The Safety Doc Podcast

David P. Perrodin, PhD
The Safety Doc Podcast

Welcome to “The Safety Doc” podcast with your charismatic host and prominent safety expert Dr. David Perrodin. Be entertained and informed as “The Safety Doc” discusses both best and bizarre practices in safety preparation & crisis response. The truth will keep you safe! NEW SHOWS EACH WEEK!

  1. 10/01/2023

    License Plate Readers in Schools | An Added Layer For Campus Security or Rights Violation? | SDP202

    Cameras and video surveillance have become ubiquitous with school safety. Those super-tech tools have amazing capabilities - such as zooming in to read print on a piece of paper on the hallway floor. But, cameras are almost exclusively forensic equipment - they might be helpful for identifying who stole a jacket from a locker. From a prevention standpoint, cameras are over-hyped. Realistically, nobody is watching a dozen live camera streams. And, it’s unlikely that camera systems will allow law enforcement to track and intercept a school shooter who is inside of a school. But, perhaps the bad rap of cameras should be re-visited. Has Doc shifted his position on video surveillance in school settings, beginning with license plate readers? WHAT IS IT? This rabbit hole begins with license plate readers. Automated license plate reader (ALPRs) systems combine high-speed cameras and sophisticated software to capture and convert license plate images into data that can be compared with information in other databases. Cameras used in ALPRs may be mobile or stationary and are small enough to be mounted on police cars, road signs or traffic lights, or placed at the sides of roads or on bridges. License plate reader systems can collect a driver’s geographic location, along with the date and time a vehicle was in a particular place. DETERRENCE. A 2014 survey of more than 97,000 school bus driver’s found that 76,966 vehicles illegally passed school buses on a single day! As of 2015, thirteen states explicitly allow school districts to use cameras to capture drivers illegally passing stopped buses. Clearly marking school buses as having ALPRs and coupling that to billboards and media awareness campaigns might deter people from illegally passing buses. This is just one example of deterrence from ALPRs. Another might be ALPRs verifying parent’s vehicles entering a school area. What if a non-custodial guardian went to the school to take a student? And systems with ALPRs might notify office staff that the vehicle is not associated with someone approved to pick up the child. WHAT IF PLATE READERS COULD ALSO DETECT WEAPONS? In a 2021 research study titled: ‘Handgun detection using combined human pose and weapon appearance’, it was observed that “This work proposes the use of the human pose as complementary information to improve the performance of current handgun detectors based on deep learning. The human pose, defined as the relative position of the different joints and limbs of the human body, is quite characteristic in shootings.” In other words, deep learning AI is getting very good at identifying the pattern of not only a gun, but the human movements that happen prior to firing a gun. So, thinking beyond ALPRs, one can step into even more sophisticated AI that recognizes types of vehicles, shapes, and patterns. How about software paired with ALPRs in order to detect someone holding a gun or a knife? It’s not far-fetched, and already in place at some of the world’s most secure settings (we just don’t know about it). In the fight to mitigate drug overdoses, mosaic camera systems might be able to identify when someone collapses - and immediately flash that information to authorities. So, there’s much more capability here than simply reading license plates - and is that a good thing?  ARE LICENSE PLATE READERS LEGAL? According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (2022), at least 16 states have statutes that expressly address the use of ALPRs or the retention of data collected by ALPRs. For example, Arkansas prohibits use of ALPRs by individuals, partnerships, companies, associations or state agencies. There are exceptions for limited use by law enforcement or controlling access to secure areas. And, data can not be preserved for more than 150 days. Vermont requires a law enforcement officer to be certified in the use of an automated license plate reader to operate such a system. Provides that active system

    2h 33m
  2. 03/01/2023

    Perfect Attendance Can Win High School Students A New Car | What Do You Think? | SDP201

