The learning workflow, step by step
1. The instructor sets up the educational context
An Instructor creates or manages a Course and, where needed, organizes learners into Groups or Cohorts.
Learners are invited to the platform and placed within the appropriate organizational and educational context. NursEscape is not currently operated as an open consumer self-registration service.
2. A Room Package is published as a defined version
Digital escape rooms are not authored inside a visual NursEscape builder. They are developed independently as frontend web applications and uploaded to the platform as completed ZIP packages.
Before a room is used in an assignment, the package is brought into the platform, checked according to the Room Package model and published as a defined version.
Each published version is a distinct artifact. This makes it possible to associate a learning activity with the exact room version selected for that assignment.
3. The instructor creates an assignment
The Instructor creates an Assignment and binds it to a specific published version of a room.
The assignment defines the educational context in which the experience will be available and which learners can access it, directly or through their course/group context.
Where supported by active assignment settings, rules may be applied around the number of attempts and the criteria for issuing a certificate of completion.
4. Learners see only the experiences assigned to them
After signing in, learners can access the assignments available to their account and educational context.
For an available room, the interface may display information such as:
- room title,
- assignment,
- course,
- room version,
- difficulty, where provided,
- estimated duration, where provided,
- current progress,
- previous score, where available,
- number of previous attempts.
The exact presentation depends on the metadata and activity data available for the specific room and assignment.
5. Launch or Resume
A learner can start a new permitted attempt or resume an active attempt where saved state is available.
The room opens inside a sandboxed iframe. NursEscape establishes the relevant attempt context and the room runs as an independent web application inside the controlled runtime.
6. The room communicates through the NursEscape SDK
A Room Package does not receive direct access to the internal NursEscape application. It communicates with the platform through the JavaScript SDK.
The SDK currently supports:
getStatesaveStateprogressscoreeventcomplete- locale/context
Depending on the design of the individual room, these capabilities can be used to store game/learning state, update progress, report scores, send structured events and mark completion.
7. An active attempt can be resumed
When a room saves state through the platform, an active attempt can resume from the available stored state rather than always restarting from the beginning.
The exact contents of saved state are defined by the individual Room Package.
8. Completion and the result page
When a room reports completion through the SDK:
- the attempt is marked as completed,
- progress is set to 100%,
- score and maximum score are stored where the room provides them,
- completion time is recorded,
- the learner is shown a result page.
Depending on the available data, the result page may display:
- status,
- progress,
- score,
- percentage,
- duration,
- attempt number,
- course,
- room/version.
If the assignment allows further attempts, the learner can take the experience again.
9. Certificate of completion, where applicable
When certification is enabled for an assignment and the defined criteria are met — completion, or completion plus a minimum score depending on the configuration — NursEscape can issue a certificate of completion.
The certificate:
- is linked to that specific completion,
- is stored as an immutable snapshot,
- has a random public verification number,
- supports public verification,
- includes QR verification,
- can be generated as a PDF in Greek or English,
- can be revoked where necessary without being silently erased as though it had never existed.
Important microcopy: A NursEscape certificate records completion of a specific educational activity. It is not professional certification, accreditation or a licence to practise.
The room is an independent application. NursEscape manages the learning context.
The architectural separation between the Room Package and NursEscape is central to how the platform works.
What a Room Package can contain
A room can be built using different frontend technologies and may include:
- HTML,
- CSS,
- JavaScript,
- JSON,
- compiled React, Vue or Svelte,
- Phaser,
- Three.js / WebGL,
- WASM,
- images,
- audio,
- video,
- animations,
- other static frontend assets.
This allows individual rooms to evolve in their design and frontend technology independently from the core learning platform.
What does not run inside a Room Package
Server-side executable code is not permitted to run as part of the Room Package.
NursEscape is not a generic hosting environment for arbitrary backend code.
What NursEscape handles
The platform handles:
- package validation,
- storage,
- versioning,
- immutable publishing,
- assignment binding,
- learner access,
- sandbox execution,
- attempt context,
- progress/state/results storage,
- certificate issuance and verification, where applicable.
This model keeps the interactive experience flexible while maintaining a consistent educational and activity-recording layer around it.
Security-focused room execution
NursEscape is designed so that a Room Package does not run with the same access as the core application.
Sandboxed iframe
A room opens inside a sandboxed iframe, limiting its access to the surrounding application environment.
No access to the application session
The room does not receive access to:
- NursEscape cookies,
- the application session,
- the parent DOM,
- internal application endpoints.
Controlled communication through the SDK
Communication between the room and the platform takes place through the NursEscape JavaScript SDK and the context provided by the platform.
This allows the room to request or report information needed for the specific attempt without requiring direct access to the internal application.
