page contains images, text, hidden hyperlinks that students can use to solve digital puzzles, and an embedded Google Form for providing the breakout locks. A solver submits the answers on the Google Form to “break out.” There are no explicit directions for a digital breakout; clues are found scattered through the page in text, images, and links. You just have to jump in and start!

Example Google Forms for solving a digital breakout.
Example Google Forms for Submitting Digital Breakout Answers

Where are the questions to solve the locks?

A digital breakout is not set up as a question-and-answer format. Instead, a student or a team of students uses the information (images, text, and hidden hyperlinks) on the page to formulate guesses to answer locks. There can be clues scattered throughout the page such as bolded text, images that are linked, patterns, and more.

What are the most common locks?

  • Direction: The digital breakouts I make use U for up, D for down, L for left, and R for right. Other digital breakouts can contain North, South, East, and West.
  • Color: Use the first initial of each color word. For example, you would use R for red, G for Green, Pink or Purple would share the letter P, and so on.
  • Number: Number locks usually contain 3-8 digits.
  • Word: These can contain 1-3 words and are based on a prominent word seen throughout the page or an answer to a question.
  • Letter: The lock answers are in all CAPS and will have 3-8 letters. Look for a puzzle or text that does not make a word!
  • Date: Refer to the question description to see how the date should be entered: XX/XX or XX/XX/XX or XX/XX/XXXX.
  • Shape: Use the first initial of each shape word: C for circle, R for rectangle, D for diamond, T for triangle, S for square, etc. 
  • Number/Shape This is my own creation of a lock! Look for an object you see a whole bunch of on the page. You will need to expand the Google Form so you can see the form header, and don’t forget the content from the hidden links. Shapes can be spheres, squares, stars, or perhaps circles. Keep count of how many shapes you spot, and this is the number you will use in the lock answer (e.g., 23STAR or 18SPHERE).
Example number/shape lock clue from a digital breakout.
Example Clue for a Number/Shape Lock in a Digital Breakout. Can you solve it?

How do you enter the lock answers?

Examples of correct and incorrect answer messages within a digital breakout Google Form.
Examples of Correct and Incorrect Answers

Students enter their answers into the Google Form embedded on the page. If an incorrect answer is entered, the form will display a message. As soon as the correct answer is entered, the custom error message will disappear. The Google Form cannot be submitted until all locks have been solved. 

The Google Form does not collect email addresses. TCEA is not gathering any personal information when a breakout is being used.

TIP: In tackling a lock, FIRST type in a wrong answer and click on the question field, so it brings up the message. As soon as you input the correct answer the message will disappear.

How do I know my students have solved the breakout?

Examples of messages students receive after solving a digital breakout.

For privacy and security reasons, I am the only one who can access the responses for the breakouts I create. When ALL locks have been solved, the student will be able to submit the form. A confirmation message will be displayed with congratulations and a fun saying. 

Since you do not have access to the backend of the Google Form to see the submissions, have students take a screenshot of the confirmation message, take a picture of themselves with the message, or simply show the confirmation message to you. 

What is a Hall of Fame request? 

Example digital breakout "hall of fame" request.
Example of the optional Hall of Fame Request

This field is not required to be filled out to submit the form. However, your students can either leave this field blank or add their first name only and their state or country. I included this so students can attach their names to their win for solving the breakout. 

Am I the only one who is still puzzled by this whole thing?

Example of a hidden link within a digital breakout.
Example of a Linked Image in a Digital Breakout

A digital breakout can be a little confusing at first because explicit directions are not provided. Here are a couple of things you can do to get started with one in the classroom.

  1. Always read through the list of LOCKS in the embedded Google Form first.
  2. Try working out a digital breakout as a class first to model possible lock-solving strategies. Think out loud with your students. 
  3. It helps for students to work in pairs or small groups. Having two or more brains that process information differently can really help with finding answers. 
  4. Hover over different parts of the page. Hidden links can lead to a hidden puzzle, which could be a maze, a poem, or a message.
  5. First, enter a wrong answer in the lock and as soon as you type the right answer, you can see the custom error message disappear.

Do you have any insider tips for solving your digital breakouts?

  • I always try to include one or two hidden links for lock answers, and the hidden content is likely to be a lock answer. 
  • WYSIWYG is always in place. The order in which the clue is displayed on the page is the lock order. I never mix up or scramble text or images for an answer. 
  • If I think the lock needs another hint, I have been known to add another hint in the error message on the Google Form. 

What age levels are best suited for your digital breakouts?

