Kids, Selfies and Unimaginable Personal Tragedies

by | Apr 12, 2018

Last week, tragedy struck in Humboldt Saskatchewan when a semi truck t-boned a bus filled with junior hockey players. The internet has been filled with emotion since this horrible incident.

The Humboldt Broncos participated in the “Mannequin Challenge” a year and a half ago.

And this is the beauty in the fact that our kids are recording their lives with their personal devices.

It’s a silly Internet game, a  challenge that was a viral sensation in 2016. It was silly. It was pointless. These boys recorded their challenge (click to view). Aren’t we all so glad they did?

All the selfies those 15 guys took? Those shots are gold to their families today. We often criticize kids for being too absorbed in their device, or for taking pictures of everything.

But the number of kids I know in the past few years who have lost their friends, their classmates, their peers, compels me to wonder if maybe we shouldn’t all record our lives with such glee and such newness. Because when we are gone that data means something to someone.

Help! They brought cellphones to my class!

by | Sep 23, 2017

What do I do??

You use them.

I had the opportunity today to present to teachers in my school division regarding students bringing cell phones to class, and how teachers can begin to engage students using these devices.

I loaded my powerpoint into Zeetings and embedded one audience poll question to illustrate how easy it was for me to “push” my presentation into student devices, and to then formatively assess the audience opinions/understanding/feedback with this utility.  We talked about a few other apps, management and student distraction, and did a bit of thinking outside the box.

My presentation, for those who attended (or those who did not) can be found here.

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