    Have you imagined that not missing a day of high school could put you square in the driver’s seat of a new car? What began as a novel #truancy pilot roughly twenty years ago is becoming increasingly popular in high schools across America. Why are cash-strapped #schools ponying up cars for students with perfect, or near-perfect #attendance? What are the outcomes of these incentives? What are the positions of advocates and opponents? In this episode, Doc describes the “cars for attendance” trend speeding through the parking lots of America’s high schools. WHAT IS TRUANCY? States have statutory citations for compulsory school attendance and school attendance enforcement. These exist to compel students to attend school on a regular basis. Truancy, or unexcused absence from school, is informally referred to as “skipping school.” A “truant student'' is typically absent for several days, or weeks, during the school year. The pattern tends to be pervasive and the lack of regular attendance diminishes the student’s ability to benefit from instruction. Students who are truant are often ineligible to participate in organized sports and generally are not connected with school activities. TRUANCY REDUCTION: KEEPING STUDENTS IN SCHOOL. In September 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice published a 16-page bulletin titled: Truancy Reduction, Keeping Students in School. Truancy had been well-studied by 2001, and although it impacted students of all ages, it was most prevalent in high schools. The report stated, “Truancy has been clearly identified as one of the early warning signs that youth are headed for potential delinquent activity, social isolation, and/or educational failure. Other studies established lack of commitment to school as a risk factor for substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of school.” OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF TRUANCY. The DOJ’s 2001 report predicted dire financial impacts of truancy and dropouts, including (1) Less educated workforce, (2) Business loss because of youth who “hang out” and/or shoplift during the day, (3) Higher daytime crime rates, and (4) cost of social services for families of children who are habitually truant. INCENTIVES FOR STUDENT ATTENDANCE - YOU GET A CAR! In 2022, Bastrop ISD partnered with the local Sames Bastrop Ford dealership to offer one lucky student the chance to win a car in its “Drive Sames 4 Education.” “Kristi Lee, BISD's district deputy superintendent, said the district has seen a dip in attendance and all students' grades. The free car acts as an incentive to get students to come back to class. For the 2021-22 school year, BISD had an attendance rate of 90.59% – the lowest rate in the last four years. When the pandemic originally hit, during the 2019-2020 school year, overall attendance was almost three percentage points higher at 93.67% (Comme, P. 2022).” Search engines return thousands of similar stories, from New Caney High School to Honey Grove ISD to San Antonio High School. ARGUMENTS FOR CARS AND HIGH-VALUE PRIZES. It works. Research has found that financial incentives typically are the most effective in driving teenagers. Oftentimes, parents will reward students with a cash bonus after they produce good grades. But on the contrary, children are more prone to strive for something they can control, like studying or even attendance (Prothero, A. 2017). On the flip side, incentives are much less effective for actual test scores. In other words, incentives work to motivate kids to attend school, but not necessarily to perform well in school. The cost of a car (and some of the prizes are used cars) might be $25,000, or less if donated by a dealership or community philanthropy. That expense is lower than the school funding a truancy officer or cuts to school funding due to lower enrollment. ARGUMENTS AGAINST CARS AND HIGH VALUE PRIZES. Schools create an artificial external reward system for something

    2h 17m
  3. 27/12/2022

    Bystander Effect | Why Are We Unwilling To Help When Others Are Watching? | SDP200

    It’s counterintuitive, but research findings indicate that someone in need is more likely to receive help when one person is present compared to when several people are standing by. That’s right, you are less inclined to #help another person in trouble if you are in a group. But, wouldn’t the group be more capable and powerful to help than any single individual of the group? Most of us have seen inspiring videos of strangers locking arms to create a human chain in order to rescue a victim struggling in a swollen river. Anecdotally, we might be more willing to collectively intervene to counter a force of nature. That river won’t hire a lawyer and sue us. In this episode, Doc defines the bystander effect, identifies the three types of #bystandereffect, provides reasons for the #bystander effect, and concludes with ways to overcome the bystander effect. WHAT IS THE BYSTANDER EFFECT? “Psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley identified a pattern of behavior they called the bystander effect, which they demonstrated in their labs for the first time in 1968. They describe it as a #behavior that occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation. Latané and Darley were spurred to their studies by the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City, a case that became infamous because of observers’ inaction (Vernon, J., Overcoming the Bystander Effect. American Scientist). Genovese, age 28, was returning from her job as a manager of a bar when she was brutally attacked and murdered near her residence in Queens, New York. 38 eye witnesses stood by as she was stabbed and killed. None of them called the police. 3 TYPES OF BYSTANDER EFFECT. Researchers Latané and Darley (1970), proposed three different psychological processes that might prevent a bystander from helping a person in distress. (1) diffusion of responsibility; (2) evaluation apprehension (fear of being publicly judged); and (3) pluralistic ignorance (the tendency to rely on the over-reactions of others when defining an ambiguous situation). REASONS FOR THE BYSTANDER EFFECT. When we are in a group, it’s easier to assume that someone else will step and do something - that there is someone “better-qualified” to lend help. When people make the assumption that someone will spring into action, no one actually steps up and helps. And, oddly, the most common observation at the scene of an accident is a sea of people aiming their phones at the incident. This also amplifies evaluation apprehension as an individual’s attempts to render aid will be forensically analyzed from fifty angles. Undoubtedly, the lack of overt public education about Good Samaritan laws (all at the state level) toss dust into the cost-reward measurement of potential responders. “Does the law have my back if I step up and step in to help?” PILIAVIN SUBWAY STUDY. In 1969, researchers designed a study to investigate how a group of people would react if they saw a person who collapsed on a train. Here are notable findings from that study: (A) The public usually helped quickly and on their own - nobody had to direct them what to do; and, (B) The longer no help was offered, the more likely it was that observers would leave the incident. Piliavin proposed that humans are hard-wired to become physiologically aroused when they see someone in distress. The longer they think about responding, the less likely they are to respond. HOW TO OVERCOME THE BYSTANDER EFFECT. Many people experience the cost of “regret” for not helping when they were capable of helping. They might experience guilt, disapproval, damaged self-esteem and negative emotional responses. To overcome the bystander effect, people must practice situational awareness and, in doing so, heighten their ability to recognize when things begin to change from the baseline. This is often the tacit ability of identifying that something is, in fact, an emergency. Feel responsible to take

