Speeches
Speech by Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Home Affairs, at the Launch of the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme on 23 November 2009 at 9.15am, Beatty Secondary School, Singapore
Ms Jessica Tan, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore
Mdm Low Khah Gek, Director Curriculum Planning & Development Division
Mr Boo Hian Kok, Principal, Beatty Secondary School
Distinguished Guests
Teachers
Ladies and Gentlemen
Boys and Girls
Introduction
Good morning to all. I am delighted to be here at the launch of the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme 2009.
This programme is part of the BackPack LIVE! Education initiative between the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Microsoft Singapore; and on behalf of all partners, I would like to thank you for your presence and support of this programme.
Need for Cyber Wellness Education
The advancements of technology have brought about a dramatic change in the way we learn, work, live and play. The mobile phone, for example, has evolved from being a mere communication tool to a multimedia device that allows you to play games and access the Internet to upload and download information instantaneously. In schools like Clementi Town Secondary School, Yishun Junior College and Fajar Secondary School, students are even using handphones as class voting systems and as educational tools to make their learning journeys more interactive and engaging. All these possibilities did not exist ten years ago.
Such technology transformations will most likely continue unabated, and our youths - in particular our students - will remain the most ready early-adopters. However, the push of technological frontiers has also created unchartered ethical and legal territories. The Internet, being largely ungoverned, could expose our youths to undesirable content that would potentially lead to desensitisation of violence or unreal perception of the world. Youths not guided can easily fall prey to cyber predators and excessive gaming could result in addiction.
Different countries have responded differently to the challenges posed by the Internet. Some of these measures include China’s ‘Green Dam’ which uses content-controlled software to enforce censorship, and Australia’s mandatory use of Internet filtering tools. Due to the borderless and constantly-evolving nature of the Internet, we have seen the difficulties in implementing all these measures. In the end, education has to be the long-term bulwark to protect our youths from those potential pitfalls in the Internet and technology. Through education, a steadfast foundation for a more informed and responsible population of Internet users is established. Our youths have to be cyber-smart when it comes to Internet and technology use.
Promoting cyber wellness through peer education
MOE has developed a framework to guide all schools in implementing their cyber wellness programmes. Students use a 3-step process of ‘Sense, Think and Act’ to develop their astuteness in cyber space and learn to take positive actions in using technologies ethically and responsibly. Our schools have been active in promoting cyber wellness. Besides organising assembly talks, teachers integrate cyber wellness topics into the curriculum. Schools like ACS (Barker Road) and Ang Mo Kio Secondary even involve students in developing materials that they can promote to their peers. These students take ownership, with the support and guidance from their teachers, to effectively complement their schools’ existing cyber wellness programmes.
Thus, there is more we can do to provide opportunities for students themselves to play an active role in promoting cyber wellness among their peers. Positive peer influence can be a powerful mechanism to propagate good cyber wellness practices, especially when being delivered from the students’ viewpoint. Students can relate more easily to their peers and will be more willing to express their concerns to fellow students.
The aim of the BackPack LIVE! cyber wellness initiative is to support schools in enabling our students to be confident and discerning ICT users. The Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme will offer an extended platform to reinforce schools’ cyber wellness education efforts in meeting this objective.
This programme promotes the use of peer education ‘for the students, by the students’ to extend the reach to our target audience. Having our students involved directly in the planning and carrying out cyber wellness activities will heighten their own awareness of online safety concerns, as well as spread the adoption of positive cyber habits within the student community. And we are glad to collaborate with our partners to help achieve these outcomes.
The workshop that our students are about to attend during the next two days will engage them through active discussions and hands-on sessions. Apart from content knowledge of the various cyber wellness issues, students will above all, develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills from the training. When they return to their schools, the student ambassadors will then carry out possible cyber wellness activities with the guidance of their Cyber Wellness Teacher Coordinator. Some of these activities could include putting up a skit during a school assembly or producing flyers on cyber wellness related issues for distribution to peers.
As an example, Rulang Primary School appointed a number of Primary 5 students as ambassadors to spread the cyber wellness messages to their peers. The students produced short video clips to convey the importance of cyber wellness, which are now widely used during their school’s Civics and Moral Education lessons. These video clips are also shared on YouTube for their peers and parents to view. They have also helped to create and moderate new discussion topics on social networking sites to raise awareness about new trends and issues on cyber wellness. Till today, the ambassadors are constantly searching for new ways to promote cyber wellness among their peers. These students have exemplified an enthusiastic and proactive disposition in wanting to help promote cyber wellness to their friends and I believe that they serve as role models to our ambassadors today.
Moving Forward
Moving forward, we will support the student ambassadors and recognise their efforts. Student ambassadors with creative and sustained efforts will be invited to share their ideas with their fellow ambassadors at the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassadors’ Conference in June next year. The conference will also serve as a session where the incoming batch of student ambassadors will interact with the previous batch of student ambassadors and build a network of fellow ambassadors among schools, drawing ideas from one another, and be further inspired to think of innovative ways in reaching out to their peers in school. Over the next three years, we hope to extend this programme to as many primary, secondary and pre-university schools as possible.
MOE will also tap on resources such as those coming from the community and industry to support and boost our young ambassadors in their budding efforts. Both MOE and MICA have recently launched a call-for-proposals.
Conclusion
Today, we have 94 students from 47 primary schools who make up the pioneer batch of this programme. To all Student Ambassadors in this hall - I wish all of you a fruitful and enjoyable time at the workshop. Be sure to inspire your friends with what you have learnt when you return to your schools!
In closing, I wish to sincerely extend my heartfelt thanks to all involved in bringing this programme together. With this, I now officially launch the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme.