Jason Sidell, teacher at the Innovation Design Institute at Arcata High, found a creative and fun way to engage his students, both in their new distance learning environments and in the importance of social distancing. The assignment? A coronavirus meme contest.

Sidell explains:

The Social Distancing Meme assignment asks students to create a meme graphic to encourage social distancing.  The inspiration for the meme assignment came when I saw an Instagram post of students hanging out at the beach together when they were supposed to be sheltering in place. I wanted to find a way to engage them with the idea of social distancing. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for young people to make this sacrifice, but if they feel like they’re in it together that might help.

The assignment even begat a contest advertised in the Arcata High newspaper, the Pepperbox — which is still publishing during distance learning — where people could vote on their favorite. The winning meme, created by Six Rivers Charter High’s Anthony Womac, is the Distance Learning Zoom image above. The other four top favorites are below. Check out the Pepperbox story to view them all!