    2h 51m
  4. 20/12/2022

    Opioid Emergencies in K-12 Schools | Community and Legal Considerations | SDP199

    On September 7, 2022, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced bill S.4794 - Naloxone Education and Access Act (NEAA). This bill reauthorizes through FY2027, expands eligibility for, and otherwise makes changes to a grant program that supports access to medications that reverse opioid overdoses (e.g., naloxone). What might this mean for K-12 schools? WHAT IS AN OPIOID? Opioids are a class of drug prescribed by doctors to treat moderate to severe pain. Common types of opioids are oxycodone (Oxycontin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine, and methadone (REMS, 2022). OPIOID USE DATA. According to the 2017 Final Report of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis: In 2016, an estimated 239,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 were current misusers of pain relievers (1.0% of adolescents), and 631,000 young adults aged 18 to 25 misused pain relievers in the past month (1.8% of young adults) … Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, 152,000 (0.6%) had a pain reliever use disorder in the past year, and 291,000 young adults aged 18 to 25 (0.8%) and 1.3 million adults aged 26 or older in 2016 (0.6%) had a pain reliever use disorder in the past year (p. 24). OPIOIDS IN SCHOOLS. Opioid use and overdoses are increasing in schools. In addition to user-exposure, second-hand exposure also poses risks, especially with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine (REMS, 2022). Per EducationWeek, “Citing concerns about student opioid use—and fentanyl specifically—a growing number of districts have equipped schools with naloxone, a drug that temporarily reduces the harmful effects of overdoses. The Los Angeles Unified School District became the latest to do so last month when it said it would stock the drug, and train qualified staff to use it, as part of a multiprong response to a “devastating epidemic of overdoses that are all too common in Los Angeles. [Other] districts—from Des Moines, Iowa, to Denver— have also stocked naloxone in recent years, some empowered by changes in state laws that make it easier to do so.” (Blad, 2022). SENATOR BALDWIN’S BILL. The bill would amend Section 545 of the Public Health Service Act and bring federal-level clarity and guidance to states regarding who can dispense reversal medication, where it can be placed, training, and immunity for using it in an attempt to benefit a suspected overdose person. Specifically, the NEAA would strike “for pharmacists to dispense a drug or device approved and cleared” and insert “that increase access to drugs and devices approved, cleared, or otherwise legally-marketed.” In other words, reversal drugs would be available to community-based distribution programs and there would be some type of “standing order” allowing for non-medical personnel to administer the reversal drug. CONSIDERATIONS FOR SCHOOLS. For some educators and community members, Naloxone on campus will signal a defeat against the invasiveness of opioids. Once Naloxone is stashed in AED cabinets - it’s there forever. Others will have more favorable perceptions that might center on saving lives. How will schools integrate opioid awareness and overdose prevention along with other alcohol and other drug (AOD) programs? Naloxone availability has been impacted by supply chain disruptions, but it’s typically about $25 per dose and there’s little incentive for someone to steal or misuse it. Naloxone could be placed in the AED cabinet, for example. A top concern for school officials will be legal ramifications of administering Naloxone. Would a student be permitted to administer it to another student? Who has discretion to use it? A guidance document from REMS (2022) states, “Identify, with general counsel, and inform the campus community about state Good Samaritan laws that provide immunity from arrest, charge, or prosecution for certain drug offenses for a person experiencing an overdose — or witnessing another person experie

