Comparing Face-to-Face and Remote Educational Escape Rooms for Learning Programming

Abstract

Existing literature has provided strong evidence that educational escape rooms are engaging and effective learning activities when they are properly conducted in the classroom. However, no prior research has determined whether the positive effects of these novel educational activities on students' perceptions and learning persist when conducted remotely. This article performs, for the first time, a comparative study of the effectiveness of face-to-face and remote educational escape rooms. For this purpose, two versions of the same educational escape room were conducted: one in-class and one remotely. Both experiences were evaluated by means of three different instruments: (1) a pre-test and a post-test for measuring learning gains, (2) a questionnaire for assessing students' perceptions, and (3) a web platform for recording student interaction data during the activities. The results obtained suggest that, although remote educational escape rooms for learning programming can be as engaging as their face-to-face counterparts, their learning effectiveness is somewhat lower.