This is a difficult question to answer. I have had teachers use my breakouts with second graders all the way up to high school. I have even had college professors reach out for the answers. It depends on the reading level of your students and their experience with breakouts. I try to limit the amount of text I use in the content. No one wants to read a 100-200 word paragraph to look for a possible answer. I try to keep factual information to short bursts of text, lists, or labeled images. If in doubt, you can try it out yourelf to test the age-appropriateness of the breakout for your students.

How do you actually go about solving the locks?

My first tip is to have your students look at the locks listed in the Google Form. Then, start looking at the page for clues.

If you need a 4-Color Lock, look at the colors used on the page to see if any stand out. Or maybe there are color words used in sentences. For example, “Bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas. Have you heard the song, The Yellow Rose of Texas? The lone star on the Texas flag is white. The University of Texas logo is a burnt orange longhorn.” Your brain should be looking for some typs of grouping involving four colors. 

If it is a Direction Lock you need to solve, look to see if there is a map or some kind of puzzle that has up, down, left or right embedded in the words. Or do you see arrows of any sort on the page? 

Can you give me an example of the lock solving process?

Sure, here is the process I would use for finding a digital breakout lock answer for this image.

Example of 6 letter lock hints within a digital breakout.

Let’s say I have a 6 Letter Lock on a digital breakout themed around the state of Texas.  

First, I see an image of the capitol building and I read the state capital of Texas is Austin. Austin has 6 letters – so I try that. Not correct. So I read on to find more 6 letter words but I don’t want to try all the 6 letter words I find. So I peruse farther down on the website, and there is a section that is talking about state symbols. There is a group of state symbols pictures. Which word has exactly six letters? Could one of those state symbols be the answer?  Well, “bluebonnet” and “grapefruit” are just too long; so, how about SILVER! Yes, the 6 Letter Lock is solved. 

Is it alright to NOT solve a digital breakout?

I love this question. Yes, failure is acceptable! Of course, the catalyst is to break out, but failure should be celebrated. Life is not always going to be smooth sailing on paved roads. Sometimes you are on a road with a bunch of potholes, and sometimes we need help. The goal here is to collaborate, think, and use logic skills. I can bet some students, after failing the first time, will try even harder the next time. 

Do you include distractors (Red Herrings)?

Usually, I will include at least one distractor in a digital breakout.

Do you have any other thoughts about your breakouts?

I do think your first breakout will be one of the hardest. It’s like picking the right lock in a room full of doors. There isn’t a method to solve the madness just yet. You probably feel like you are just guessing, and you are probably thinking, “This makes no sense. What am I even looking for?” But as you solve more and more breakouts, your technique for solving will get honed and polished. Just like with playing a sport or a musical instrument, you will get better with practice!

Where can I find your digital breakouts?

Here are all the digital breakouts I’ve made:

I’m a teacher, where do I find the answers?

If you are a teacher, email me at preimers@tcea.org, and I will send you the answers to the digital breakout your working on with students. Remembering your professional contact information in your email signature helps speed the process as it tells me right away you are a bonafide educator, but I can usually spot student requests right off the bat. 

Happy breaking out! Peggy

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vimboard
Educational ResearchWeb 2.0 Tool

Use This Puzzle Maker Tool for Retrieval Practice

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Ready to dig into game-based learning? While you’re waiting for a new TCEA Game-Based Learning course, I have a treat for you. This a tool that many educators are relying on in the midst of hybrid teaching and learning. It’s like other quiz show type programs.

Introducing Vimboard

A modern puzzle-making tool, Vimboard (@vimboard1) creates an interactive learning experience by combining puzzle making with a multiple choice question set. As students respond with correct answers, an image appears. Vimboard is free and you can use any of its pre-existing puzzles and content to get started. Here’s one example:

This example game focuses on students responding to physical/chemical change questions. As they respond, they get to see the image shown above. You will explore this in more detail in a moment. Before you do that, let’s revisit the importance of retrieval practice, also known as practice testing.

A Low-Stress Retrieval Practice Activity

Contrary to popular belief, multiple choice questions can enhance learning. Consider the research on their use:

  • Multiple-choice retrieval can be just as effective, or more effective, than short answer retrieval (McDermott et al., 2014).
  • Providing students with feedback decreases or eliminates students’ learning of misinformation (Butler & Roediger, 2008).
  • While they’re are quick to administer and grade, you should take some time to create multiple-choice questions and alternatives carefully for a larger retrieval benefit (Little et al., 2012).
  • Multiple-choice questions enhance learning for related information that wasn’t even on the quiz (Bjork et al., 2014) (source: Retrieval Practice).

