Clue in the Time of COVID: How Among Us Can Bring Talk and Persuasion to the Online ELA Classroom
by Pamela Bussey
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Getting students to talk in class is never easy. Encouraging them to persuade an audience or defend an argument can sometimes feel like the proverbial pulling of teeth. Having students ‘buy-in’ for a class speech or debate is challenging at the best of times. No surprise then, that talk in the age of online teaching seems an insurmountable task.
We’ve all been there: faced with a screen of blacked out rectangles and small mute signs, seemingly speaking to ourselves for hours on end. This is not why we got into teaching. This is not what excellent teaching looks like. This is not what students want from our teaching. And yet, here we all are. There’s no mistaking the power of teachers, of course. We’ve been thrown into a global pandemic and we’re doing blindfolded backflips in order to make it happen. We are creating, innovating, and improvising like never before, and we are also likely exhausted like never before. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? And yet, talk is still a challenge. How do we get students talking - in authentic ways - when they won’t turn on their cameras or unmute their mics? How do we bring talk back into our (online) classrooms? One answer: Among Us, a free online game where players need to simultaneously complete small tasks and avoid being killed by an imposter. How to Play (and Survive) Among Us |
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Here’s how the game works: 4-10 players are dropped in a spaceship and each player has tasks to complete in different areas of the ship. One or two of the players are chosen, at random, to be the “imposter(s).” These players do not have tasks to complete but must try to kill as many crewmates as possible. If the non-imposter crewmates successfully complete their tasks before they are all killed, they win the game. However, if the imposter(s) manage to kill enough crewmates before all of the tasks are complete, they win. Think Clue in the time of COVID, with cute astronaut characters in funny hats.
Sounds easy, right? It is. And yet, what makes Among Us fun is not the mundane completion of tasks, or the merciless killing of crewmates: it’s the discussions that happen when all members are brought into a room to vote on who should be ejected from the ship, and thus killed-off. This happens either when a body is found or when an emergency meeting is called.
And this, my tired, triumphant teacher friends, is when the magic happens.
As you can imagine, the imposters’ sole aim during these discussions is to stay on the ship and survive another round. Imposters will often lie, cry foul play, or appeal to players’ emotions to stay on board. I have personally seen couples turn on each other - pointing the finger at the person they love most - in order to stay in the game.
Sounds easy, right? It is. And yet, what makes Among Us fun is not the mundane completion of tasks, or the merciless killing of crewmates: it’s the discussions that happen when all members are brought into a room to vote on who should be ejected from the ship, and thus killed-off. This happens either when a body is found or when an emergency meeting is called.
And this, my tired, triumphant teacher friends, is when the magic happens.
As you can imagine, the imposters’ sole aim during these discussions is to stay on the ship and survive another round. Imposters will often lie, cry foul play, or appeal to players’ emotions to stay on board. I have personally seen couples turn on each other - pointing the finger at the person they love most - in order to stay in the game.
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Among Us as a Teaching Tool
Among friends this is a great night in. But among students? This is where the opportunities for talk come in. Students are, by and large, already familiar with the game. Among Us has been downloaded over 200 million times, and The New York Times recently reported that “millions of teenagers and kids” have “become hooked,” and that the game “...has begun to serve as a default social platform for young people stuck in quarantine.” Using Among Us as a teaching tool makes sense as the game was built to invite and rely on the strategies of persuasion. When, as a player, you are at risk of being kicked off the ship, your instinct to persuade kicks in and you will do and say what you need to, in order to stay safe. |
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In the (online) classroom, the options are nearly endless. Teachers can frontload persuasion techniques and ask that students use them while in discussion. Or, they can encourage more natural discussions, and then use those as examples for rhetoric and persuasion.
In order to use Among Us with your students, you’ll need to first download the game on your phone or computer. Your students will also need to download the game, if they don’t have it already. Once installed, you can set up a game up by being the Host. This will produce a code that students will need to enter in order to access the game. In order to have discussions, you will need to set up a separate video call, using a platform like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Hangouts.
While playing, all players should mute themselves on the video call. When a meeting is called in the game - if, for example, a body is discovered - all players will return to the video call and unmute themselves for the ensuing debate.
It is possible, of course, that a teacher ends up as Imposter, since roles are randomly assigned. If you would prefer to only observe, you will need to entrust a student as host.
In order to use Among Us with your students, you’ll need to first download the game on your phone or computer. Your students will also need to download the game, if they don’t have it already. Once installed, you can set up a game up by being the Host. This will produce a code that students will need to enter in order to access the game. In order to have discussions, you will need to set up a separate video call, using a platform like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Hangouts.
While playing, all players should mute themselves on the video call. When a meeting is called in the game - if, for example, a body is discovered - all players will return to the video call and unmute themselves for the ensuing debate.
It is possible, of course, that a teacher ends up as Imposter, since roles are randomly assigned. If you would prefer to only observe, you will need to entrust a student as host.
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A Worthwhile Learning Curve
No tool is perfect and neither is Among Us. There will no doubt be technical issues, something we’re all familiar with at this point. Students will need a device and adequate wifi in order to play. If they haven’t played before, they may need to play a few rounds in order to get the hang of things. There are a maximum of 10 players and so you may need to have two or three games in order to assess your entire class. However, the benefits outweigh the risks and annoyances. Among Us is known and often beloved by students, so you probably won’t need to haggle with them to take part. The game is accessible and easy to use, and even your most shy students are likely to pipe up when they are targeted for an ejection. As with any time we group students, you’ll need to be strategic here, as collective bullying could be a problem. The inverse is true too though, and you may find that students develop better rapport and community through the game. |
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Talk in the classroom setting may never be easy. Teachers are often at a loss for how to create authentic talk opportunities and assessments.
And yet, we know that our students are talking all the time. Video games are often prime real estate for talk. Whether it’s persuasion, teamwork, or strategic thinking -- game environments thrive on player communication.
Why not use this familiar and fun medium rather than banging our heads against the wall to get students to talk? After all, who among us would not debate tooth and nail to survive?
And yet, we know that our students are talking all the time. Video games are often prime real estate for talk. Whether it’s persuasion, teamwork, or strategic thinking -- game environments thrive on player communication.
Why not use this familiar and fun medium rather than banging our heads against the wall to get students to talk? After all, who among us would not debate tooth and nail to survive?