BEST PRACTICES [TOP SECRET]

Transcription

1 BEST PRACTICES [TOP SECRET]

2 Best Practices to Create an Augmented Reality Game (Mission) at Your Site Dear Fellow Agent, Welcome to our handbook full of top-secret tips for making the best Missions possible! We are committed to empowering you to create Augmented Reality games that will elevate your visitors experiences. Experience has taught us that a well-crafted Mission can increase visitor engagement by providing interactive, educational content that inspires kids (and kids at heart) to learn more about their surroundings. We ve listened to our partner Agents across North America to find out what works best for them, and we ve assembled their intel in this guide. As you ll soon discover, making an effective and fun Mission is simple with our flexible Mission Maker. The Mission Maker gives you the ability to customize educational and interpretive experiences for even greater possibilities to engage visitors. Missions can change with the seasons or highlight specific events or site programming. Changes and new Challenges will keep visitors coming back to your site to see what s next! This platform makes it all possible. I hope you ll enjoy using Agents of Discovery and seeing your visitors engage with your site like never before. If you need any assistance along the way, please be sure to contact us at the Agents of Discovery Headquarters. Happy Mission Making, Mary Clark, Chief Executive Officer Agents of Discovery

3 CONNECTIVITY When downloading the Agents of Discovery game or updating the Mission List: Have a strong Internet connection (at least 6-10 Mbsp). PLANNING YOUR MISSION SITE Please remember this is your Mission, so we encourage you to retain your team s voice! With your team, discuss where the best learning points are at your site. Get feedback/edits/comments from your team. We ve found the more people involved in the Mission Making process, the more involved they will be in promoting it on site. NOT TOO LONG Keep it short! For outdoor sites: We recommend a route of about 1½ miles (2 km), ideally on a looped trail, with about 20 Challenges. For indoor sites, we recommend creating Challenges to complement your exhibits. Remember your target audience is kids and their families. Research indicates that more than an hour can become too long. GET GOING FAST For your convenience, we have developed generic, ready-to-go Challenges you can easily customize to your Mission. These will allow you to get started quickly and publish within an hour! You can then tweak your content or add more Challenges whenever you like. KNOW YOUR THEME The Agents of Discovery who play your Mission will remember well-organized themes better than a series of random facts. A thematic approach while creating your Mission will help with: Content organization Delivery sequence Key learnings Call to action When planning your theme, consider the significant features of your site (what makes it unique?).

4 MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES Measurable objectives are excellent ways to gauge the success of your Mission. Use your metrics to see how many downloads you have received. Metrics can be used in your weekly or monthly interpretive reports. More advanced metrics such as how long Agents have spent playing your Mission will become available Spring Get creative and develop real-world objectives, such as reducing trash on a trail or providing a discount at the store or free entrance to your location for Agents who successfully complete your Mission. GET READY, GO Think carefully about the best place to start your Mission. Great starting points include areas of natural congregation such as: exhibit entries day-use areas nature centers The first Challenge should be introductory; perhaps advising of specific rules, resource concerns, reinforcement of positive behaviors, or simply introducing your Agents to your agency. CHANGE IT UP AND KEEP IT RELEVANT Our Library has lots of Challenges available to you, so have fun and switch it up to keep your Agents happy and coming back! If you are finding a Challenge isn t working, you can easily go into the Mission Maker and edit your content. Tips: The optional pre-challenge pop up introduces information needed to solve the Challenge. Challenges should be on the trail or site route. Any signage Agents need to read should be in clear sight. Post-Challenge pop up should provoke further thoughts or a call to action. The hint field (where applicable) should specifically help your Agents obtain information relevant to solving the Challenge. You can run word checks for spelling, grammar, and reading level. NATURAL SEASONS AND EVENTS One of the best features of Agents of Discovery is its dynamic ability to change Challenges, text, or images, so let your Challenges align with the seasons, exhibits, or events happening at your site. Adding Special Missions to complement special events has been hugely successful at many sites. Seasonal Challenges can also be rewarding and add incentives for Agents to return to your site.

5 SPREAD THE NEWS In order to make your site a success, promote your Mission in your outreach efforts. We ve made promotion easy for you: We have web icons to add to your website as well as sample descriptions. We have a Promotional Kit that was sent in your Welcome Package and, for your convenience, can be found on our website ( promotional-kit/). This has everything you will need for promotion: Logos, Imagery, Descriptions, Flyers/Posters, Website Banner, Press Release template, Photo-Release forms, and much more! Your Welcome Packet also included a PR Support doc which includes social media posts ready for you to plug into Twitter/Facebook, and a pitch you can copy and paste into an to send to your local media contacts for news coverage. Signage: Signage introducing your Mission should be close to: Entrances, bathrooms, parking lots or any highly populated areas Insert the icons to your literature (some sites have added it to entrance receipts). *For ample exposure, add posters to bulletin boards and other areas of natural congregations such as bathrooms, campsites, and nature centers for your Agents to learn about the Mission you have created for them. We provide print-ready files and recommend investing in permanent signage. Most local print shops can print onto UV resistant ink and fabricate to metal or other durable materials. Some agencies will have access to state and federal sponsored print shops at minimal cost. Movable A-frames are excellent in front of nature centers and park headquarters. We recommend a formal introduction and orientation trail kiosk that explains how to play your Mission, and where they can download Agents of Discovery. SOFT OPENINGS Before publishing your game, we recommend using controlled test subjects (staff, children, local civic youth groups, your employees, volunteers, or advocates). Explore your Mission with these Agents and ask for their feedback. Once ready for the public, announce in conjunction with another signature event or choose a grand opening date. Consider inviting local dignities, leaders, and potential sponsors. Pitch your local media using our ready-to-use pitch from our PR Support doc. GUIDED Agents of Discovery Many sites have added Agents of Discovery to their regular, in-person guided programs and encourage families to bring their smartphones as part of their experience. Volunteers and Camp Hosts can incorporate their Mission into their regular programs including their Junior Ranger Program.

