Last year, at the first Toronto GAFE Summit, Sylvia Duckworth introduced us to Breakout EDU. With Breakout EDU, you can bring the escape room experience into the classroom with games that are engaging and help to build teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and troubleshooting skills. Each game includes challenges that "ignite their natural drive to problem-solve" within a predetermined time limit. Adaptable to any subject area or grade level, Breakout EDU promotes collaboration, inquiry-based learning and communication skills in a way that is fun and interactive. 

You can use it as an icebreaker activity, or to introduce or reinforce a topic.

I love Breakout EDU simply because it's tonnes of fun and a great way to get kids out of their seats. I've tried a series of games available in the sandbox collection with some of my classes, during which I heard one student shout out, "See! I told you math was useful!" The students loved it so much, I decided to host a game at my son's 8th birthday party. I have also lead a game at one of our TCDSB 21C Innovators sessions and a couple of games at our TCDSB 21Camp last spring. The feedback has been great and I am happy to announce that it is now available for order through our board's online 21C catalogue. 

Here is the preso I made to introduce Breakout EDU to my colleagues:

Given that there only a few games available in French that I can find, I decided to make one for the FrEd Matters symposium last week to introduce it to FSL teachers. Since I was expecting a room full of about 30 people, I created red clues and blue clues which made me think of the Matrix, and divided the group into two teams. Please note, the materials I used below are not all available in a single kit. I found the black and pink toolboxes on sale at a hardware store and the blue fishing kits I found at the dollar store for $3, I believe. I was also testing out some new Master Lock backpack locks that I received for review.

I also took the liberty of tweaking the signs and clue cards available in the Breakout EDU facilitation preso so that I could use them in French class. Click on the image below to access the "view only" copy of the Breakout EDU signs en français which you can print directly, or make a copy to edit as you see fit.

Once I have compiled all the game instructions for "La matrice," I will be sure to share it to the Breakout EDU sandbox and post a link on my blog as well.

While the original version is a lot of fun, it can be quite costly if you're paying out of pocket. I ordered my own kit last December because I loved it so much but the price has since gone up a lot. An alternative is the digital Breakout version, which is free. I have yet to try it but I imagine it's still a lot of fun. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.