Community reviews for Breakout EDU

At first glance Breakout EDU was not my ideal choice to teach students in a history class however I was wrong. History is about thinking critically which is what this game requires of the user. I played three games trying to break out of the riddles and it was the most intense moment ever. I can’t deny it, I felt so much relief I after I passed this. These intense high order thinking skills and engaging games are a great collaborative activity that helps with classroom management. Further, this game is a great exercise to introduce a topic and have students reflect on.

I have witnessed students problem-solving, being challenged, persevering and working as a team while working on a Breakout challenge. I appreciate the cooperation that needs to happen amongst the students through the challenge. I appreciate that all learners can shine during this experience. i appreciate that Breakout EDU celebrates anyone who tries the challenge, not just those who complete the challenge. I am trying to figure how I can get students from their classrooms to be able to create their own breakout challenges. The breakout boxes and locks are expensive. I know teachers who have made their own. Thankfully a teacher received a grant for our boxes.

The students really enjoy both the physical and digital forms of Breakout Edu! I love that they encourage teamwork, problem solving, and reviewing of materials. The paid version is a little pricey and I don't like that you don't get forever full access if you purchase a kit.

The setup is a little time-consuming, but there are videos that show how the game is played and all of the resources are in a shared drive folder. Now that I understand more how everything works, I think the setup time might be a little faster, but I would still allow about an hour for the first time. The invisible ink pens dry up, but I found some cheap ones online that worked just fine. There is a wide variety of subjects covered in both the physical and digital game versions, so I feel there is something for everyone. There is also a way for teacher-generated games to be shared on the site, so new games are being added all the time. I think this would be best used for front loading or review, but might be frustrating if used for teaching a new concept. For advanced kids, I think once they have solved a teacher-generated game, they could design one as a final unit project. It uses some higher-level thinking skills that would give the kids a challenge. I also had a chance to play a digital version in a faculty meeting, so I've also experienced the student side of this tool as well. It was a little confusing, and many teachers found shortcuts and were more focused on solving the puzzle that learning the content. I would make sure you look at several of the games generated by Breakout EDU before designing your own games so you are very familiar with how to create meaningful content and clues that are challenging but not too difficult to figure out in a limited time frame. That said, it could be used as a team building activity for any age group. Overall, it was a nice change of pace for my students that engaged them with the content and helped them learn. I would probably only do it once or twice a year or it would lose its novelty and not accomplish my purposes.

I LOVE using the breakouts in my classroom. It allows my students to be able to think outside of the box and use their knowledge of a topic that we covered in a real life scenario. This helps with learning how to use the computer and the internet properly and with grace. The one thing that I do not like, is how many of the breakouts do not save the students work. This is tough because I have so many classes in a day and then go to a different school. So if the students did not get it done, then we have to write down our answers to the locks, then save it until the next day that I come in. Is there a way to help this issue?

I’m a big fan of Breakout EDU as a teaching tool. I am a school librarian, and I often have limited time with classes. With Breakout EDU, I was able to present material in an engaging way that helped students recall and understand the information effectively. I was amazed at how students jumped into the game, regardless of who was in their group, because they wanted to be the first group to the finish line. Because attention to detail is so important to the game, students really have to analyze clues to solve them, which generally means better understanding of whatever information you're sharing with them. What students take away from the game(s) is largely up to the creator, and adjustments can always be made after running the game to improve it and make it more effective the next time. Games can be adjusted to meet the needs of many types of learners.

Breakout EDU provides so many topic and subject-specific breakouts for FREE. They also give you the tools to make your own. You can buy the box/lock kit, but you can also get the tools from Amazon or your local hardware store. It's usually a large group task unless you have multiple kits. Alternately digital breakouts (https://www.breakoutedu.com/digital) can be done individually.