6 PROVIDING DEVICES Many sites have purchased smart devices for a lending library, preloaded with the Agents of Discovery app and their Mission. This is an excellent option in locations where cell service or WiFi isn t available. Remember, you need WiFi or data only to download the game, but you don t need it to play. ADDING EXTRA FEATURES As you become more familiar with Agents of Discovery, consider some of the optional advanced upgrade features such as grade delineation (the ability to sort Challenges by grade), customized Field Agents, maps, trophies and badges, etc. ADVOCATE AMBASSADORS We are actively seeking ambassadors (or Agents in Place) for Agents of Discovery and offer a wide range of rewards for participation including free upgrades/credits for your Mission. FEEDBACK If you ve found anything to be challenging or could use more explanation, please let us know! Our team is constantly upgrading the game and adding new features. Please let us know if you have ideas to help us ensure that Agents everywhere have the best possible active learning experience. SUCCESS STORIES If something is really working for your location, we want to know about it, so we can share the tips going forward! PREVIEW MODE Preview mode will allow you to view your Mission before it is published to make sure it s working properly. 1. In the Mission Maker, make sure the Preview Mode box is checked on the My Missions screen. 2. In the app, start by tapping the Login button or Your Profile button. 3. Swipe right to left until you reach the last screen, or tap the button on the lower panel. 4. When prompted, enter the following Access Code (all in lowercase): maker 5. Tap the Preview Mode toggle to turn on the Preview mode. Select Save. You can now view your Missions in Preview mode to see what they will look like once they are published. TESTIMONIALS We want to hear from you! We love testimonials, so please let us know your thoughts! For technical support, please contact: +1 (855) or customer.service@agentsofdiscovery.com

7 Technical Checklist It s easy to make an educational augmented reality game (Mission) and to assess the results with the Agents of Discovery platform. Once you have created and published your Mission with the Mission Maker, your guests can easily access it from the App or Play stores. GETTING STARTED Creating a Mission: The web-based Mission Maker dashboard Playing a Mission: The Agents of Discovery App Accessing - You can use any computer: desktop, laptop, or Chromebook that is connected to the internet. Logging In - You can access the Login page from com/ using the credentials (username and password) we have provided. Making - Once logged in, you or your students can create educational Missions for your guests to play. Publishing - You can publish your Mission to the Play and App stores simply by clicking publish. Whitelisting - Make sure the Mission Maker and the app are whitelisted by your technical team so that you can access the platform (see Appendix 1). Devices - The app will run on your ios or Android mobile device or tablet.* The app won t work on laptops as they don t have access to mobile applications. Downloading - You can download the app from the Play and App stores. You also need to download the Missions you ve created. To do this, you ll need to be connected to WiFi or data. You do not need any connection to play the Mission once it has been downloaded onto your device. GPS - In order to access geotriggered Challenges, your device will need to have GPS capabilities. All mobile phones have GPS chips, but many tablets do not.* If you are using an ipad, you can add GPS capability by purchasing a GPS receiver at: bad-elf.com/pages/be-gps-1008-detail.

8 All Agents of Discovery customers receive a 30% discount. If you wish to use QR codes to trigger your Challenges, you will not require GPS capability. Settings - Ensure your device s Location Services are set to High Accuracy. It is also a best practice to turn your WiFi off while playing a Mission to save power. (Make sure you have downloaded your Mission first) * Some of the older ios and Android devices without GPS do not support the game including: ipad 2, ipad Mini 1.

9 Appendix 1 - Domains to Whitelist Agents of Discovery URL: mm.agentsofdiscovery.com IP: PORTS: 80, 443 URL: production.abrrpyxhyi.us-west-2.elasticbeanstalk.com IP: PORTS: 80, 443 URL: production-env-lb us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com Ports 80, 443 URL: mm.discoveryagents.net IP: PORTS: 80, 443 (22 is open, but should not be used for the website). URL: mb.discoveryagents.net IP: PORTS: 80, 81, 443 (3389 is open, but should not be used for the website). URL: Port 80, 443 URL: Port 80, 443 To use Encyclopedia of Life content, you must whitelist their media repository URL: Media.eol.org Ports 80, 443 APIs khms0.googleapis.com khms1.googleapis.com maps.googleapis.com maps.gstatic.com csi.gstatic.com media.eol.org