Students, a Zoom Session – and Loss

A small group of high school students contacted me recently to ask if I’d host a Zoom session for them and a few of their friends. I had spoken at their school last Fall and they were interested in having a deeper conversation about the benefits and strategies I had shared from my in-school presentation. I was thrilled to hear from them and we set it up with the title of the meeting, “Social Media; Strategy, Execution and Benefit.”

The day came, I fired up Zoom and as the Host, welcomed everyone into the session. To make the session interesting, fun and interactive, I created a few Poll questions around how they use their devices; the apps that command most of their screen-time, and what they look at on their phones, first thing in the morning.

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When everyone was in I locked the room and we were set to go; private and secure. What I thought was going to be 10-15 students turned out to be thirty, from a few different schools. I encouraged everyone to introduce themselves and indicate what school they attended. I walked through a few basic housekeeping rules such as muting their mic, the chat function, hand-raising and designated a co-host (the lead student that contacted me) who would manage the chat while I was speaking and illustrating ideas.

Continue reading “Students, a Zoom Session – and Loss”

The Day Gary Vee Called..

I looked down at my phone and didn’t recognize the number. It was coming from New Jersey. I was about to walk into Erin Public School to deliver a presentation and because of the numerous scam robo calls that routinely called my phone, I let it go to voicemail. But the number called right back again. So I picked up;

“Is this Chris?”

“Yes it is.”

“Chris, hey, it’s Gary Vaynerchuk. Listen, I’m calling to apologize to you so much, man. I’m really sorry that me or DRock (David Rock) didn’t get back to you when you were in New York City last week. I would have loved to connect with you – but we’ve been super busy. Continue reading “The Day Gary Vee Called..”

Scavenger Hunts and Screen-Time

It was the 1996 annual Halton-wide scavenger hunt and one of our stops was at Easterbrook’s Hotdog stand in Aldershot, on the west side of Burlington. The object we had to find was an obscure menu item on the old board on the wall inside the restaurant.

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Fast forward to 2019 and what does a scavenger hunt, an 84 year-old hotdog stand, social media and screen-time have in common? Lots.

A scavenger hunt has a purpose, an end-point – the win. The team that completes all of the required tasks in the fastest time, wins the race. Its structure is an exercise in efficiency. You have to stay on task, complete each step, and find the object that allows you to begin the next step. Rinse and repeat. You don’t take “scenic routes” or get distracted, or you’re out of the competition. Continue reading “Scavenger Hunts and Screen-Time”

Conversations with a Principal

I had the opportunity recently to chat with Chris Moore, principal at Indian Creek Rd. Public School in the Lambton Kent District School Board in Chatham. Chris also moderates the Ontario Principal Council’s Twitter chat, #opcchat. I had spoken at Chris’ school a few weeks prior on the benefits of social media as they apply to student’s lives and was curious as to the openness and comfort level with technology that he and others at the school demonstrated.

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Principal Moore and myself

~ Chris used his iPhone for one week to become completely mobile within the walls and schoolyard of his school ~

What emerged from our conversation, above all else, was not only Chris’ absolute buy-in and adoption of technology but how to take what is available today regarding social apps, platforms and various messaging systems, and introduce, support and model their use to his school community. Suffice to say that students love it. Continue reading “Conversations with a Principal”

The Teacher Becomes the Student

I have the privilege every day to speak with schools, corporations, police, non-profits, church and support groups and other organizations about the tremendous practical benefits of social media in our lives today. image

My typical routine is to arrive at a venue, sign in and meet-and-greet at the school office, chat with the organizers and student tech teams, test my setup, watch as the students roll into the auditorium or gym and then launch into the presentation. Afterward, take some Q&A and answer questions with students wanting more specific tips and online ideas. Continue reading “The Teacher Becomes the Student”