As Singapore is transforming into a digital society, it is important for everyone to know basic digital skills such as operating a smartphone.

In collaboration with Yuhua Community Club, the School of Humanities Chinese Division Sub-Club organised a smartphone workshop on 11 January 2018, to equip senior citizens with basic smartphone skills.

20 student volunteers, from the Chinese Subject Area under School of Humanities, were recruited for the workshop in the hope that their stronger command of Mandarin and perhaps, dialect, could improve and aid with more effective communication between workshop participants and volunteers.

The workshop was held in a small group setting where each volunteer took charge of teaching two to three seniors. This setting allowed a more conducive and personalised teaching for individual phone models and hence, adjusted for each student’s learning pace. In addition, smartphone accessories were also distributed at the end of the workshop, much to the delight of participants, to encourage them to continue using their smartphones in their daily lives!

In summary, the general response was that the workshop was well organised and beneficial, with participants giving an overwhelming influx of positive reviews. They were also impressed by the knowledge of the volunteers and their warm and friendly attitude.

“The small group setting worked much better than expected and we are happy to see that the elderly responded in a positive fashion with regards to our set up. We believe that not only the elderly have learnt much from our volunteers, but also the volunteers themselves have learnt a lot through the physical and social interactions with the elderly! We are looking into the possibility of organising another similar event and hope to promote the spirit of giving within our student community.” Wendy Seng, Organiser

 


About NTU School of Humanities Chinese Division Sub-Club

Established this year (2018), the NTU School of Humanities (SoH) Chinese Division Sub-Club is in charge and primarily takes care of the academic welfare of students from the Chinese Subject Area within School of Humanities. While the club mainly aims to serve its student body, it is also actively involved in community projects to promote the spirit of giving and increase the awareness of those less fortunate and the social issues surrounding them. The club hopes that through these community projects, it will develop a greater sense of empathy amongst their members and the rest of the student population in SoH. The club takes particular interest in trying to make a difference for the elderly in the community.