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BEST PRACTICES

MANUALFOR PARKS

AND PLACES & SPACES

Updated September 2018

Best Practices Manual 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(AR) games that will elevate your visitors’ experiences. We know 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, highlight specific events or site programming, and provide analytics on user activities. 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 anytime at the Agents of Discovery Headquarters. Happy Mission Making, Mary Clark, Chief Executive OfficerAgents of Discovery

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CONNECTIVITY When building your Mission, we recommend using one of our supported browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Microsoft Edge or Safari. Have a strong Internet connection (at least 6-10 Mbps). 10 is best!

PLANNING YOUR MISSIONPlease 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 location. Get feedback, edits and/or comments from your team. We’ve found that the more people are involved in the Mission Making process, the more

involved they will be in promoting it on site. Make it a team-building excercise! NOT TOO LONGKeep it short! For outdoor Missions, we recommend a route of about 1½ miles (2 km). Ideally, this would

be done on a looped trail, with about 20 Challenges. For indoor Missions, we recommend creating Challenges to complement your exhibits. Remember your target audience will be children and their families. Engaging and timely

content should also be concise!

GET GOING FASTFor your convenience, we have developed universal, ready-to-go Challenges that 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 THEMEThe “Agents” 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; and • Call to action. When planning your theme, consider the significant features of your Mission location

(what makes it unique?).

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MEASURABLE OBJECTIVESMeasurable 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.

Get creative and develop real-world objectives, such as reducing trash on a trail, providing a discount at the store or free entrance to your location for Agents who successfully complete your Mission.

GET READY, GOThink carefully about the best place to start your Mission. Great starting points include areas of natural congregation such as:

• exhibit entries;• day use areas; and• nature centers.

The first Challenge should be introductory. Options include: 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 in to 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 Mission route.• Any signage Agents need to read should be in clear sight.• Post-Challenge pop up information 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 EVENTSOne 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 a successful approach at

many sites. Seasonal Challenges can also be rewarding (and add incentives for Agents to return to your

Mission!).

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SPREAD THE NEWS In order to make your location 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, it can be found on our website. 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 Public Relation Support doc which includes social media posts ready for you to plug into Twitter/Facebook. We also have a pitch document you can copy and paste into an email 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 example exposure, add posters to bulletin boards and other areas of natural congregation (such as bathrooms, campsites or an interpretive center) 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 Agents can download the Agents of Discovery app.

SOFT OPENINGS Before publishing your game, we recommend testing with user groups (e.g. 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 the launch in conjunction with another signature

event, you can also 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 Public Relations Support document.

GUIDED Agents of DiscoveryMany sites have added Agents of Discovery to their regular, in-person guided programs (Encourages families to bring their smartphones as part of their experience). Volunteers and Camp Hosts can incorporate their Mission into their regular programs (e.g.

a Junior Ranger Program).

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PROVIDING DEVICESMany 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 to download the game, but you won’t need it to play.

ADDING EXTRA FEATURESAs you become more familiar with Agents of Discovery, consider some of the optional advanced upgrade features such as customized Field Agents, maps, rewards, etc.

ADVOCATE AMBASSADORSWe 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.

FEEDBACKIf 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 STORIESIf something is really working for your location, we want to know about it, so we can share the tips going forward!

VIEW YOUR MISSION BEFORE IT IS PUBLISHED IN PREVIEW MODETo view your Mission in Preview Mode on the Agents of Discovery app, start by tapping the Login/Profile button. Swipe right to left until you reach the last screen, or tap the button on the right side of the lower panel. When prompted, enter the following Access Code (all in lower case): makerTap the Preview Mode toggle to turn on Preview Mode. Tap Save. You can now view your Missions in Preview Mode to see what they will look like once they are published. Once you have turned on Preview Mode, you can see all of the Challenges within your Mission by tapping on the eye icon near the top of the screen.

TESTIMONIALSWe want to hear from you! We love testimonials, so please let us know your thoughts!

