We were excited to conduct our DAFA class at Jurong secondary again! Despite the COVID-19 situation, it did not stop us from reaching out to the students via online methods such as Zoom.
During the beginning of the session, we had an introduction activity to get ourselves warmed up and the students started sharing their interests. On the Padlet wall, many of them mentioned that they like watching anime and playing video games. While scrolling through their introductions, it brought back many memories of secondary school life.
“Bring us back to school!” *cries* -our DAFA trainers
After the fun and laughter, we dived into the more serious part of the session where we introduced the importance of media and digital literacy to the students. Our DAFA trainers also put additional emphasis on the value Be Smart. With the rise of fake news and scams in Singapore, it was essential for the students to know how they can identify them and prevent the spread of it. Even though the students were shy to speak up on camera, they were really active in the Zoom chat. They responded to every question our DAFA trainers asked via the chat and even gave reactions to certain case studies brought up during the class. Our DAFA trainers had a great time reading the students’ comments!
We then moved on to Digital Arts where the students learnt how to create GIFs using Powerpoint. Before the session began, some students mentioned that they had done digital arts before, but using basic shapes available on Powerpoint to create illustrations was rather new to them. They were more used to the conventional method of creating illustrations, which is either by drawing them or using vector graphics. The students asked many questions during this section of the workshop and our DAFA trainers were more than willing to answer all of them. Our trainers even provided real time demonstrations to show how shapes can create great illustrations and GIFs with a little bit of manipulation.
By the end of the session, we saw many amazing artworks posted onto the Padlet wall! These students were able to pick up new skills really fast! After 2 hours, it was time to say our goodbyes. Even though we had some technical difficulties during the workshop, we were thankful the students remained patient and active. We hope the students are now more aware of the importance of cyber wellness after our DAFA session!