    2h 43m
  5. 13/12/2022

    Medical CBD Oil In Schools | Brooke Adams vs. Rincon Valley Union School District | FAPE | SDP198

    Professional discretion and acting in the best interest of the child affords school district officials options to unravel the snags created by their own protocols and policies webs. What happens when a school district doubles down behind flawed policies? What recourse exists for parents? In this episode, Doc shares an authentic case study from his special education legal issues course. Would you ban a kindergarten student with epilepsy from attending school because of her doctor-prescribed CBD oil? THE CASE (The following is copied from Rogoway Law Group, 2018). “Brooke Adams is a five-year-old girl diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. Brooke currently uses medicinal cannabis-derived CBD oil to significantly reduce the frequency of seizures and medicinal cannabis-derived THC oil as an emergency medication to quickly stop seizures once they start. Brooke obtains both oils pursuant to a valid recommendation from a licensed physician. The Rincon Valley Union School District refused to place Brooke on a District campus because it alleged that her medication is not permitted on a school campus or school bus under both state and federal law; instead, in April 2018, the District offered to Brooke an individualized educational program (“IEP”) that included only one (1) hour of home-based schooling each day.” SPECIAL EDUCATION DUE PROCESS HEARING. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), schools are required to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet the child’s unique needs. When a parent believes that their child has been denied FAPE (in this case, the parents believed the school district was required to educate Brooke with her peers), they can pursue what is known as a “due process hearing” that compels the state’s department of education to investigate and then rule on findings of whether the school district violated the students procedural rights, failed to provide FAPE, and also the remedy. The special education due process hearing essentially is a trial including lay and expert witnesses, exhibits, testimony, and briefs filed by the parties. Schools are always represented by an attorney, often via their errors and omissions insurance policy. Parents can retain an attorney or represent themselves. IS CBD OIL ILLEGAL IN SCHOOLS? This varies from state to state, but CBD oil is typically not illegal in schools. However, schools can create policies that ban CBD oil - including CBD oil prescribed by a physician. REASONS WHY DISTRICTS BAN CBD OIL. CBD oil is a slippery slope as it cannot, per federal law, contain more than .3 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). Anything with more THC is considered a schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is federally illegal. CBD oil is not sold through typical state-regulated pharmacies. The purity and level of THC in the product is regulated by the manufacturers and sellers, not the FDA. The methods for measuring the level of THC might not be uniform across manufacturers. School staff can test if CBD oil contains THC, but they wouldn’t be able to determine the percentage of CBD. A school nurse, or designee, administering CBD oil that somehow contained more than .3 THC would be, in fact, committing a schedule 1 federal drug offense! A school nurse could lose his license! WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM? The Department of Education at the state level is unwilling to give clear guidance on the administration of CBD oil prescribed by a doctor. Instead, state agencies offer vague guidance and direct districts to consult their own legal counsel to inform a stance on the matter. DISCRETION AND ACTING IN THE BEST INTEREST. School officials had options to remedy this situation before it landed on the judge’s desk. One course of action would have been to modify the school’s board of

    2h 59m
  6. 06/12/2022

    Bank Account Voting System | Transparent Solution to Election Integrity | Guest Lee Jarvis | SDP197

