Amazing Race Tech PD

For one of our ninety minute technology professional development sessions, I created an Amazing Race style game. @angelancheatham and @jessica_branch presented a poster session at ISTE14 about giving professional development a makeover and this was one of their ideas. 

There is a lot of preparation and organization to creating the races, but it was well worth it by having actively engaged learners who are collaborating and growing with each other.  In preparing for these races, here is the checklist I used to get organized.

• Determine 8 tasks that you want the staff to engage in or learn
• Determine locations for each station and get permission from classroom teachers to use their room
• Make list of equipment needed in the location
• Ask 7 other people to be "Clue Masters" that will be stationed at each pit stop
• Create and print clue sheets to move from one pit stop to another
• Create and print task sheets for each pit stop
• Share tasks with clue masters.
• Determine teams - (worked great in pairs or groups of three)
• Purchase yellow envelopes
• Stuff and label clue envelopes - Give yourself plenty of time for this
• Create and print station instructions/keys for clue masters 
• Create introduction iMovie
• Create Google Form for team reflections
• Secure prizes for winning team(s) - I purchased gift cards
• Give Clue Masters the task cards, materials needed for their station (including answer keys), and clue envelopes
• Day of the Race - set up each station

To make an Amazing Race work for our district, which is 1:1 Macbooks at the high school, 1:1 Chromebooks at the middle school, and some iPads at the elementary, I had to create multiple races which added to the planning.

The day of the race (for secondary staff) followed this format:

1.  I presented an introductory iMovie that explained the race and the teams.

2.  Staff started with me with their first task

• Task 1: Create a shared Google Slide presentation per team. Each slide had specifications such as adding a team name, inserting an image, external links and using Google Maps engine lite

3. When they were done with their first task, they received their first clue to the location of their next pitstop. These clues were stuffed into the yellow envelopes. Here are a few examples of clues that moved the staff from pit stop to pit stop:

                       

         

4.  They moved from pitstop to pit stop until they arrived at their checkpoint.  Along the way, staff had a roadblock in which only one member could participate.  They also had a detour in which they had a choice between two tasks.

5.  At the end of the race, I awarded prizes to the team that finished the race first.  Then, teachers reflected on the learning experience through a Google Form.

If you have any ideas to make this better or would like some more of my resources or task ideas, please let me know.