Thinkfast Interactive visits Portage Northern to teach young drivers
April 29, 2019
Juniors and seniors attended the Thinkfast Interactive presentation during fourth hour on April 17th. Thinkfast Interactive is a game-show based presentation aiming to teach students the dangers of distracted and impaired driving.
During the presentation, participants form groups and answer survey questions using a remote. The assembly had three different parts: a dance competition, a series of survey questions and a role play scenario. “It was fun, interesting and interactive,” said junior Maddie Blubaugh. “[It wasn’t] like the normal boring ones.”
“I thought it was a fun way to get involved with students and put a message out there but I think the seriousness was taken away,” said senior Marisa Toomsen. “I’m glad we’re spreading the message but I feel like the seriousness wasn’t there and it won’t stick in people’s minds”.
The survey included questions such as:
“How much is a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt?”
“What is the main cause of driving distractions among teens?”
and other questions on pop culture. In a role-play situation, two students were also chosen to convince the speaker, Will Krahn, not to drive under the influence.
The winners of the dance competition and the role-play scenario, junior Amira Branson and senior Dale O’Leary respectively, were both chosen by the audience and the top two group leaders of the survey rounds (seniors Chase Emmons and Noah Morrison) all c
ompeted in the final Jeopardy-style round. Each participant completed for a chance to win $100 in Amazon gift cards to share with their group. After answering recap questions from the presentation and other questions, Morrison won the round with 500 points.
“The number one cause of death [in people 15-29] and we want to change that,” Krahn commented. However, he believes that knowing the dangerous of distracted driving is crucial to all drivers, not just teenagers. “We were on the Ohio Turnpike yesterday and for about five minutes, we watched a semi [swerving] back and forth because he was sitting on his phone texting,” he said.
Aliya Pena • Sep 24, 2019 at 7:13 pm
When I attended this presentation I thought it was really fun. I learned a lot and it had us work with other classmates. There were facts and questions about safe driving and dangerous driving that taught us what to do and what not to do. I enjoyed doing this and I feel like this is something we should do every time as a reminder of what it’s important to young drivers. This is a good lesson/method to learn from!
Khloe Kempker • Sep 24, 2019 at 5:50 pm
Though I wasn’t one of the people who had the opportunity to attend this presentation, this article does a wonderful job of explaining the experience. Students know presentations can be very boring. It’s cool to see how they were interactive in the presentation. Based on the article it seems like the presenter of the information did a great job keeping students engaged while getting the point across. This article does a wonderful job explaining what the presentation consisted of and what young drivers were taught to those who didn’t attend.
Timothy J Srackangast • Sep 24, 2019 at 11:47 am
I think that this assembly was a fun way to be reminded of how to drive safe. With that in mind many people were messing around during the assembly. I think that was because the students knew that they would not get in trouble. I would like it if they came back because it was a fun experience. I would also like them to come back because I think that some of the students learned a lot.