    Guest Lee Jarvis returns to the show and explains the features and benefits of a bank account-style voting system. As people grow skeptical of elections, Lee describes that trust may be restored by using existing systems in different ways, and such a pivot might even make it easier for voters to cast votes and to track their ballot. The main points of a bank account-like voting system are: universal national voter registry; voter “bank account” to track and log votes so voters can track their ballot/vote; more locations for a to vote; and improved data logistics for the public to observe the data. ELECTION INTEGRITY CONCERNS. News media have stirred the US public with the incomplete portrayal of the timeline of concerns about the integrity of American elections. In other words, election-doubt didn’t appear from thin air in 2016. Per Pippa Norris, author of Electoral Integrity in America: Securing Democracy, Oxford University Press (2018), “Concern about the integrity of American elections did not start with Trump's election; flaws in procedures have gradually grown during recent decades. The contemporary "tipping point" that raised public awareness was the 2000 Bush v. Gore Florida count, but the 2016 campaign and its aftermath clearly worsened several major structural weaknesses. This deepened party polarization over the rules of the game and corroded American trust in the electoral process.” Furthermore, the 2022 Arizona governor election was marred when officials in populous Maricopa county stated that on election day, [technical] “problems affected ballot tabulation machines in about 60 of the county’s 223 voting centers.” Hence, actions must be taken to infuse integrity-supports into the eroding election framework. NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRY. A national voter registry would utilize local voting locations in order for people to register and vote at any location in the system. Combining that feature with an online account system would help people to track their vote. In ways similar to Social Security cards, voters could be issued “voting cards” and these cards might incorporate QR codes, barcodes, numbers, and a photo. Think of using your credit card to purchase items at a store. The card is unique to you, although there were a hundred shoppers in the store - all purchasing different constellations of items. And, you can go online and check your credit card account to verify your purchases and monitor for fraud. Similar principles could be in place for a “voting card.” INDIVIDUAL VOTING RECEIPTS. Voting machines could be designed to print receipts coupled with opt-in quarterly mail statements (mail statements is a must) along with the digital account. And, digital accounts should list nullified votes. VOTING ONLINE OR VIA APP. Lee stated that he has concerns over online or app-based voting. If such a model were to exist, it should require a decade of vetting and voter registry every 1-2 years. The ability to hack such a system is underscored with the frequent data breaches and ransomware attacks rife in public institutions as well as private businesses. VOTING LOCATIONS. A system of secured verified accounts (voter cards) would expand voting locations beyond traditional locations. Per Lee, an organization or business could rent voting machines and host a party! Why can’t voting be a celebration? The rental units might be paired with body-cam security guards and body cam staff for the machines - and the machines are valid anywhere in America. Think of the voting machines as similar to ATMs. EARLY VOTING. Early voting could be as simple as a portable voting machine controlled by the election commission. It could be transported to nursing homes, or community centers. HOW MIGHT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ACCESS THEIR ACCOUNTS? Cashless stores and accounts requiring 2-step verification are not always easy-to-use for people who are elderly or people with disabilities. As voting moves further to the digita

    4h 30m
  7. 29/11/2022

    Seven School Safety Exercise Objectives That Actually Help Teachers, Police, Fire, and EMS | SDP196

    School safety exercises often involve #school staff, #students and agencies (police/fire/EMS), but lack measurable learning objectives. What did exercise coordinators specifically measure during and following the exercise? Does everyone need to participate in the safety exercise, or should some staff and students be assigned to different roles, such as observers? Is it OK to include parents in the exercise? In this episode, Dr. Perrodin fixes the broken framework of inter-agency #schoolsafety exercises in order to center on learning and practices that promote safe schools. BONUS. Doc shares a powerful, yet simple “5-minute safety asset inventory” that will greatly improve school personnel’s awareness of fire alarm pulls, AEDs, and fire extinguishers. OVERARCHING THEMES. Three overarching themes are present in school safety exercises. (1) Discretion - who has it, and how do you measure it? (2) Decision Making - how are decisions informed, and are they made at a brisk pace? (3) Induction - how are new staff, students and families made aware of safety protocols? CONSTRUCTS. These are specific areas that will be measured through learning objectives. There are seven constructs for school safety exercises: (1) Communications, (2) Incident command system/structure, (3) protocols, (4) response times, (5) mechanical systems, (6) staging assets, and (7) maintaining the perimeter. COMMUNICATION. Was there a sufficient number of 2-way radios? What is the range of the radios? Are radios available at community partner 4K sites? INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM. Who has discretion to activate crisis notifications and systems? Will people delay the alert as they search for the “person in charge?” Who has the authority to commit personnel and resources and does that change during an evolving event? PROTOCOLS. Does the intruder protocol direct students to flee the school or to barricade within the classroom, or both? What should staff say as they communicate over 2-way radios? Who is responsible for grabbing “Go Bags” for students with medical needs? RESPONSE TIMES. How much time passed between someone becoming aware of an incident and the activation of the crisis notification. How much time passed for staff and students to evacuate the school or to get into their secured positions for intruders or storms? How much time passed between the 9-1-1 call and emergency responders arriving on scene and then entering the building or impacted area? MECHANICAL SYSTEMS. Assess the functioning of the PA, door locks and the software system that enables electronic messages to be sent to parents. If a door lock malfunctions, who is responsible for ensuring that it is repaired? STAGING ASSETS. Where did arriving responders put their equipment? Was that efficient throughout the response? How were additional resources staged, such as extra emergency responders from a neighboring community, or extra buses - were they brought on site, or kept somewhere else close by? Where might officials stage arriving parents (even if you did not ask them to come to the school). MAINTAINING THE PERIMETER. Who determines the perimeter, and how is that communicated to school officials, parents, and the public? How might we be proactive and direct parents to not rush to school during a crisis, or to rush to other schools? What if someone enters a perimeter? PARTICIPANTS AND OBSERVERS. Most people will be participants, but aim for up to 10 observers who will wear a high-vis vest to identify their role. They will monitor communications, orderly response, trauma features, and interactions between responders and recipients. ROLE PLAYERS. Consider a parent at the perimeter who wants to access the school. What did role players find helpful, or what was frustrating? HOT WASH. A Hotwash is a facilitated discussion to capture feedback about any issues, concerns or proposed improvements participants may have following an exercise, planned event or real-world incident. The hot wash is