For assistance, please contact: Customer Success at support@agentsofdiscovery.com

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Thematic Worksheet for Informal Education sites like Parks, Zoos, Nature Centers, etc.

Creating a Mission can feel like a daunting task. These steps follow the basic thematic building blocks and are intended to help you build the best Mission possible. When developing new Missions with Challenges, imagine that you are developing a guided hike. The hike should be 1½ miles long and should take less than an hour.

Think about the purpose: what do I want my audience to see and learn, and what actions would I like to see as a result? Sound familiar? You are on the right track!

1. BASE BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A. Think about your target audience.

Our target audience for this game is: (fill in the box below!)

1.

2.

3.

B. We recommend that the Challenges should RELATE to the site, so it is important to list the goal of the site (or agency).

The goal of my site is to

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C. What is the significance of your site? What makes it special and unique from other sites?

The significance of our site is

D. What is the purpose of your site? Why was the site created?

The purpose of what we do at our site is to

OK, now we have a better understanding of who you want to play your game, what is important at your site, and its purpose. Now it is time to start developing a central theme that you can base your Challenges around.

1. STAGES OF THEME DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUR AGENTS OF DISCOVERY MISSION

A. Start with a topic.

The game at my site is generally about

B. After brainstorming with others, narrow the topic. Now answer:

Specifically, I want to tell the players of the game that

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C. Once you have narrowed the topic down, think about what you want the audience to carry away with them and answer:

After playing an Agents of Discovery Mission at my site, I want the players to understand

that

D. OK, you are now on your way to creating a solid theme that you can base your Challenge content around. Think about universal intangibles (emotions, feelings, concepts) that EVERYONE can relate to. List the universal intangibles.

E. Now craft a theme statement that combines all of the above.

The work above should help guide your Challenge content and ensure that Agents relate to your site, significance, and the purpose/mission of your site. Please note that you could repeat this exercise to develop other themes. We recommend keeping it to no more than three themes.

3. CHALLENGE CONTENT We have developed a Top 10 Tips for Writing Great Challenges guide (see page 14). Included in these guidelines are tools to ensure your content is at the appropriate reading level and avoids the passive tense.

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A. Remember your user needsRemember that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs taught us that to realize self-actualization and be fully engaged, we must first meet basic and intermediate needs. Adding the location of your bathrooms, trail information, and what to expect are all basic needs your users will have, and you can weave these needs into Challenges and opening statements. Write your welcome message below (should be less than 40 words).

B. Rules and RegulationsPer our best practices, adding a couple of Challenges about rules and safety is a great practice to help orient your users to your rules. Writing down some of the common safety messages and/or rules can help craft a useful message at the beginning of the trail.

C. Where not to goMost sites have areas that you may want children or large groups to avoid (such as cliffs, sensitive areas, or dangerous spots). List areas to avoid.

D. Learning opportunitiesAs you know, your site abounds with opportunities to learn, so ensure you pick Challenge locations that allow the resource to touch players’ hearts and minds through observations,

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sound, and touch. Platforms, views, boardwalks, viewing stations, historic structures and landscape viewing areas are all great locations for Challenges. List the opportunities that include a starting point.

E. Measurable Objectives Measurable objectives are excellent ways to gauge the success of your Mission. You can be creative and develop real-world objectives such as reducing trash on a trail, cleaning up vandalism, or basic rule adherence. Use Challenges so players can identify what your organization is all about. The analytics report can help you determine if users understand Challenges by seeing their responses. Write down some measurable objectives you would like to see while playing the game. Try for at least 3-5 objectives.

1. 4.

2. 5.

3.

F. Completing the MissionAgents of Discovery has a cool feature that allows you to send a message of congratulations when a player completes a Mission. Include the option of adding a QR/Barcode for tangible rewards such as stickers, discounts, or other promotional materials you may offer. List the tangible rewards your site could offer and/or the main call to action (such as joining the Friends group or social media efforts).

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4. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER Hopefully, your ideas and brainstorming with staff are bearing fruit. Now it is time to start building a program outline that you can base your Challenge types and content around. Use the form below.

