A Moose Jaw teacher and her students proved social media can make a difference in the world and won a national prize while doing it.
Shelley Wright and her students at Cornerstone School won $15,000 for a social media project that raised awareness of modern day slavery.
The contest was a classroom video challenge sponsored by a technology magazine called MindShare Learning Report. Wright decided to enter the project after talking to a fellow teacher who won the contest several years earlier.
In the end, her classroom was one of three winners in the country, winning the award for Western Canada.
The students created stories and videos to raise awareness about modern day objects made from slavery like chocolate, coffee and cell phones. Then, they used Twitter, Facebook and a blog to bring their research to the public’s attention.
“It showed (the students) that they really do have a voice,” Wright said. “Teens often feel they are pushed aside and are not seen as being able to contribute in a larger way. Being able to create this campaign, they saw that social media does give the average person a voice.”
The $15,000 will provide the classroom with a flip cam, laptop, smart board, sound system and projector.
This week Wright started working in a temporary job at the Prairie South School Division, but she is excited to get to use the new technology next year when she returns to Cornerstone School.
© Shaw Media Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.