A Look Back at 2023 with Breakout EDU

A Look Back at 2023 with Breakout EDU

Reflections on a year of innovation, engagement, and empowering learning

Over the past year, the Breakout EDU team worked hard to transform the way students play, innovate, and learn in the classroom. We listened closely to teachers and implemented their feedback to continually make Breakout EDU a better learning tool while also thinking outside the box to bring learners new features to enhance their experiences. Together, we have raised the bar for educational engagement and empowerment - and we can’t wait to see where this journey will take us in 2024! 

Here are 4 ways Breakout EDU transformed classrooms in 2023: 

1. Improved gaming with new digital adventures

This year, Breakout EDU took play to a whole new level with Breakout+, a unique and educational point-and-click experience for students. Breakout+, like all Breakout EDU games, is a wonderful opportunity for students to work together to build and practice important skills such as collaboration. Classrooms quickly become vibrant and engaging escape rooms that challenge students to apply their critical thinking skills and unleash content knowledge in order to conquer thrilling quests. Click here for a free demo. 

In addition to Breakout+, we also introduced Carousel Games! Unlike traditional digital games from Breakout EDU, Carousel Games present learners with multiple clues simultaneously, more closely mirroring Kit-Based Games. This dynamic addition challenges students to match each clue with the corresponding lock combination , fostering even deeper critical thinking. Being presented with multiple locks and clues simultaneously requires higher level analysis and spatial reasoning - not to mention a healthy amount of grit and resilience! To find these games, simply type "Carousel" into the search bar when logged into your account.

2023 was also the year we redesigned our digital game player for easier use and maximum enjoyment across all devices. This allows students to enjoy the full Breakout EDU experience regardless of the type of device they are playing on and provides a more accessible experience for learners. With the new player console, students can easily access tools like the Immersive Reader or click on the new magnify tool to zoom in on even the smallest details of any puzzle.

2. Innovations for celebration and recognition

In 2023 we added badges to Breakout EDU so that teachers can reward and recognize students for demonstrating Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and 21st century skills (4Cs) as they work through the games. Badges are a popular instructional tool because they serve as a creative way to motivate and reward student progress toward expected behaviors. While students may or may not break out of a Breakout EDU game the first time through, they can still earn badges by demonstrating skills like having a growth mindset and showing off their critical thinking. Teachers can capture and note student growth and participation in powerful and important areas watching them work collaboratively with their peers on standards-aligned challenges. Badges compliment any Kit-Based games, Digital Games, or even student designed games! For more information on using Breakout EDU badges, click here. 

Badges are one excellent, extrinsic way to motivate students, but Breakout EDU went even further to provide students with an intrinsic way to stay motivated and engaged. Students can now complete challenges and earn rewards like custom player avatars as they rise through the levels. The addition of levels and additional rewards progressively allows students to build upon their learning. Each level offers exclusive challenges and rewards to students as they go. Click here for additional information on challenges and rewards. 

To maintain learning momentum, Breakout EDU also unveiled Lock of the Day streaks in 2023! Each day a new Lock of the Day game appears for students to solve upon logging in. These challenges are outstanding bell ringers or warm ups to set the tone for the day. And now, students earn “streaks'' for solving the Lock of the Day every day of the school week. But don’t worry - they can always navigate back to previous days and complete the games if they miss any. 

3. Sharing is caring

Libraries are a nexus for sharing ideas and resources - and a well-stocked school library can make a significant difference in driving academic growth. That’s why Breakout EDU now offers a shared school library as an added benefit for all school or district level accounts. The shared library is a game-changer for teachers, instructional coaches, librarians, media specialists, and curriculum developers alike.  A shared school library fosters continuity in instructional practice, encourages vertical and horizontal professional learning community (PLC) work, facilitates peer review, and saves teachers mountains of time. Click here for more details. 

Last year, Breakout EDU also improved the way teachers can monitor student progress! We know that data driven instruction matters for all caregivers in a student's life. Teachers, parents, and administration are all interested in how a student is performing in school. Once a teacher is logged in, they can click on “My Classes” in the left hand column and select the class they are interested in viewing. From there, teachers can see individual student performance on all games they have assigned. 

We have also added an administrator dashboard that allows for the management of school and district accounts. Once logged in, administrators can select the teacher section to see a list of the rostered teachers, how many students teachers have, how many times the teacher has logged in, last login, sign-up date, and roles. Administrators can also view student data to see what games students have been assigned, what badges they have been awarded, and gain a holistic sense of performance. These real-time insights and analytics enable informed decision-making and ensure that educational strategies are both effective and tailored to the evolving needs of faculty and students. For more information on the administrator dashboard, please click here. 

4. Automate, differentiate, and elevate! 

Last year, Breakout EDU made assigning and customizing games even easier for expert-level differentiation! After students are added to aBreakout EDU class, teachers can create or select any game (or they can use our recommended games engine to unlock a universe of possibilities), customize, and click assign. 

Teachers need to have the freedom of personalizing learning adventures aligned with their instructional goals and curriculum requirements to best serve their students. To ensure appropriate game recommendations, teachers can simply update the About Me section in their profile on the Breakout EDU platform. With information about their role, grades, and subjects the platform can recommend a selection of games chosen for your students.  

To add a bit of structure (or to establish a sense of real-world urgency), teachers can use the game timer tool added to Breakout EDU last year. Game timers are conveniently provided for every Breakout EDU game. This feature allows teachers to focus on facilitation rather than keeping track of time, hint cards, or student progress mid-play. The timer not only adds an element of excitement, but also ensures that your instructional time is utilized effectively, maximizing each class period. The timer is a simple way to prompt students to use time-management skills, collaborate, develop strategy, and think critically as they work towards breaking out of a Kit-Based Game!

The ability to customize games and assign them strategically is the essence of differentiated instruction focused on tailoring the learning experience to meet individual students' strengths, interests, and areas of growth. Teachers can build or assign games with known content for review, challenging content for practice, or future content to assess for prior knowledge. In addition to customizing, teachers can choose to group students by like-ability, mixed ability, or assign individually as a response to intervention (RTI) measure or enhancement challenge. 

Cheers to 2024!

Last year was a great year that might be hard to beat - fortunately, the team here at Breakout EDU loves a good challenge! We remain committed to unlocking potential, and creating a future where learning knows no bounds. If you are new to Breakout EDU, click here for a free trial to see what all the excitement is about!