THEME(S) FOR THE GAME

MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES

1. 4.

2. 5.

3.

CHALLENGE LOCATIONS & CHALLENGE TOPICS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

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CHALLENGE LOCATIONS & CHALLENGE TOPICS (cont).

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

CALLS TO ACTION

1.

2.

3.

CONCLUDING REWARD

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Top 9 Tips for Writing Great Challenges

IntroductionThese tips are intended to help writers create a compelling and accurate Challenge. They apply to all types of Challenges, particularly those written by the Agents of Discovery team for the education market (formal and informal).

Before beginning to write Challenges, it is useful to go through a thematic development exercise. The Challenges should loosely follow a narrative that ties the Mission together as a cohesive experience. Mapping out the Mission location will help to ensure the theme plays out as intended in the physical setting. Playing it in advance always helps, too.

Challenges will be written for different audiences and in many cases to meet specific educational standards. Educational standards are applied according to the client needs. For the informal sector, a useful source to guide in writing is the National Parks Service guidance on interpretive writing. https://www.nps.gov/idp/interp/230/module.htm

There are five parts to a Challenge, and they each serve to increase the interest of the reader: to learn more and to solve the Mission Challenges. It is important to know how to write a Challenge set. Pre- and Post-Challenge nformation may be optional for informal markets.

1 The Pre-Challenge Text needs to provide the context for the Challenge and help the participant solve it.

The Pre-Challenge image should support the Pre-Challenge Text. The Challenge can be standalone for informal markets. When it is, it should not be

a text-only Challenge, but include graphics. When part of a Challenge set, it builds on the Pre-Challenge content and provides new knowledge.

The Post-Challenge Text rewards the Mission participant by providing even more information about what they just learned - and provides some new knowledge that entices them to learn even more [this may be optional for informal markets].

The Post-Challenge image reinforces the Post-ChallengeText [this may be optional for informal markets].

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There are different Challenge types (profiled at the end of this document). AR Catch Player Response AR Scavenger Hunt Sound Matcher Color Picker Text 50/50 Detective Text Checklist Image 50/50 Image Checklist AR Picker

Review the construction of each of these to be sure you are using the best possible Challenge type for the content. It’s worth having a mix of Challenge types so the experience is varied during the Mission.

Whether you are working alone or with a team, make sure someone else is checking your work. Ideally, test out the Challenges with a sample of the participants they are intended for. The checklist is straightforward:

Does the Pre-Challenge Text help them answer the Challenge question? Does the Challenge provide new information they didn’t know before? Does the Post-Challenge Text provide additional information that makes them even more interested in learning?

Does the Challenge make a human connection between the content of the Challenge and the person participating in it?

Does the Challenge content relate to and complement what the Mission participants will locate on the Mission site?

Are there any facts that were provided that they know to be incorrect? Do the words and the images/audio match? Can they comprehend it the first time they read it? Is it personally engaging for them?

The Challenges must be based on verifiable facts. We’ve provided a list of resources to use in each type of agency. The Agents of Discovery team always cites the sources they use in case there are any questions. We suggest teachers and other Challenge creators do the same. Since Challenges can easily cover new subject areas, please consult with a member of the Agents of Discovery’s Customer Success team or with a local librarian to make sure you are using authoritative sources when writing your Challenge.

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Make sure you are using authoritative sources and that Agents of Discovery or your organization has the rights to share the images and audio. Please check our legal guidelines on copyright. If you have a question, contact support@agentsofdiscovery.com. Here is a list of authoritative sources we have cleared for use in customized and pre-packaged Challenges.