Vimboard offers a simple way to quiz students on any topic. Successful answers yield access to a picture. Vimboard will also keep track of how well your students, did, as you can see in the screenshot below.

Vimboard offers an easy-to-use, simple quiz tool. This can be useful for retrieval practice or practice testing, both low-risk assessments that assist students. Some recommendations for using Vimboard for practice testing include:

  • Use quizzes often. This provides students with feedback on whether they are right or wrong in their grasp of concepts and vocabulary. These strategies can lead to deeper understanding, not only memorization of facts.
  • Keep it low stakes. Avoid grading the use of Vimboard. The goal is to spread out assessments over time, as you can see in the figure below.
  • Revisit old content. Don’t be afraid to make quiz questions about content you have already covered. In this way, students are able to better learn and retain content they have been introduced to before.

As you can see in the image below, which represents practice testing (a.k.a. retrieval practice), spreading out short assessments over time can yield great results for long-term retention.

Explore Vimboard Educational Puzzles

The heart of Vimboard is its interactive search for existing educational puzzles. From K-12 through a wide variety of subjects (shown below), you can find many pre-created puzzles to use.

When you view an existing puzzle, you see both the puzzle image and questions. The answer choices to each question appear below each. For example, the questions and answers for the chemical/physical change puzzle are:

You can add any educational puzzle you find to your collection. This makes it possible for you to edit the collection. Or, if you prefer, you can use the share icon to make it available to others online, such as your students or colleagues.

Once shared, students enter their names and work through the questions. A nice feature is that the questions are read aloud to students if they tap on the sound icon beneath the question. You can see a walkthrough of the process below.

Puzzle Game Creation

Want to take a stab at creating your own game? This is a three step process:

  • Introduction: In this step, you provide a title for the game, write a description, and select subject and grade level.
  • Image: In this next area, you provide a picture and decide on the number of tiles that will cover the picture. As students respond to questions correctly, they will remove the tiles that cover the image. Ten tiles means you can have ten questions. You are not required to match one for one (question:tiles). You could provide less questions and Vimboard will remove a portion of the tiles.
  • Quiz: This is where you enter the actual questions and responses. These are in multiple choice format.

How do you imagine you will use Vimboard to support retrieval practice in your classroom?

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author.

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9 piece puzzle with different icons.
Uncategorized

Happy National Puzzle Day!

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Today is National Puzzle Day. Oh, happy day!

What, you didn’t know every January 29th is the day to celebrate National Puzzle Day? That’s okay; better late than never.

Puzzles come in many shapes and sizes:

Sudoku puzzle with pen.
Image by JeromeWare from Pixabay
  • Brain teaser
  • Crossword
  • Digital breakout
  • Hidden pictures
  • Jenga
  • Jigsaw
  • Rebus
  • Sodoku
  • Tangram
  • Trivia
  • Word search

I thought it would be best to see if there was any research to back up my suspicion that puzzles are good for you. Quite a few sources point out that tackling puzzles can help to stave off dementia and diminished capacity for older folks. So I would think what is good for the old goose would be good for the young gander, too! Here is a list from the South Mountain Memory Care that sums up the benefits quite well. 

Benefits 

  • Exercises the brain
  • Improves short-term memory
  • Boosts problem-solving skills
  • Helps visual and spatial reasoning
  • Enhances your mood
  • Lowers stress levels
  • Improves your IQ score

Pandemic Rejuvenation

Because of the pandemic, it seems we have had a big swing back to jigsaw puzzles on folding card tables. I know this has happened in my own household. Early on in the pandemic,  it was nice to have a hands-on activity that pulled me away from the news and my email account. I noticed on my Nextdoor app that my neighborhood has started “porch puzzle pickups.” One nearby community even has a Puzzle Exchange Group.  

Perusing my Nextdoor, I found another great resource. James G.  solves his puzzles on his iPad with the free iOS app called Jigsaw Collection HD by Veraxen Ltd. He states, “You can vary the number of pieces from 12 to 440. I generally use 120 because that gives me comfortable detail. My five year-old granddaughter uses 12 when she does a puzzle. I have solved 951 so far.”  He mentions a bunch of puzzles that came with the app and every month or so, he downloads the ones they have for free on their site. Do take note that the Jigsaw Collection HD app contains in-app purchases.

The UpDown Puzzle from USA Today.
Screenshot by author.

Besides jigsaw puzzles, a constant for me has been Words With Friends. It isn’t  so much about the winning as staying in touch with friends and seeing how many unique words I can keep spelling.

