Shall We Play A Game?  

Goosechase!

@LisaBerghoff

My doorbell rang the other day and there were 4 young kids in my driveway. They looked like they ranged in age from 6-8. They were pulling a wagon filled with little potted plants and a basket of tomatoes. Amused, I went outside to see what they wanted. They were enthusiastic in their sales pitch. Would I like to buy a plant for only ten dollars? Would I like some tomatoes for only two dollars? The prices seemed steep but I was curious to chat with them. I managed to convince them to give me two small tomatoes for two dollars. After the only girl in the group went into her purse to make change, I asked them- So, what are you going to do with the money? They looked at me and replied- We're going to put it in there, pointing to the purse. Laughing I said- No, how are you going to spend the money that you make?

They looked at me with blank faces. Spend the money? This had not occurred to them. They were doing this for the joy and excitement of starting a business, not necessarily to make money for a specific purpose. 

This exchange made me think. If it's not the prize at the end, what motivates kids to figure things out? What makes them want to pursue endeavors and persist through adversity? In this experience, I came up with a few thoughts.

1. They were in it together and that makes it safe, fun, and exciting.

2. They were doing it on their own. There was not an adult anywhere in sight.

3. It was very concrete. They had specific items they were selling. They give me the items, I give them money. It's easy for them to see their progress.

There is a digital tool that checks all of these boxes and can be incorporated into our learning spaces and I'm so excited to share it with you. It's called Goosechase.

What Is Goosechase?

Goosechase is a digital platform that helps educators create interactive scavenger-hunt style experiences for engagement and learning. Games can be played individually or in teams. Each team needs a mobile device with the free Goosechase app. As the teacher, you set up missions where students respond either by text or by photo. You can see all submissions in the dashboard. A game can last one class period, or an entire semester. You can even schedule missions to be released at specific days and times so you can set it up once and then let your students play it out without you needing to do much while the game is happening. They have a new feature that was released last spring- Unlockable missions. This enables you to create missions that will unlock other missions. This is perfect for those times when you want students to follow a specific order and not jump around from mission to mission. Check out this article- 101 Ways To Use Unlockable Missions

Watch this 1 minute video to find out how it works.

Not sure where to start? There is a template library with over 250 Goosechase experience templates that are ready to run. You can edit to meet your needs. 

How Do I Set Up A Goosechase?

1. Head over to Goosechase.com and go to the template library or click Create Experience.

2. Enter your game details including name, description, optional password.

3. Enter missions. You can add from your brain or you can click Browse Library for ideas. 

4. Click Publish and share your join code with participants. On this screen you can also decide if we are playing in teams, as individuals, or letting students decide. 

5. When you are ready to play, click Start and End to enter the duration of your game.

What Do I Do While The Game Is Happening?

Besides pat yourself on the back for creating a highly engaging activity where students will be moving around?

• You can check out the activity feed to see what students are submitting.
• Head to the leaderboard and notice who is winning
• Go to the submissions tab to see all that is happening.
• Look at the stats page to see which missions are the favorites.

You can also broadcast a message to all who are playing. You can also pre-write these and schedule them to have them sent out at the start, end, or during the game.

Goosechase is one of those apps that makes it so easy to set up and the students love it.

Ready to give it a try? Want some help getting started? Let me know. I'm here for you!