Text Message Based Scavenger Hunt Game

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Dub Hunt1 is a scavenger hunt game in which teams of students receive text message questions about the UNCW campus. As teams finds answers, they text them in and the game software evaluates their answers for correctness. For the purpose of this game, the campus was divided into nine regions and a database of questions about the various regions was developed. Students generally work in teams of two to four. The game begins when one student on each team receives a text message question from the application. Team members then set out to find the answer, and when they do, they text it back to the game application, which automatically grades the answer and adjusts the team's score.

Questions in the database vary in difficulty, but one common feature is that the players have to locate a certain building or object on campus in order to find the answer. The game was designed to be used as an early first-year student experience. Key features of the game include teamwork, physical activity, and learning about the university. Another feature of the game's software is flexibility. Different databases of questions can be developed in which the target areas, in addition to geographic regions of campus, might include other campus highlights or be academic. For instance, instead of requiring students to go to a particular location to find the answer, it could require research in the library. There are many possibilities.

The UNCW Division of Student Affairs played a large role in developing Dub Hunt. Staff from the Office of Transition Programs supervised groups of student orientation leaders who gathered and edited the majority of the questions in the database. The orientation leaders also participated in trial runs of the game and were very enthusiastic participants. Feedback from this group led to numerous improvements.

See also Managing Dub Hunt and Dub Hunt Slides.

Here is a video clip of students using Dub Hunt in Dr. Steve Elliott's UNI 101 Fall 2008.

1Students have nicknamed UNCW, the dub ('W'), hence the name Dub Hunt.

Contact Email: support@mymobed.com

Last Updated: August 6, 2012.