Digital Making @EduTECH Asia 2018
Digital Making @EduTECH Asia 2018
Inspiring the Next Generation
EduTECH Asia 2018 is Asia’s largest education conference and exhibition, featuring more than 250 speakers engaging with over 3,400 attendees. Held at Suntec City Singapore on 8-10 October, this three-day conference and technology exhibition brought together educators from across Asia and beyond, spanning the entire education spectrum: from early years practitioners through to tertiary education leaders.
Focusing on new technologies and methods in education, the free expo highlighted how technology can reshape the future of learning. Over 80 exhibitors showcased their education technologies and attendees were treated to a variety of workshops, presentations, tech experience zones and panel discussions by industry experts.
Digital Maker Programme (DMP)’s participation in this distinguished event was befitting, being at the forefront of bringing digital making to education in Singapore. DMP is proud to have presented a dedicated pavilion with seven schools, each with a booth showcasing their projects and learning journey.
Students from Pasir Ris Primary School presenting their digital project to attendees at the event.
The seven schools that took part in this event are Rivervale Primary School, Rosyth School, Gan Eng Seng School, Pasir Ris Primary School, Temasek Primary School, Yishun Secondary School, and Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School (Secondary).
Each school had a different theme and approach in their digital maker projects. For example, Pasir Ris Primary School embarked on a project in its Infocomm Club CCA, aiming to make a fidget cube out of the micro:bit and code a unique output for each of the inputs when the different buttons were pressed. Meanwhile, Rivervale Primary had their students in Primary 4 learn about Cyber Wellness and coding as part of their Multi-Literacy Programme; and created a Cyber Wellness reaction game in the form of a micro:bit powered Plinko!
Students used computational thinking to create solutions to real-world problems.
More than showing familiarity with the basic concepts of digital making, the 7 digital maker projects proved the students’ ability to apply this knowledge to various issues of the 21st century. The students showcased their logical and innovative applications of coding to create solutions to real-world problems.
For example, micro:bit was incorporated into a moisture detector to create an automated soil irrigation system. Another project utilized micro:bit in Math classes to teach probability. Students also contributed to the community by using digital making to create solutions to daily problems faced by the elderly or disabled.
Also representing Singapore, Micromaker held an educators’ training workshop, equipping teachers with the necessary skills to make coding a part of the students’ learning in their respective schools. According to Micromaker, they aim to empower all learners to be digital creators and makers, so as to cultivate real-world problems solving and encourage creativity.
Teachers gathered for a workshop on how to make coding a part of students’ learning in schools.
DMP’s showcase, stemming from a broader drive for digital-making in Singapore, was met with positive response from educators and students alike.
For Gan Eng Seng School, the digital learning programme was introduced a few years ago as part of their Applied Learning Programme (ALP). “For our Secondary 1 students, the ALP involves the recycle and reuse of water,” said Mr Kelvin Kwok. “We decided to switch to the micro:bit platform (from Arduino) because we feel that the graphical-based format will lessen the learning curve. Our students have found find it easier to use, and the experience more enjoyable,” he added.
“Micro:bit coding has helped me form new friendships as I got to work with many people during the process.”
Mr Liew Koi Chin, a PE teacher from Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School (Secondary) helped kick-start the micro:bit programme in the school. The micro:bit was incorporated into the PE lessons as a practical tool where students got to learn practical applications like the pace-reader and step counter. Mr Liew opined, “I believe our students learnt a lot in terms of thinking out of the box and applying coding to real-life situations. We see that our students really enjoyed the programme and we definitely we want to incorporate more for next year.”
At the booth to showcase Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School’s project was Secondary 2 student Kelyn Chan. “Through our project, I have learnt how to program solutions to a real-life problem. The micro:bit platform opens up new ideas and possibilities for me,” she said. Beyond the learning aspect, Kelyn added that through this process, she has become more confident and bonded well with my friends and teachers.
Echoing Kelyn’s sentiment was Primary 6 student Jovan Low from Rosyth School, “Micro:bit coding has helped me form new friendships as I got to work with many people during the process.” He added, “This project has also helped me gain a better understanding of people with disabilities and how we can help them through the use of technology and micro:bit.”
EduTECH Asia 2018 attracted quite a crowd and DMP’s booth saw many interested members of the public eager to learn more about the programme.
EduTECH Asia is designed to show off the best and latest in education technology. IMDA is not only proud of the successful showcase of these seven schools, but also their commitment to the programme and how far they have come in such a short time. The invaluable impact on their education, both direct and indirect, is a sure sign of great things to come.
Primary 6 students from Rosyth School tinkering with their project.
To watch our post event video, click here