Winners of the National Infocomm Competition and outstanding teachers in the field of Computing Education were also given due recognition at the end of the two-day festival.
This year's ICM Youth Fest featured more than 70 hands-on workshops in the tech and media sector.
By Seow Tein Hee
Some of the latest technological and media innovations were on display at this year’s Infocomm Media (ICM) Youth Festival. Held on 11 and 12 November, dozens of youths, accompanied by their parents, were there to experience the future of tech and media.
One of them was 13-year-old student, Michael Chiam. He had particularly enjoyed his visit to the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) Labs on Wheels, a bus retrofitted into a mobile tech lab. “The 3D drawing was very interesting and it felt very real,” said the secondary school student, as he recounted his experience with the HTC Vive virtual reality headset paired with the Google Tilt Brush controllers.
That was just one of the many tech and media highlights that students and parents got to experience at the event held at the Suntec Convention Centre, Halls 401 and 402. Besides experiencing the latest technology, students also got into the hot seat of being a DJ and newscaster at the Mediacorp experience zones (pictured below left). Sharing her experience as a newscaster at the Singapore Media Academy booth, 14-year-old student Jasmine Tan said, "I was quite nervous as I read the news and also learned that being confident helps."
On both days, workshops were aplenty for students to try their hand at building virtual reality worlds, understand the finer points of robotics and participate in many hands-on experiences. While students were engaged in the workshops, parents such as Mdm Joy Sng also benefited from the teachings. "The workshops are great for children to have more exposure and learning opportunities," said the 44-year-old homemaker. Rather than choose specific workshops for them, Mdm Sng left it to her children to select the workshops that interested them. "It gets them thinking and asking questions. For example, one of the workshops led them to learn how robots follow instructions using light sensors," she added.
The weekend event was more than just a showcase of new technology. The festival's finale ended with the unveiling of the winners of the National Infocomm Competition (NIC) Face-Off App Development, NIC Face-Off Data Analytics and NIC Face-Off Coding - Ace of Coders competition. The competitions have drawn students across the country to share their works, one of which was the all-girls Team Little Red Dots from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School. Three 13-year-old girls Tania Ho Kaye Wee, Chen Zhi Xian, Jolie and Pun En Xin showcased their entry in the NIC Face-Off Data Analytics (Junior category), which dives into Singapore's education system through data visualisation. While they had to go through a series of trial and errors to process the data, the roadblocks only spurred them on. "It was the constant exploration and discovery that drives us forward," said Tania.
Due recognition also went to outstanding teachers who made sure their passion for Computing Education was felt by their students. Mdm Azlina Binte Muslimin, one of the three teachers who was awarded the Outstanding Computing Teachers award, is a firm believer that patience is an essential tool for teachers to get through to their students. "A lot of success is on the student's part. You have to give them a lot of motivation and something to hold onto," said the 39-year-old senior teacher from Boon Lay Secondary School.
Looking forward, Mdm Azlina hoped that there would be more competitions such as the NIC Face-Off competitions to encourage students to think outside of the classroom. She said, "These events give students opportunities to experience more than what the classroom can provide."
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