Digital escape room

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What do escape rooms have to do with learning? An escape room is a game in which groups of participants look for clues and try to solve a series of challenges like puzzles, quizzes, and riddles to accomplish a goal. There is a time limit to solve each challenge and “escape” the room on the way to the ultimate goal, which is often escaping the site of the game by solving the last mystery. In recent years, digital escape rooms – online experiences that simulate the physical escape room games – have been rising in popularity, becoming a thing also in the Education sector.

By incorporating key learning objectives into the challenges, digital escape rooms can help learners of all ages develop the most sought after skills out there while practicing new ideas and concepts in a practical way. Read on to see how.

Escape room for people in a hurry

Digital escape rooms have proven to be an effective tool for learning at all levels, from schools to workplaces.

Based on different learning methodologies (from cooperative to challenge-based learning), this activity can be the solution to make many learning experiences more compelling and engaging. Spoiler alert: an escape room is a great tool for learning also because participants do not need to previously know the content of the challenges in order to solve them.
Leveraging critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration skills anyone can resolve the enigmas and deep dive into the topic of the challenge.

Digital escape rooms are typically played in teams and, to be completed, require the activation of a set of soft skills,
from collaboration to critical thinking.

Identify the learning objectives you want to incorporate into the game: What do I want learners to achieve? What basic ideas do they all need to grasp?

Choose a theme and storyline for the game: Storytelling is the basis.
Try to create a coherent, mysterious, and compelling story to spice things up and keep learners engaged. Pro tip: remember that graphic elements are part of the storyline too!

Create challenges that match the learning objectives: Design puzzles, riddles, encrypted codes, ciphers and any other challenges that will help your learners put the skills to be trained into practice. Our advice? Make sure you really make it interactive.

Choose the tool you’re going to use: From Google Sites, to Breakout EDU, and Genial.ly – no worries, you can always embed the final link on WeSchool for a better learning experience.

Monitor progress and engagement: Follow and guide your learners throughout the process. If you have the impression they’re getting frustrated, feel free to provide them with additional tips and hints!

Final step: Provide learners with a task they can apply their new knowledge to once the game is over.

An example: Learning a company’s values with a digital escape room

Ok, but how can I apply these principles to a real-world scenario? Imagine you are an HR manager tasked with creating a digital escape room to help employees from different teams understand your company’s values and culture. Here’s how you might approach it:

First step: engaging participants with a compelling scenario. In this case, the scenario might be that the new hires are stuck in an elevator and need to use clues and puzzles to escape. This scenario immediately grabs their attention and sets the stage for the challenges to come.

Next, it’s time to introduce the challenges. In this example, the challenges should be designed to help participants understand the company’s values and culture. For example, one challenge might require participants to work together to solve a jigsaw puzzle that represents the company’s mission statement. Another challenge might involve deciphering a code that reveals the company’s core values.

Final step: giving participants a chance to apply what they’ve learned. The final challenge might require participants to create a team charter that reflects the company’s values and culture. Participants would need to work together to identify key values and develop a plan for how they will incorporate those values into their work.

OPTION 1

Create an escape room with WeSchool only. WeSchool features used:
The Modules in the Lessons section are the "rooms." In each Module, learners will find learning materials, puzzles, and riddles to solve.
The Prerequisite of each Module unlocks the next one! Participants will unlock the next “room” only if they manage to solve the challenge in the current Module.

OPTION 2

Using external tools: Create an immersive escape room with external tools (e.g. Google Sites, Breakout EDU, Genial.ly, or others), and then embed it in WeSchool. WeSchool features used:
The Wall for communicating announcements and engaging the team.
The Comments in the Lessons section to collaborate and add any additional materials to help solve the riddles and puzzles.