Digital Scavenger Hunts, “Goose Chases,” and Virtual Challenges

Scavenger hunts have come a long way since the days of hiding items and clues around the school! Today’s virtual challenges can really shake up a class routine and get students moving, thinking, and creating!

Here are some ready-made resources created specifically for homebound scholars, as well as instructions for creating your own in a few different formats.

Scavenger Hunts

GooseChase EDU is an “online alternative learning platform” that enables teachers to create and facilitate digital scavenger hunts. The video below explains, in less than ten minutes, how to create a Goose Chase experience for your students, and there is also a library of premade hunts on the website that can be copied and revised. Currently, GooseChase is offering teachers the upgrade FREE of charge.

In GooseChase, the “tasks” are called missions and require students to find something, do something, and/or create something. You set up the task, and then students send their responses in the form of photos and videos. In order to participate, students need to use a device with the GooseChase app, but it’s all free and very user-friendly.

The circumstances, needs, and abilities of your students will obviously influence the kinds of activities you include. In the shared library at GooseChase EDU, you’ll find games with missions tied to math, literature, science, and other curricula, and also scavenger hunts designed for use in staff development (great back-to-school idea!). In social media this week, many teachers have shared their GooseChase mission ideas; visit the ABOUT page to find social media links. HERE is a list of ideas that may get you started.

You can also create digital scavenger hunts in Google Forms. Students can read through the tasks and can complete them in any order. This “Scavenger Hunt for Homebound Scholars,” the same game I submitted to Goose Chase, requires students to find items around their homes, then use them in completing creative and critical thinking activities. It could be set up as a competition between student teams, with point values for items completed, or it could be an open-ended challenge, a way to mix in something a little different and fun during these stressful times. You might give a very generous time frame and remind students that they may skip items and go back to them. It’s ready to use, but you’ll need to make your own copy to share with your students. (It was also part of the Goosechase EDU library, but became unavailable after schools reopened.)

ADDITIONAL SCAVENGER HUNTS:

“Around the World” – This digital scavenger hunt was shared by 5th-grade teacher Ronen Cohen of EdTechTeam. Students work their way through the tasks, watching videos and searching the web for answers to questions. Each item must be answered correctly in order to move to the next task (as in a digital escape room). The article includes other examples and elaborates on the uses of digital scavenger hunts in the classroom.

“Where is Gina the Geographer?” (gr. 3-5) – ties in with the 2020 Census. Students use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool and respond to clues to track down Gina, who has escaped to an undisclosed location. Downloads are necessary in order for students to have access to the data tool. If you decide to try this, you can use this video to introduce the census to students.

A Few Additional Virtual Challenges

Global Social Distance Challenge – created by Kristina Uihlein Holzweisss. Students are invited to connect with other kids through the completion of a wide variety of creative and meaningful tasks using Flipgrid.

Surviving History: The Fever – (gr. 6 and up) – this is an interactive experience in which students assume the role of a fictitious physician living in Philadelphia in 1793 during the outbreak of The Yellow Fever. You can find a review of this experience here. Please preview this one; it involves some heavy reading and the topic may not be suitable for highly-sensitive students given the current circumstances.

Discovery Ed Virtual Field Trips – Discovery Ed has produced some great videos which take students on teaching tours. This one teaches students about biomimicry and this one is about how scientists explore deep space. Both include activities and resources for extending the experience.

“Student-Created Escape Chamber: A Unique Project and Learning Journey“ – In this previous post, you can find two ready-made digital escape rooms and a template for creating your own.

Do you have ideas for missions or digital scavenger hunts? I can think of many ways to use them when school opens again, so there will definitely be a need to revisit this topic and discuss the engaging activities we can do with students LIVE and in person! Hang in there, homebound teachers, and please MESSAGE if you have specific needs for resources.