The Impact of a Digital Escape Room Focused On HTML and Computer Networks on Vocational High School Students

Abstract

Today, students live in a world surrounded by technology and traditional education methods are no longer very attractive to them. Applying the concept of a digital educational escape room to teaching can help increase students’ interest in the subject. In an escape room, the players search for clues, complete tasks, and solve polymorphic puzzles, working together to escape the room within a certain time limit. This article presents the use of a digital escape room on third-year students in the field of computer network mechanics at a secondary vocational school. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of implementing an escape room focused on HTML and computer networks on third-year computer network mechanics students and to assess the students’ levels of perception of the game. Although the experiment did not confirm an increase in students’ cognitive abilities, the quantitative analysis confirms a significant increase in the motivation, engagement, and satisfaction of students in secondary vocational schools focusing on technical vocational subjects. Qualitative analysis provides a better understanding of these results and supports the conclusion that using a digital educational escape room is enjoyable for students, and leads to problem-solving skills and teamwork.

Keywords

• educational escape rooms
• active learning
• puzzle
• secondary vocational education
• gamification
• computer science