Versioning: an assignment is tied to a defined room artifact
A significant feature of NursEscape is that published rooms are versioned.
When a room evolves, a new release can exist as a different published artifact. An assignment is bound to a specific version rather than merely pointing to a room title that may change over time.
This has practical value for:
- consistency of the learning activity,
- identifying the exact room version associated with results,
- maintaining attempt history,
- future educational evaluation,
- improving the reproducibility of conditions in future study designs.
Versioned artifacts are a research-oriented technical capability. They do not, by themselves, validate the educational effectiveness of NursEscape.
What instructors can review after the activity
NursEscape includes a production Results Dashboard for reviewing the learning activity recorded by the platform and individual rooms.
Summary results
Depending on the available data, Instructors can review:
- attempts,
- participants,
- completion rate,
- average progress,
- average score,
- average duration.
Learner and session details
Instructors can review learner/session information related to attempts within their own educational and organizational context.
Event timelines and saved state
Where a room records structured events or saved state, the corresponding information can be available for review through the Results Dashboard.
The usefulness of these data depends on what the individual room has been designed to report.
CSV export
Available result data can be exported as CSV for further educational review or management.
What is recorded — and what depends on the room
NursEscape can store learning-activity data such as assignment, room/version, attempt number, progress, score, saved state, timestamps, completion status and structured room events.
Not every field is mandatory for every experience.
Platform-level context
The platform knows the relevant organizational, course, assignment, room-version and attempt context.
Room-reported data
Progress, score, saved state and structured events depend on how the individual Room Package has been developed and which SDK functions it uses.
Responsible room authoring
Room Packages should be designed with data minimization as a core principle. Room authors should not place personal or sensitive data in saved state or event payloads unless it is necessary for the educational purpose and has been appropriately governed.
What is in production today — and what remains on the roadmap
Public communication about NursEscape should clearly distinguish production capabilities from functions that are architecturally anticipated or still under development.
Current production capabilities
NursEscape currently supports:
- Learner, Instructor and Super Admin roles,
- multi-organization architecture,
- courses,
- groups/cohorts,
- assignments,
- invitations,
- CSV bulk invitations,
- Room Package upload,
- published room versions,
- assignment-to-room-version binding,
- learner attempts,
- Launch / Resume,
- progress,
- saved state,
- scores, where reported,
- structured events,
- completion,
- result pages,
- an Instructor Results Dashboard,
- event timelines,
- CSV result export,
- certificates of completion and public verification.
How NursEscape fits into the wider learning ecosystem
NursEscape is not designed to replace every other educational tool.
Compared with an LMS
An LMS such as Moodle or eClass supports a much broader range of course organization, content and educational activities.
NursEscape focuses on delivering and managing immersive, stateful digital escape-room experiences and recording the associated learning activity.
There is no production Moodle/LTI/SCORM integration today.
Compared with a quiz
A quiz can be useful and appropriate for many learning objectives.
A digital escape room offers a different format: it can combine environment, narrative, multimedia, sequencing, clues, puzzles, decisions and feedback within a single stateful experience.
Compared with a case study
A conventional case study can be transformed into an interactive digital experience in which learners search for information, combine data, interact with an environment and receive feedback.
This does not mean that every case study should become an escape room or that the digital format is appropriate for every learning objective.
For institutions and educational teams
NursEscape's multi-organization architecture can technically support separate organizational contexts with their own instructors, learners, courses, groups, assignments and results.
This provides a foundation for academic collaborations, pilots and institutional deployments.
No specific commercial model, subscription plan, licensing scheme or public pricing has been announced.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone create an account and play rooms?
Not as an open consumer service. Learners are invited or placed within a defined educational context and can access only the assignments for which they are authorized.
Does NursEscape include an escape-room builder?
No. Rooms are created as independent frontend web applications and uploaded as completed Room Packages.
Can a room save learner progress?
Yes, when the room is implemented to use the relevant NursEscape SDK capabilities. A room can save state and progress so that an active attempt can be resumed.
Does every room have a score?
Not necessarily. Score recording depends on the design of the room and whether the room reports score/max-score data to the platform.
Is realtime collaborative team gameplay available?
Not as a production capability today. More advanced team experiences are part of the platform's future direction.
Are NursEscape certificates professional certifications?
No. They are certificates of completion for specific educational activities and do not constitute accreditation or professional certification.
Can another university use NursEscape?
The architecture is multi-organization and can technically support separate institutional contexts. NursEscape is open to academic collaborations, pilots and institutional deployments by discussion. No public licensing or pricing model has yet been announced.
Next step
If you are evaluating digital escape rooms for a course, educational programme or future research design, explore how NursEscape can support an institutional context.