Share Paper: Virtual Escape Rooms and Designing Student Engagement Online

  1. Eric Dickens, Knox College, United States
  2. Jennifer Dickens, Monmouth College, United States
Tuesday, March 30 3:30-3:45 PM Room 8

Abstract: As an increasing number of K-12 and higher education classrooms move online, many educators are wrestling with a traditional challenge – fostering student engagement in class. One approach to motivating students cognitive and behavioral engagement is to incorporate game, play and/or puzzle elements (e.g., “gamification”) into our classrooms. While gamification has received significant researcher and practitioner attention, this presentation adopts the less widely-examined framework of “game-based learning” that emphasizes story-telling and immersive environments. This presentation will demonstrate best practices and lessons learned from two instructional designers who created virtual “escape room” style game-based learning environments for an online undergraduate course. ...