Using QuoVidi

QuoVidi is a large scale biological treasure hunt framework. The principle is simple. The game masters compile a list of more than “quests” to be found in a given area. For the original game (that we played with our students), these quests were all linked to biological structures and organisms, both botanical and zoological.

These quests had different difficulty levels (1,2,3) with different rewards. We did not explain the different biological terms to the students in a plenary lecture. We wanted them to look them up and learn by themselves.

Once the players (divided in groups) have a good idea of what is in the list, they have to go outside to find the quests in real life. As we do not want them to damage or collect anything during the game, they have to take pictures of the quests once they found them. We also ask them to activate the geotagging feature of their phones when taking the pictures. These pictures can then be submitted via the QuoVidi interface. We would then review them to assess whether they were correct or not.

In order to make the experience a bit more fun, and motivate the students even further, the scores of the different groups are visible within the web interface. They can then compred their how evolution to those of the other groups.