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Goducate teaches youths how to use social media

On May 30 some 30 youths from East Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia took part in a one-day Virtual Youth Camp on making a difference through social media. Most of the participants came from East Malaysia.

The day was divided into 3 sessions. Session 1 was about the principles of Digital Citizenship. This session emphasized that we are citizens not only of a country but also of social media, and that our behavior on social media can either build or break the people who see our posts.

Session 2, on Digital Outreach, was about dealing with the people behind every screen and every social-media account. These could be people with real needs, and good digital citizens should go further than random posting. Good digital citizens choose to add value, build relationships, and be intentional in what they do.

Session 3, on Digital Community, addressed the need for connectivity because, ironically, these days people are disconnected from each other. The session on Digital Community was about using social-media platforms, such as the Facebook Group, to connect youths who have shared interests. In our case, we want to create awareness of the power of social-media influence, and to equip youths who want to become advocates of positivity, hope, and many more good values.

There are 4.62 billion social-media users today—that is, 58.4% of the world’s population (https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-global-overview-report). So many social-media users are sufficient to spark a movement of youths going to places where people are—on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube. We must be there to spread positivity, to generate good content, to publish purposeful information, and to do much more besides. 

The organizers of the virtual youth camp hope that they have helped to equip youths to be effective counsellors, not “cancellers”, in the midst of the rising social-media-related traumas, mental-health issues, and disconnectivity. Youths are and always will be the hope of the future—the future that is technology-driven, fast, and creative, but complex and uncertain. 

Our guest writer is Pam Dingal, Staff at Goducate Academy and Coordinator in Sabah Ministry.

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Preparing Trainers for Goducate’s Sing Your English program in Malaysia

Learning English can be intimidating, scary, or boring for children, which is why Goducate developed the Sing Your English (SYE) program for use in Indonesia. SYE uses songs, games, and fun activities to teach English. Because of school closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this program is being conducted online.

Goducate is now preparing to introduce the SYE program in Malaysia. It is doing so in partnership with The Blue Ribbon Global (TBR), whose principles emphasize the development of character values and harmonious relationships within a diverse community.

A training session was held on Zoom on March 29-31 for participants from two partners of TBR. Forty of the trainees were Burmese refugees from Ruth Education Center, and two were interns from the UCSI Vocational Internship Program (VIP). The trainees were taught the philosophy behind the SYE program, classroom-facilitation skills, and how to conduct SYE online through Zoom. In accordance with Goducate philosophy, the aim is that the trainees will later train others.

The trainers were a team from Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia. The team has received feedback that the training opened the eyes of the participants to how to teach English in a fun and effective way. It would like to identify more potential facilitators and teachers for the program. The hope is that SYE can now be introduced to all refugee centers in Malaysia to teach English and build harmonious relationships there.

SYE Book 1 Demo Class
(L) Trainees doing worksheet
(R) Trainee doing speaking activity 
*Our guest writer is Honeylyn Pereira, a Goducate staff member.

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More online training for Goducate teachers and students in Sabah

From the start of this year, Sabah had a second lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Movement Control Order was made in March last year (see Goducate blog 2020-07-31). Only two of the 10 Goducate schoolhouses went back to the face-to-face teaching in January and February this year, but we are aiming for them to go online.

Through its Sabah GOALS (GOducate Alternative Learning Schoolhouses) Program, Goducate had been helping “undocumented aliens” in Sabah who are not entitled to education in government schools. It had been doing so by training mothers to teach the children in the community. Mothers offer their homes to be used as Goducate schoolhouses.

Thanks to technology, and through constant encouragement, the mothers and youth had become open to learning new ways of teaching. We are grateful to those donors who helped to provide smartphones and monthly food and mobile data allowances for the teaching-mothers and the youth. The recipients are now given training on how to maximize the use of their phones.

The online trainings for the teachers are to equip them for the new-normal method of education. Using different phone applications such as Zoom, Messenger Chat Room, Google Meet, and WPS Office the teachers can now connect with and teach their students without exposure to health risks associated with face-to-face contact. The trainers are from Camp Goducate Iloilo, Philippines.

The teachers have been grateful for what they have received. One teacher wrote, “Thank you so much, these smartphones are a big help for the children and teachers in our schoolhouses for trainings and meetings”. Another teacher wrote, “Without these phones, I am not sure if I can join the available seminars or even one day teach to an online class”.

*Our guest writer is Pamela Kaye Dingal, who is in charge of the Sabah GOALS Program.