Now that you know how to use Google Sites, Forms, Slides, and Drawings, you can put the pieces together to create an online escape room. The first thing might be to view an example of a simple escape room using these tools. You may access this at: https://sites.google.com/view/ideahubescape/escape-room (Opens in a new window.) This escape room consists of six pages: the home page with the story and image map of the room, Clue #1, Clue #2, Clue #3, Clue #4, and Unlock it! page. Note that the navigation only contains links to the home page (Escape Room) and the Unlock It! page. Navigation for the others was disabled. Each clue page opens in a separate tab/window. This allows participants to move back and forth to complete the challenges. It could also result in a lot of pages being open if they continue to open them from the home page. It is a good idea to put a note in the instructions about this. Part of the reason for the pages opening in separate tabs is because that is the way it works using Google Drawings to create an image map.
The following are screenshots from this example. A key to the clues is available as a PDF at the bottom of this page.
Home Page
This page includes the story behind the escape room and an image map created in Google Drawings that has links to four different clues (on different pages on the site).
Clue #1
Clue #1, linked from the books in the bookshelf, contains an inserted Google Form with a Multiple Choice Grid question. Participants then take the first letter of each answer to spell a word. Once completed correctly, a link takes them to a password-protected Word document uploaded and shared in Google Docs. The password is the answer to the challenge. The participant locates the number in the image. That is the answer to Clue #1. Information on how to create a password-protected Word document is available at: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/protect-a-document-with-a-password-05084cc3-300d-4c1a-8416-38d3e37d6826. Instructions on uploading a Word document to Google Docs is available at: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9300311?hl=en
Clue #2
Clue #2 consists of a QR code that, when using a QR code reader app, opens an instructional video that will help the participant answer the question in the Google Form that follows the QR code. The participant is then asked for the first four letters of the correct answer about the two factors. Those four letters are used in a letter-to-number code generator to produce numbers. It is available at: https://lingojam.com/AlphabettoNumbers. The numbers are added together for the answer.
Clue #3
This clue may be found by reading the poem and putting together the jigsaw puzzle. It is a series of numbers that in the Unlock it form will be added together. You can create your own puzzle at: https://www.jigsawplanet.com/. You can make your own puzzle by clicking on "Create" at the top, uploading your own image and setting the parameters for the puzzle. Once your puzzle has been created, select "Share" and "Embed." Copy the embed code. Go to the page in your Google Site where you would like to put it, select "Insert," "Embed," and "Embed code," Then paste it and select "Insert."
Clue #4
In this challenge, participants must complete the crossword puzzle. To do so, they must know something about the terms and definitions. Once the puzzle is completed, participants use the first letter of each answer in a letter-to-number codemaker to create a number that on the Unlock it page they will add together. The crossword puzzle tool is available at https://www.puzzlefast.com/. Select "Crossword" for puzzle type. Provide a title. Add the terms and definitions in the box provided in this format term : definition. Select the "Make My Puzzle" button. Make sure that you have that information in a Word document since the tool will not keep puzzles you have created. Click on the "Save, share puzzle" icon. Select "Save this puzzle as long as possible." Click on the "Continue" button and then the "Embed This Puzzle" button. Select and copy the text under "Plain Puzzle Without Solution Link." Go back to your clue page and select "Insert" and "Embed." Paste the embed code. When using external tools like this, always remember to check your escape room to be sure such puzzles are still working before your students use it.
Unlock it!
After solving all clues, participants can go to the "Unlock it!" page and fill in the answers. Once that part is done, they will add all the numbers together for a final number which is the code needed to escape.
If the participant has the correct code they will receive feedback that indicates they have escaped. You can add feedback for correct answers that can let them know they have escaped.