    42 min
  8. 22/11/2022

    The Meteoric Rise of High School Esports | What You Need to Know | Guest Mike Dahle | SDP195

    More youth are participating in Esports - and it’s nothing like the trope stereotype of “gamer kids” isolated  in their basements, chomping on chips and sipping sodas while gaming online with other kids in similar grunge contexts. In this episode, Esports expert Mike Dahle will help to accurately inform us about school Esports, including how it’s in-person and team-centric, ways Esports hones skills for learning - from analytical problem solving to time management, and how Esports helps students consider STEM career paths. In fact, universities are providing scholarships for Esports athletes! ABOUT MIKE DAHLE. Mike Dahle is a Business Teacher at Elkhorn Area HS and President of the Wisconsin HS Esports Association, WIHSEA.org. He was a second-year teacher when he learned how far PC gaming had come since his younger gaming days when a student gave a presentation on the League of Legends World Championship. Ever since that presentation, his interest in esports has grown exponentially. He started one of the first state associations that has since grown to 125+ schools around the state, serves as a Board Member for the Milwaukee Esports Alliance, serves as a Board Member for the Interstate Scholastic Esports Alliance, and is constantly trying to push esports to the next level in the state of Wisconsin. WHAT DOES BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY LOOK LIKE FOR ESPORTS. There isn’t a template for BOE policy for Esports. It’s often treated similar to other school clubs. Surprisingly, some districts have bypassed Esports due to the cartoonish guns in some of the games. It’s worth noting that high school trap shooting team numbers are at record highs in America. ARE ESPORTS INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM? Most games are team-based, and individual matches add into a team score. This happens in the game SUPER SMASH BROTHERS, for example. Think of it like batting order in baseball. Players are seeded so one school’s #5 player would compete against the #5 player from a different school. Esports can be played by teams within a state, but also between states. It depends upon how the league is structured. WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR ESPORTS? The top five popular titles are: Super Smash Bros, Rocket League, Fortnite, Valorant, and League of Legends. ARE ESPORTS ACCESSIBLE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES? Yes! There is much flexibility in accommodating Esport players as long as the accommodation doesn’t afford them an unfair competition edge. In Milwaukee, for example, a company designs adaptive controllers. A high-ranked quadriplegic player uses a mouth-held device to game. Esports also require minimal travel. Students typically only leave their district if they are participating in a state-level competition. 3D PRINTING AND ESPORTS. The 3D printing community collaborates through sites such as “Thingiverse” to create different or adapted controllers, and Microsoft offers several adaptive controllers. BENEFITS OF ESPORTS FOR STUDENTS. Gamers gain useful skills from participating in esports that help them on a broader learning journey. Analytical problem solving, time management, collaboration, and teamwork are key. Video games can also help to improve visual perception, enhance memory, and lead to better focus and attention. Some students who participate in Esports had previously not participated in other extracurricular activities. DO SCHOOLS GIVE CREDIT FOR ESPORTS. In most instances, students do not receive “credit” for participating in Esports. There is no curriculum approved by DPI to this point, although there is discussion to develop a curriculum. There is an inaugural INTRO to ESPORTS class at UW (Wis)-Parkside this year. Some Wisconsin schools, including: Random Lake, Racine, and Montello, award a patch for varsity. ARE ESPORTS PART OF TRADITIONAL STATE ATHLETIC ORGANIZATIONS? This varies by state. In Wisconsin, the WIAA and WIHSEA are separate entities and, at present, do not collaborate. Playfly (an Esports business) partners

    1h 16m

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Welcome to “The Safety Doc” podcast with your charismatic host and prominent safety expert Dr. David Perrodin. Be entertained and informed as “The Safety Doc” discusses both best and bizarre practices in safety preparation & crisis response. The truth will keep you safe! NEW SHOWS EACH WEEK!

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