Olivia Spencer
Think or Swim
It’s Sunday 3rd July 2011. It’s the afternoon and the sun is shining. Thirteen-year-old Dylan Ramsay, from Chorley, is at the local quarry with his friends. It sounds like the perfect end to the weekend, until Dylan gets into trouble in the water. Within minutes Dylan loses his life due to cold water shock. Sadly, stories similar to Dylan’s, happen way too often, and schools simply aren’t doing enough to teach teens about the dangers of swimming in open waters. ‘Think or Swim’ is an interactive web platform, aimed at teaching teens about how their bodies react to open water, in a way that feels like they aren’t being taught. We can all remember, being sat in the classroom with an overwhelming lump of information to read through, and I bet at least once you pretended to read something and learned nothing from it. The website is interactive, minimal, and in line with current trends through references to current social media and pop culture trends. The site is accessible from web, mobile, or iPad and can be used both at home and in schools, where teachers can download further teaching content on each topic.
