This document describes an alternate reality game (ARG) that was run with 6th grade students at New Roads School to reinforce classroom concepts. The ARG involved students finding cryptic clues hidden around the school that led to an educational scavenger hunt. Students had to work collaboratively to solve puzzles using skills like deciphering codes. The ARG was successful at developing students' problem-solving, collaboration and intrinsic motivation skills. It provided a model for how game-based learning can make school an engaging experience that enhances literacy and encourages learning outside of the classroom.

1. UNITED
COLONIES
EDUCATIONAL ARG
2012-2013 New Roads School

2. Mike Minadeo Tanner Higgin PhD.
Creative Director Director of Research
Consultant at GameDesk GameDesk
CREATIVE TEAM

3. “Alternate Reality Gaming as
a learning experience”

4. WHAT IS AN ARG?
• An alternate reality game (ARG) is an
interactive narrative that uses the real
world as a platform with intense player
involvement.

5. AN ARG FOR 6TH GRADERS
• One of the first ARGs ever run in a middle school.
(PlayMaker School at New Roads School in Santa Monica)
• During 2012-13, the classroom, lockers, and class
website soon ignited with new meaning as secret clues
and mysterious objects were hidden within plain sight.
• A unique student learning culture developed that
provides us with a snapshot of a fresh new educational
future.

6. FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL
• Imagine you are a student starting your normal school day.
• Today is different because when you open up your locker, you find
a cryptic message inside!
• This note ignites your imagination. Later in the day, you notice an
UV bulb in one of the lamps in your classroom and hold the note
up to it.
• A puzzle in invisible ink appears and leads you on an educational
scavenger hunt throughout the school.
• Without knowing it, you’ve just started playing an educational ARG
(Alternate Reality Game) that will reinforce the concepts you are
learning in the classroom and stretch your mind.

7. “The Oculus”
Branding signified
a game item
Opening note
delivered to
students lockers
Secret Message
revealed with
Ultraviolet lamp
in classroom

8. GAME BASED LEARNING
• Game based learning (GBL) is a type of game
play that has defined learning outcomes.
• Generally, game based learning is designed to
balance subject matter with gameplay and the
ability of the player to retain and apply said
subject matter to the real world.

9. COMMON CORE STANDARDS
Reading
• Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and
to make logical inferences from it
Writing and Digital Age Skills
• Use technology, including the Internet, to interact and
collaborate with others.
Language
• Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-
meaning words and phrases by using context clues
9

10. 21ST CENTURY LITERACY
• 7 Identifiable Literacies engendered by ARG’s:
Gather, Make Sense, Manage, Solve, Create,
Respect, Collaborate.
• MIT Press Article: Alternate Reality Games as
Platforms for Practicing 21st-Century Literacies
(2012) Elizabeth Bonsignore, Derek Hansen, Kari Kraus, Marc Ruppel.

11. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Decipher puzzles through knowledge of
history, science, and media literacy.

12. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
2. Develop creative problem-solving skills by
cracking mysterious codes, including Caesar
Ciphers, Pig Latin, and American Sign
Language.

13. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
3. Collaborate with other students
for solutions to the various puzzles.

14. “WHAT WENT RIGHT”
• Grit factor
• Obsessive urgency to solve clues
• Teamwork/collaboration
• Competition

15. TAPPING INTO “THE GRIT
FACTOR” FOR LEARNING
“One characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of
success. It wasn’t social intelligence or IQ.
It was grit.
Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.”
Angela Duckworth Phd.
Speaking about her research into student success and learning retention.

16. TEAMWORK
The students self-selected into certain team roles:
• Riddlemaster
• Hunter
• Helper
• Researcher
• Social Organizer

17. “WHAT WENT WRONG”
• “Bacon” puzzle
Needed better
math reinforcement
• Immediate and scary
participation drop off

18. ARTIFACTS AND PUZZLES
•Pig latin/book safe

19. ARTIFACTS AND PUZZLES
Valentines Puzzle
• Puzzle was passed out as Valentine’s Day
cards.
• Needed to be assembled in correct order
and looked at through red transparent
plastic- clue reads
“Who was the first woman in space?”
• Children made the connection between her
name (Valentina Tereshkova) and the
holiday.
• “Valentina/Valentine’s… That makes sense!”

20. ARTIFACTS AND PUZZLES
PLANET PUZZLE POSTER
• 4 layers of clues
• QR link to Wikipedia about cuneiform
• Cuneiform spells out “Braille Code”
• Planet clusters reveal “All that glitters is
not gold” quote
• Points students to online puzzle where
they have to create the word
“meteorite” using the periodic table
abbreviations for 5 elements

21. ARTIFACTS AND PUZZLES
Meteorite • Outside was
covered in
cuneiform
• Taught in an earlier
history lesson
about
Mesopotamia that
year.
• Code translates to
"Break Me Open".

22. PARTICIPATION METRICS
• 40+ pages of forum posts
• 15 student generated riddles
• 150+ Hours of cumulative gameplay
• 35+ Hours of Student collaboration outside of school hours

23. SECRET SAUCE
•No Prize Inducement
•Solving the Mystery was
enough reward

24. TIPPING POINT FOR
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION

25. FACILITATION IDEAS/FUTURE APPLICATION
• Educational programs that focus on “grit” and perseverance.
• Ethics and Compassion training for all ages.
• Government Agent Training Scenarios (selecting candidates for observational
aptitude).
• Encouraging media literacy: students search for characters on websites that have
historical similarities to lesson plans. For example, students could investigate a
mystery about Nikolai Tesla. Along the way, they would learn fundamental concepts
about electricity, history of that time period, how the patent process works, and
how competitive business can be.
• Math lessons can be strengthened by teaching the students how to decipher codes.
For example, an alien language could appear and students would have to grasp the
fundamental concepts of language generation in order to communicate with the
“alien” who is contacting their class.

26. CONCLUSION
• Alternate Reality Games encourage students to
develop a “21st Century Literacy.”
• School becomes an anytime, anywhere activity and
expands the boundaries of the traditional classroom.
• Develops students who are intrinsically motivated to
spend more time studying.
• And the best part is, the kids see this as fun and not
as schoolwork.

27. CONTACT:
Mike Minadeo
714.485.9668
Michael.Minadeo@gmail.com
@MikeMinadeo