What do you think is a Millennial’s favorite smartphone feature? Would it surprise you to know it’s a camera? They love taking photos and sharing those photos with the world through Snapchat and Instagram. Since they enjoy this so much, why not find a fun way to bring their love of cameras, selfies and sharing into the classroom? I call it a Mobile Show and Tell.
When you have a new group of students start school, you probably start the first class by having them go around and tell who they are and a little bit about themselves. Change it up by asking the students to pull up 2 or 3 photos on their camera that they can share with the rest of the class that will help introduce who they are. You can do the same activity when students move from one level of training to another. This will help new students get acquainted with each other and other students already in the program.
You can also encourage students to take photos of their work throughout the week. Then, during the last theory class of the week, have students get in groups of 5 to 7 and share a couple of photos that shows off their best work of the week. Allow the students to brag about successes they have had in the student salon or classroom.
It is often difficult to get students re-engaged in class after the weekend. So, start the week off by allowing students to talk about the fun they had over the weekend and let them get it out of their system. Using the first 5 minutes of theory class on Tuesday morning, have them pull out their photos and share with their friends what they did over the weekend. Let them laugh and have some fun and then get to work.
Lastly, students will often attend hair shows. When they return from the show have them share their top 5 photos from the event. Let them share what the highlights were and what they learned. Activities like these allow students to use their phones periodically, share photos of what they love and talk about what they are up to! It is another positive way to incorporate cell phones into your school.