Breaking out to break through: re-imagining first-year orientations

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to outline the conceptualization, design and implementation process of an escape room-style game for first-year student orientation sessions hosted by a combined academic unit including a university library, archives and museum. The game can be customized and adapted for a variety of learning environments and purposes. Design/methodology/approach Breakout EDU kits have been used to create escape room-style games to teach curricular content in new and engaging ways. This orientation session was designed to teach new students how to find and use essential collections and resources on each of the unit’s websites by using a fun, collaborative and engaging game. Findings According to post-orientation survey responses, an average of nearly 80% of all new students felt that the Breakout EDU orientation game was either “Moderately Effective” or “Very Effective” in preparing them for their first day of classes. Documented observational assessments further suggest that students had fun playing the game and appreciated the hands-on approach to library orientation. Originality/value Although the use of both digital and non-digital games in library orientations are heavily documented, there has been very little research conducted on the use of escape rooms in this context, and almost no research has been conducted on the use of Breakout EDU kits for library orientations. This paper provides a practical example of how academic libraries can incorporate a customizable and highly engaging escape room-style game into first-year orientation sessions of nearly all sizes.

Quelling the Boredom with Alternative Instruction: Augmented Reality, Escape Kits, and Scavenger Hunts

“…Working within the confines of these similar definitions, academic libraries foresaw the multitude of advantages in gamifying the library experience: easing library anxiety, development of critical thinking skills, retention of information, and increasing student engagement and motivation (Walsh, 2014;Francis, 2017;Veach, 2019;Crowe & Sclippa, 2020). Gamification endeavors ran the gamut: murder mysteries used to improve users research skills, mobile apps used for orientations, a partnership with a design company to create an educational Johnson & Westbrooks 182 gamified platform like Lemontree, and incorporation of escape room kits like Breakout Edu.…”

“…After an intensive phase of research, gamification was selected as the instructional method to implement. The literature more than supported gamification's impact on motivation as well as engagement (Capdarest-Arest et al, 2019;Walsh, 2014;Hanus & Fox, 2015;Veach, 2019;Francis, 2017;Crowe & Sclippa, 2020). Games or gamifying experiences are a successful way in harnessing student motivation and engagement (Subhash & Cudney, 2018).…”

“…Overall, gaming can ignite motivation to enhance learning and provide a positive engagement experience with well-designed gaming tools. All levels of library teaching and learning, whether they be undergraduate, graduate, or specialized can make use of these tools (O'Brien & Pitera, 2019;Veach, 2019;Laubersheimer et al, 2016). This paper will focus on the processes by which instructional gaming tools were used to revamp traditional information literacy instruction at JSU using scavenger hunts, escape rooms, and augmented reality.…”

“…In the 2018 spring semester, campus counseling services and HCL librarians cohosted an event centered on the promotion of emotional intelligence. This was not an uncommon occurrence for campus units to partner with the library for events; however, what made this event unique was the integration of gamification in the form of hosting an escape room, -a live action team-based game‖ (Veach, 2019, p. 561) in which players have a limited amount of time to solve puzzles via clues in order to complete a goal, like escaping a from a physical room (Veach, 2019). Escape rooms can be constructed with a variety of materials and storylines.…”

“…Instead of trying escape from a physical room, participants tried to break into locked large and small boxes. These kits were bought from the company, and they came with access to a digital platform with premade game storylines, all the necessary combination locks, and additional materials like invisible ink marker and UV light (Veach, 2019).…”