If you have not tried Goose Chase Edu in your classroom, I highly suggest it! The name is appropriate for what you would expect: students go around campus on a goose chase trying to complete as many missions as possible.
Here's the breakdown: the teacher creates a game centered around any topic (mine was on Random Variables so the students had to answer questions on combining random variables before setting out on their missions). The games have as many missions as the teacher wants to include and the goal is for the students to complete as many as possible within the time frame- which the teacher chooses. There are a lot of pre-loaded missions provided in the app, but I like to create some specific to my school/students. A few teachers at my school have created a list of possible missions, you may make a copy of this here.
The game itself is app-based. I check out the iPad tub and put my kids in groups of about 4 with one iPad per group and they must create an account (free) in order to play. Students can also use their phones for this, but I try not to get into having them use their own data for classroom activities- especially when my school has the technology to avoid this. Once they're logged in, they're ready to go!
I know what you may be thinking... I'm not sure I want my students running around campus unsupervised. Moving towards a student-centered class was hard for me in the beginning, too. But sometimes we simply have to trust that we have taught them how to behave and be respectful; and they really love the fact that teachers allow them to have fun and leave the classroom. I'm not exaggerating that when my kids realize it's Goose Chase day, they get very excited!
Another plus of this activity is that you get to know your students on a personal level. Their personalities come out during the missions and you will seriously laugh when you view the results. You can add bonus points for the missions which can be hilarious (like doing super silly tasks). For example, my students had the option to complete the Funky Chicken mission (at least two group members had to perform the Funky Chicken on video) and they got bonus points for having a Donna Summers song in the background. I could not stop laughing at their submissions!
I hope you enjoy this idea, your students will!
Here's the breakdown: the teacher creates a game centered around any topic (mine was on Random Variables so the students had to answer questions on combining random variables before setting out on their missions). The games have as many missions as the teacher wants to include and the goal is for the students to complete as many as possible within the time frame- which the teacher chooses. There are a lot of pre-loaded missions provided in the app, but I like to create some specific to my school/students. A few teachers at my school have created a list of possible missions, you may make a copy of this here.
The game itself is app-based. I check out the iPad tub and put my kids in groups of about 4 with one iPad per group and they must create an account (free) in order to play. Students can also use their phones for this, but I try not to get into having them use their own data for classroom activities- especially when my school has the technology to avoid this. Once they're logged in, they're ready to go! I know what you may be thinking... I'm not sure I want my students running around campus unsupervised. Moving towards a student-centered class was hard for me in the beginning, too. But sometimes we simply have to trust that we have taught them how to behave and be respectful; and they really love the fact that teachers allow them to have fun and leave the classroom. I'm not exaggerating that when my kids realize it's Goose Chase day, they get very excited!
Another plus of this activity is that you get to know your students on a personal level. Their personalities come out during the missions and you will seriously laugh when you view the results. You can add bonus points for the missions which can be hilarious (like doing super silly tasks). For example, my students had the option to complete the Funky Chicken mission (at least two group members had to perform the Funky Chicken on video) and they got bonus points for having a Donna Summers song in the background. I could not stop laughing at their submissions!
I hope you enjoy this idea, your students will!
~SSB
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