reating Desktop Adventures involves five steps: Deciding on the purpose(s) of the Adventure Determining the outcome of the Adventure Deciding the number and type of clues in the Adventure Creating a story or theme for the Adventure Writing the clues for the Adventure

esktop Adventures can meet various purpose(s). You may have one or more of these purposes in mind when you begin to create a Desktop Adventure. They can be created to: reinforce previously learned skills and concepts; provide opportunities for students to verbalize and demonstrate a variety of strategies and techniques for solving problems; and to promote the value of cooperative group efforts in problem-solving situations.      After deciding on the purpose of the Desktop Adventure (e.g, to review or introduce a unit on the Gold Rush -- see A Golden Opportunity), brainstorm possible outcomes for the Adventure. For example, do you want the solution to be a number? A place? A description of what someone is wearing (see Wondering Willie)? A book title? A person? A date?

ext, decide the number and type of clues in the Adventure. Let's say you plan to integrate the Desktop Adventure as part of your Gold Rush unit and decide that the solution will be a number. The next step is to decide on the number of clues that will be involved, whether or not you will incorporate a database or other applications into the Adventure, and what type of problem-solving, math, research, or other skills you would like to incorporate into the Adventure. These decisions will be based upon your students' ability levels and past experiences.        After deciding on the number and type of clues, decide on a theme or story that compliments the purpose of your Desktop Adventure. For example, you might create a story about King Midas for your Gold Rush Desktop Adventure. If you have already decided that the solution should be a number, then the Desktop Adventure might require the students to determine the number of gold pieces in King Midas' treasure chest.

he next step is to create the clues that will lead the students' to the desired answer. Clues may include informative facts that you want to introduce or review with your students, word puzzles, riddles, pictures -- all dependent on the purpose and theme of the Desktop Adventure. For example, if one of the purposes of the Gold Rush Desktop Adventure is to review information about the Gold Rush, then clues may contain informative facts about the Gold Rush. Make the clues interdependent. For example, some clues may require students to solve other clues or access information from other clues before arriving at an answer. Creating a diagram of how the clues relate to each other and the final solution will help to ensure that you have provided enough information for the students to solve the Desktop Adventure.

esktop Adventures are the perfect "springboard" for entering the world of hypermedia. After a Desktop Adventure is written, storyboards may be developed to represent the interactive scenes (or clues). Using HyperStudio or other multimedia program, students can transfer their storyboard ideas into a multimedia "Desktop Adventure" stack. Sounds, video, and other media may be incorporated as clues. In addition, Desktop Adventures can be created and shared on the Web (see Sample Desktop Adventures). Ideas and possibilities are endless.

What is a Desktop Adventure?   Introducing Desktop Adventures   How do you create a Desktop Adventure?   Sample Desktop Adventures

Karen S. Ivers is a professor at California State University at Fullerton. Read more about this educator.   SCRTEC takes nominations and ideas for Tech-along. Send comments to the editor. Tech-along © 1998 SCR*TEC.