Why a New Version
When we began developing Murder at Old Fields® in 2010, the web was a very different place. Web browsers at the time had far fewer features than they do today. The new version, now named Mystery at Old Fields™, features a significant redesign, built to leverage the full power of modern web technologies. We've optimized the experience to work better across a range of screen sizes, ensuring a seamless and responsive experience whether you're using a Chromebook, laptop, tablet, or even a smartphone. This upgrade allows us to deliver more a intuitive and visually appealing user experience in addition to a host of new features.
Mystery at Old Fields™ will be directly integrated with the Learn Engines dashboard. The Learn Engines dashboard is an easy-to-use central location for managing your students and classes across all Learn Engines activities. Learn more
What’s New
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New DNA Lesson
Mystery at Old Fields™ now features an upgraded and expanded DNA lesson from the original Murder at Old Fields®.
Mystery at Old Fields™ features two DNA lessons: DNA Basic or DNA Advanced. As the teacher, you now have the choice in your Lesson Plan function to choose either of these two lessons depending on the knowledge and skill level of your students.
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The DNA Basic Lab features virtually the same lesson as in MaOF Original in that in the lab the students are asked to match the band patterns generated by Gel electrophoresis on DNA samples of the victims and suspects. The lab is basic: the gel patterns are provided for the students, and they must match them. The DNA Basic lesson is about 250 words.
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The DNA Advanced Lab features a DNA lesson that goes into much greater detail about this aspect of forensic science that is becoming more important every day. The DNA Advanced lesson is about 4,500 words. Its focus is on a different approach to DNA Analysis — Capillary Electrophoresis. In this case, the results are returned as a DNA read-out with each nucleotide in the STR regions of a DNA molecule identified by color and letter.
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Multiple Scenarios
Mystery at Old Fields™ features multiple scenarios, each of which leads to a case pointing to a different culprit. In MaOF Original, there was only one scenario which pointed most conclusively to a single suspect.
In Mystery at Old Fields™, each scenario shares the same lessons and quizzes, but the evidence in the crime scene, the control samples and the answer as to who may have committed the crime are different. It’s up to you as the teacher as to whether the students in your class will do the same scenario, a randomly assigned scenario or a scenario assigned to each student by you via the teacher dashboard.
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New User Interface
Mystery at Old Fields™ features an upgraded interface that presents better on a variety of screen sizes and hardware.
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Ask Constable Fawkes
Mystery at Old Fields™ features “Ask Constable Fawkes” which can help students if they are having trouble finding evidence at the crime scene.
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Updated Graphics
Mystery at Old Fields™ features upgraded images, including those of the suspects and victims.
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New Evidence Collection
Mystery at Old Fields™ includes improvements to the evidence panel, where students can now sort and characterize evidence and “Go to Location” in the crime scene where the evidence was found. This provides better context for constructing the narrative of the crime.
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Improved Evidence Viewer
Mystery at Old Fields™ includes an improved Evidence Viewer / lab experience. The new lab has a larger working area allowing for more than two samples to be examined at a time which makes visual comparisons easier. The new interface also lets the user access the corresponding lesson right next to the lab.
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Improved Crime Scene
Mystery at Old Fields™ features upgrades to navigating the crime scene making it easier and faster to move from location to location plus an enhanced map overlay.
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Updated Grade Book
Mystery at Old Fields™ includes improved grade book functionality with enhanced data filtering and export.
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More Granular Lesson Plan
Mystery at Old Fields™ includes an improved Lesson Plan functionality. This provides the teacher with the ability to enable or disable lessons, labs or quizzes on a per class or per student level.
Learn Engines Integration
Mystery at Old Fields™ is directly integrated with the Learn Engines framework. Learn Engines, the creator of Mystery at Old Fields™, has a centralized dashboard for managing classes, students, and activities.
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Better Class Management
A new, easier-to-use interface for managing students and classes. Students can optionally be enrolled using a Class Code — students create their own accounts and using the Class Code get placed into one of your classes automatically. Learn More
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Single Sign On Support
Make student sign in easier when optionally linked to a Google, ClassLink, or Flourish account. When linked, students can sign into Mystery at Old Fields™ using their linked account. Learn More
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Assistant Teachers
Assistant teachers can access the same activities as a teacher. Within an activity, they can view, filter, and export the gradebook, grade short answer questions, and reset student activities. Learn More
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Scheduled Deletions
For improved student privacy, a deletion date can be set to automatically remove the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of former students.
Purchasing Mystery at Old Fields™
The subscription pricing option has been eliminated and Mystery at Old Fields™, like our other crime scenes — Diablo Highway® and Who Took Fluffy?™ — features single use licenses. With single use licenses, the licenses you purchase remain active until you assign them to a student. In other words, unused licenses never expire.
Continuing to use MaOF Original
For those users who want to continue to use MaOF Original, you can do so for a limited time. You can purchase MaOF Original — subscriptions or single-use licenses — until 09-01-2026. After that date, no new purchases will be possible. You and your students can continue to use MaOF Original — subscriptions or single-use licenses until 09-01-2027. After that date, MaOF Original will cease operation and only Mystery at Old Fields™ will be available for purchase and use.
If your classes have already begun using MaOF Original, they must complete that version of the activity. If you are interested in using the new version and have existing licenses for MaOF Original, contact us and we will help you make the switch.
Have Other Questions?
If you have any other question, please contact us.