Social distancing and self-isolation are, for now, the new normal. How can we keep Scouts engaged with their troops at a time like this?
Podcast Topics
Ken and Colin practice a little social distancing this week, and make use of the podcast’s Discord server (which you are encouraged to join; it’s likely we will be using it to record episodes for the next few months, and we’d love to have new voices join in) for recording purposes. The topic this week is, as noted in the episode summary, how to enable the youth of your Scout group to continue their Scouting adventure whilst also engaging in the social distancing and/or self-isolation that has become so critically important in recent weeks. One way Scouters can foster this — and, no doubt, provide parents with some go-to activities to hand to their children while they themselves adjust to e.g. working from home for the first time — is through sending out periodic (daily, weekly, other) challenges. You can grab the Scout from Home challenge that Ken issued to his Cub Scouts and Scouts, for example...or, if your group has a social media presence, you could issue daily challenges via posts thereto. It’s also worth mentioning that ScoutLink will be hosting a special edition of Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI). This will take place from April 3rd until April 5th; you can find out more at the ScoutLink website, or at the JOTA-JOTI website. And on the subject of enabling youth to connect electronically, several Scout groups have been enjoying some success using Zoom (a free videoconferencing solution) to host periodic video “check ins” with their youth. Another option for enabling this sort of connection, using a technology that many Scouts probably already make use of daily, if not weekly, is Discord; setting up a Discord server is free, and servers there allow for text, audio, and video chats. There’s even a semi-official Scouting-focused Discord server, run by a New Zealand organization called ScoutWired.
Shout-Outs
As always, a big thank you to the folks at Scouting Radio for rebroadcasting Scouting Stuff episodes to their worldwide Scouting audience. If you're listening to us on Scouting Radio right now, let us know; reach out and get in touch. We'd love to hear frthom you.
Subscribe
Tunes | Google Play | Android | TuneIn Radio | Stitcher | AnchorDownload episode: MP3
Send Feedback
Email Us | Leave Us a Voice Message | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Discord | Leave Us a Review
Music
Slow Burn, by Kevin MacLeod