Introductory "Message in a Bottle"

In commencing their mission, Questers are faced with a series of tests from the island’s inhabitants to see if the Quester is interested in anything beyond her own mission. First, the quester must prove their worthiness and mathematical talent to Ivo (a very intimidating) boar. Then, they must make their way to the cave of The Grand Wise One, who will decide whether the quester may continue. The problem is two-fold—traveling along the jungle path, with perils hidden at every turn, and earning the respect of the island so that it will choose to reveal Dr. Leo’s whereabouts. In helping the island’s inhabitants solve problems that they face, questers begin to earn the trust of the island. However, a punishment awaits if they wander from the island’s endorsed path. The tests don’t stop there; questers are also faced with the dilemma of retrieving artifacts that may be destroyed or displayed for the world to see, or to leave artifacts in their place, letting the island keep its secrets.

Map of Cryptojungle

Throughout the mission, Questers learn about the coordinate graphing system and its conventions, and practice skills such as placing and locating points on the graph, translating two-dimensional directions into three-dimensional movements, and being able to describe routes to others by using the standard conventions of graphing. At the end of the Mission, students are faced with the ultimate choice: Enter a secret location of the island to save Dr. Leo (and keep the island’s secrets), or pursue their own fame and insatiable curiosity by dissecting the island artifacts with Archie. The choice, ultimately, is the Quester’s—although they are also the ones who have to face the consequences of their choices.

The Grand Wise One and Ivo the Boar

This summer we are analyzing the classroom conversations that we’ve recorded in multiple classrooms around the United States, with the goal of understanding how game narratives can impact whole-class discussions. Our goal is to better understand how technology is integrated into classrooms. We’ve already observed lots of inspiring examples from teachers–here are a few tips that seem to make whole-class discussions especially effective:

Stay immersed in the narrative: It’s easy to pull back from the story to emphasize the important things that you want students to know and understand. We’ve found that when teachers discuss concepts while continuing to be immersed in the storyline, students’  interest and engagement is strengthened.

Stage a debate: Almost all the activities in Quest Atlantis involve some kind of unresolved issue. Frequently, those issues allow for more than one reasonable perspective. Capitalize on this tension and ask students to defend their perspectives–it’s amazing how impassioned students can get!

Target the big ideas: Allegiance to characters or interest in sub-plots can captivate students’ attention, true, but they are also the key to supporting students to grapple with important concepts. For example, in Taiga, students might find that they have sympathy for one particular group–like the indigenous farmers. Unfortunately, sympathy isn’t terribly persuasive; they need to be able to understand how other groups are contributing to the fish decline if they REALLY want to protect the farmers. So understanding the role of erosion on water quality, for example, is going to be key to effectively defending their position. Without deeply understanding the concepts, students may be ready to take action, but they will lack the tools they need to be effective.