Immersive Learning at ACAD
ReconMars was a gamified web-based learning management system (LMS) built to engage students in the Academy for Communication, Art + Design (ACAD) at Viera High School across curriculums and Adobe Certification testing.
“I’ve never felt closer to my classmates. It’s so hard to leave with graduation so soon. I don’t want to go. I’m part of an amazing family here that cares about me.”
— Senior Student, Academy for Communication, Art + Design
Establishing a premiere design academy
In 2012-13, students in Brevard County had a passing rate of 52% for Adobe Associate Certifications. Each passing certification was attached to The Florida Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act funds that would allow for purchasing resources that provide a statewide planning partnership between the business and education communities to attract, expand and retain targeted, high-value industry to sustain a strong, knowledge-based economy.
By increasing the certification pass rate, we could become the premiere design academy for secondary students in Florida, equipping students at a collegiate level.
Making testing fun
To engage students in learning and equipping them with the necessary skills to pass Adobe Associate Certifications in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Premiere Pro, I built a website with the GameOn app that tracked user levels, XP, ranks, and currency. Curriculum was created and then adapted to fit a 5-season storyline of Mars colonization to engage students.
Deliverables
Creative Strategy
Digital Media Curriculum/Lesson Plans
Event Production
Learning Management System
Project Management
Storytelling/Storyboarding 5 “seasons”
Videos
Visual Identity
Harry Potter meets the Hunger Games
Students were randomly placed in one of seven colonies (Atlas, Ceres, Copia, Fortuna, Sancus, Vesta, and Virtus). We would launch each year with a team building event called Out of the Nest where colonies would compete in field day type activities. Throughout the year each student could contribute Colony Points based on achievements through their learning to help their Colony raise the cup at the end of the year.
Fostering Belonging
Belonging starts by creating a place where you can be yourself, feel comfortable, and feel valued. High School students spend at least 35 hours of their week in school. That’s quite a chunk of time out of your week to feel out-of-place as most students do around that age. We created a special place that covered 20 of those hours where students could feel seen or where they knew their voice mattered.
The Harry Potter Sorting Hat comes to life with a Sci-Fi twist in Margo Starchaser. At our “sorting ceremony,” Margo would reveal what colony each student would be assigned to and they would be greeted with a roar of excitement. In one-hour we made a worried anxious freshman feel like part of a supportive community where they could come as they are.
From history books to world building
Students in the Academy would be part of a cohort that would share the same English, History, and Digital Media teachers for their entire high school careers. The Academy also had a student government that was built into the experience. Students created a bill of rights, party platforms, campaign teams, polls, ads, registered for a political party, participated in primaries and voted in the general election.
A group of students even went as far as starting their own media outlets, a Newspaper - the Galaxy Gazette, and a broadcast news channel - HNN (Hermes News Network).
Click to view party platforms below.
“I’d go home and complete additional missions (assignments) to get more Marscoin instead of playing video games.”
— Freshman student, Academy for Communication, Art + Design
Measuring Success
While the Academy for Communication, Art + Design held one of the highest pass rates in the district with a 74% pass rate with 147 students taking Adobe Certification exams the year before the launch of ReconMars, we saw a staggering 92% pass rate for the 133 students that tested the following year who had done their learning through ReconMars.