Art and Architecture

The Met (check on whether public domain or not): http://www.metmuseum.org/search-results#!/search?q=public%20domain%20images

Biodiversity

Encyclopedia of Life: http://eol.org

Calscape.org: http://www.calscape.org/loc-California/

Biodiversity Heritage Library: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/advsearch

iNaturalist: http://www.inaturalist.org

Earth Sciences Agriculture: https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/images/image-gallery/

(Covers multiple topics)

Smithsonian Encyclopedia (Science and Technology, Biodiversity, Art and Design, History and Culture): http://www.si.edu/encyclopedia

PBS Learning Media: http://www.pbslearningmedia.org

Wikipedia list of public domain images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Free_media_resources/Photography

Pixabay: https://pixabay.com Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org (all public domain media) Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov The British Library: http://www.bl.uk Open Educational Resources Commons: https://www.oercommons.org Free Sounds: http://soundbible.com Free pictures (CCO Public Domain): http://absfreepic.com

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Free images: http://www.freeimages.com Public domain pictures: http://www.picdrome.com Pixnio: http://www.pixnio.com Internet Archive: https://archive.org Wikipedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page The Public Health Image Library https://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp The NREL image library https://images.nrel.gov/bp/#/

History BBC History: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history; Smithsonian Education: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/ National Archives (US) https://www.archives.gov/education

Life Sciences U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services:

http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/landingpage/collection/natdiglibParks National Parks Services: https://www.nps.gov/media/multimedia-search.htm

Space NASA Galleries: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/index.html More from NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/hq/home/index.html And more from NASA: https://soundcloud.com/nasaWater U.S. Geological Survey Education Site: https://water.usgs.gov/education.html National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration : http://www.noaa.gov/ Food and Agriculture Organization: http://www.fao.org/about/en/ The University of Arizona - Open Water Repository: http://arizona.openrepository.

com/arizona/handle/10150/135401

We’re always open to learning about other potential sources that other teachers might find useful. Please let us know if you come across a great resource.

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Words that describe images or audio appearing in the Challenge choices must match the images or audio.

This is an educational game played on a mobile device, so the Challenges have to be short (maximum 30 words) and to the point. The idea is for the participants to quickly capture the key points and be able to participate in selecting a choice, identifying the Challenge in the context of the Mission they are undertaking, and to retain that knowledge. Less is more. Always keep in mind your text will show up in a dialog screen on a smartphone or tablet. Too much text can distract students, or in some cases, even have them lose interest.

Use language that the target group will understand. Write according to reading comprehension ability. If you are not an educator, or do not have educational experience, consult with an Agents of Discovery team member.

Agents of Discovery is an interactive game, so images and audio are important. We highly recommend adding Pre- and Post-Challenge images. Images should be at least 512 x 512 pixels in size. You must have the rights to any media you utilize. If you do not have the rights, you can use public domain images.

If planning to share to the Library, you should use keywords in your Challenges. This allows them to be easily found by others in the Library.

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Your Guide to Challenges

Mission Structure

Challenge Structure

Players download your Mission

Pre-Challenge pop-up (optional)

Field Agent offers Your Welcome Message

Challenge Question & potential Answers

Players play through your Challenges.

Post-Challenge pop-up (optional)

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Image Checklist Text Checklist

Challenge Types

Choose ALL the correct

image-based answers!

Choose ALL the correct text-based answers!

Detective Sound Matcher

Fill-in-the-blank question with an image

as a hint!

Upload 3-4 soundclips & 3-4 images of sound

makers. ONE image should

match with ONE sound clip.

I’ll warm up for my solo!

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AR Scavenger Hunt Object

Text 50/50 Image 50/50

You can ask multiple questions here!

Challenge Types (cont.)

AR Scavenger Hunt

Players must hunt down objects and sort them into the correct

categories.

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Challenge Types (cont.)

Color Picker

Players tap on the colors to correctly color in the

picture.

Player Reponse Text Player Response Image

These Challengesallow you to ask open-

ended questions to players.

AR Catch

Players will use their devices’ camera to catch objects in

AUGMENTED REALITY! That’s unbee lievable!

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AR Picker

Now you’re ready to Make Your Missions…contact Agents of Discovery if you need help

out in the field!For assistance, contact:

support@agentsofdiscovery.com

Challenge Types (cont.)

Players look around in Augmented Reality for the correct answers.