Offline Icebreakers | A Strong Wind Blows for Web Literacy

• Preparation

  Set up enough chairs to accommodate your group. You should have enough chairs for all of your participants except one who will wind up standing each round and giving the prompt for the next round. You can watch an explanation of the activity here:

  For this version of the activity, consider preparing a list of prompts that align with important web literacy topics. You might have these prompts on-hand for participants to chose from as you play:

  • A strong wind blows for anyone who wonders how the internet works.
  • A strong wind blows for anyone who uses the same password for a bunch of accounts.
  • A strong wind blows for anyone who knows what encryption is.
  • A strong wind blows for anyone who has made a webpage before.
  • A strong wind blows for anyone who wants privacy online.

• Activity

  10 minutes

  To set up the game, get all participants sitting in a circle with no empty chairs. The facilitator, who is standing and has no chair, is the first to "play". Tell learners that the topic is the web. The facilitator makes the first statement, for example:

  A strong wind blows for anyone who wonders how the internet works.

  Then each participant who wonders how the internet works needs to get up and find a new seat. The player left without a seat shares the prompt for the next round. They might make up a prompt related to the web and online privacy, or they might pick from a menu of prompts the facilitator provides.

  You should play for 5 or 6 rounds or until your learners have had the chance to begin thinking about the themes and topics of your class, event, or workshop.

• Reflection

  5 minutes

  After running the activity, loop back to clarify topics that didn't have a lot of learners moving from their seats. Ask the learners questions that help them reflect on themes in the statements made. For example:

  • Who can put content on the Web?
  • Who owns the Web?
  • What does HTML actually do?
  • What does HTML syntax look like?
  • Why is it better to question the truth of something rather than take it at face value?

  Up Next --> Web Literacy Bingo