Equal opportunity through digital literacy: September trip to Malaysia
wrs volunteer Angela Xu joined our September trip to Kuala Lumpur. she shares her experience.
In September I travelled to Kuala Lumpur as a volunteer. My main focus was to train teachers at some of the schools WRS partner with how to teach computer skills and digital literacy. This was my first trip with WRS. It was a wonderful and memorable experience for me as an educator (I am a trained teacher). I worked with more than 20 teachers and through teaching with them interacted with more than 200 students.
One of my most memorable experiences was the coaching session with Ruth Education Centre (REC). The REC is a college that trains young people who are refugees, for the students I was with they were training to be teachers in the refugee schools that operate in Malaysia. The trainee teachers commenced the sessions with a marvelous set of 5 chorus’. Before every song an REC student shared their journey of life and how they are keen to learn and create a better future for themselves. It was inspirational to hear their stories and enjoy the singing.
I am the Education Lead for the Digital Futures project which WRS is piloting with the schools it partners with. Based on the UNESCO Digital Literacy framework I am developing a curriculum and teaching resources for the teachers to use. With the ever increasing use of digital technologies it is important that students at the schools WRS partner with have the skills to learn, live and work in the world they live in. Currently the schools do not teach computer skills and digital literacy. This project seeks to address this gap.
In our digital literacy session with the REC students, we covered:
What ‘digital literacy’ is and why it is important.
Familiarising the trainee teachers with the UNESCO Digital Literacy framework using group work and online collaboration to share work. We also had some fun with an online quiz. The trainee students seemed to enjoy the competitive edge to it.
How the trainee teachers can skill themselves in using computers and digital technologies.
The feedback from the stduents was positive with “fun”, “interesting” and “clear” being repeatedly used to describe the training.
Looking back on the trip, what touched me the most was to see how both teachers and students have responded to the challenges in their lives with courage, optimism and resilience. I remember talking with passionate teachers who want nothing but the best for their students to access quality education and become independent, capable individuals. I remember communicating with principals who dedicated themselves to providing a nurturing environment for their students and staff to feel safe, engaged and empowered. I remember listening to a group of students at the Alliance of Chin Refugee school singing a hymn with sincerity and smiles on their faces, a scene that is deeply engraved on my heart.
I am grateful for having this opportunity to support these learning communities by offering what I am deeply passionate about: digital literacy. I see digital literacy as one of the most critical skills to equip these curious learners with, because these 21st century skills can help to close the knowledge gap between underprivileged students and their counterparts, and provide access to resources and opportunities that lead to a better future.
Fortunately, the pilot went well, and we have generated lessons that are now informing how we can work with the schools to develop the capacity of teachers to teach digital literacy. In 2023 we will expand the number of schools we are working with and also address some of the gaps that exist – quality digital devices (one laptop or tablet per learner) is ideal and we also need to upgrade the schools connectivity so they have strong and stable internet. You can help us raise funds for the project here.
I will coach the teachers and trainee teachers on-line and through the course of 2023 will develop a full curriculum adapted from the UNESCO Digital Literacy Framework for use in the schools involved in the project.