One of the things I do miss about traveling is the USA Today newspaper that I used to grab in the hotel lobby, not for the news, but for their puzzle page. The good thing is you can still access the USA Today puzzles online. The puzzles in the blue boxes are the standard ones you would find in the paper. My favorite is the Up and Down Words. However, you will have to deal with advertisements on this site. 

Puzzle Advice from the TCEA Staff

I learn something about the TCEA Executive Director Lori Gracey all the time. She tells me “I am a big jigsaw puzzle person. I do at least one free online puzzle each evening at jigsawexplorer.com. And then once a month or so, my husband and I will get a physical, 1,000-piece puzzle out and work it.”

Jigsaw Explorer is a great spot for online jigsaw puzzles. They have a large selection of premium online jigsaw puzzles that are free and they add two more each day. You can use a multiplayer mode to play with family and friends. Bonus: You can also create and share puzzles using your own photos.

Steph, our Accounting Manager, likes Sudoku. An accountant liking numbers, sounds about right! I asked her if she preferred pencil and paper and her response? “Yeah, I am old school.” Steph impulse-purchases Sudoku books at the grocery store. 

Katie, our Executive Assistant, “likes all kinds of puzzles that don’t use words. Patterns, numbers, and riddles work for me. I love Sudoku. I prefer doing things on paper.”

Sara, the TCEA Digital Marketing Specialist has a “real puzzle” out on her table at all times. Just know, Sara believes “1000+ or it’s not a real puzzle. I’ll do Sudoko and crossword puzzles on paper . . . trying to keep my brain alive.”

Sherry is the TCEA Events Manager. You probably don’t know Sherry by name, but she is one of the extraordinary organizers of the TCEA Convention & Exposition. If it is logistical when it comes to convention, Sherry is in charge! Sherry offered the following puzzle advice, “I enjoy doing crosswords when I travel, which hasn’t been much lately, of course.  But I like to do the crossword in the airplane’s magazine, and I usually carry a book of crosswords with me in case a previous passenger has already filled  it out!” Sherry buys her crossword book at the airport newsstand along with her snacks and water.  

Erin, our Member Services Administrative Assistant, is my go-to for testing out the puzzles and activities I have created for different TCEA events. She gives me great feedback. Having a two-year (almost three) year-old doesn’t leave extra room for puzzle solving. But she does get in a little time with the lad playing matching games. Everyone has to start somewhere, and matching a cow to a calf or a firefighter to a fire truck sounds like the inside track to develop a puzzle-minded son. A good place to find matching cards are in the Target “Dollar Spot” and Amazon.

My colleague in the PD department, Dr. Bruce Ellis, approaches puzzles in a different way. Figuring out resources for our members is his puzzling talent. If you are looking for puzzle resources, Bruce has provided some great online sites for making puzzles:

  • I’m a Puzzle – Free online puzzle maker with daily puzzles. Create and share photo puzzle games out of any picture. Works in all browsers on both desktops and mobile devices.
  • Discovery Education’s Puzzlemaker – Create crossword puzzles, word searches, mazes, and other puzzles for your classroom.
  • Daily Jigsaw Puzzles – A new online puzzle is added daily. Puzzles work on computers and tablets. Suitable for kids and adults.
Highlights puzzle of a rocket on the moon surface.
Screenshot by author.

Lori has also discovered a new online puzzle game called PuzzGrid. According to the company, “PuzzGrid is a site on which those who enjoy lateral thinking can post and play grids that involve finding the fiendish connections between 16 seemingly arbitrary items. There are dastardly red-herrings, but if you defeat them, you might just get a perfect 10 score.” The puzzles are ranked as Very Easy, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Fiendish. Larry Ferlazzo recommends the game for ELL students for inductive learning.

Writing this blog brought back memories of the Highlights magazine that had the hidden picture puzzles. If memory serves me right, my dentist and doctor’s office always had copies. If you had to go to an appointment, the magazine was always the best part of the visit. Of course, fast forward to the future search, these are now available digitally at Highlights Kids.

As much as solving puzzles, I do LOVE to create physical breakouts and digital breakouts. You can find several blogs about them here, here, and here.

Enjoy your Friday, and in case you are up for a puzzle on a puzzler’s favorite day of the year, take a look at the feature image of this blog. Email the solution to the two-word brain teaser I have created at the top of this blog to preimers@tcea.org and I will send you a TCEA “I Broke Out” sticker. Hurry though because the offer ends on February 14, 2021. Happy puzzling!

Featured image of the puzzle pieces: Image by Laci Molnár from Pixabay

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