Inspiring the new generation of digital natives

By Sheryl Lee

When home-based learning (HBL) became the default mode of learning last year, it highlighted the importance of digital literacy and exposed a digital divide in education. While students from well-off households adapted relatively quickly, those from disadvantaged homes struggled with a lack of access to digital devices, insufficient knowledge to operate them, and more.

As technological skills become increasingly important in the post-pandemic normal, IMDA employees Ms Diana Lin and Mr Melvin Lin are committed to increasing digital literacy in Singapore—and bringing the Republic closer to achieving its ambitions to become a full-fledged Smart Nation.

From running Code for Fun, an enrichment programme in Singapore that teaches coding for primary school students, to organising IMDA’s flagship SG:Digital Wonderland carnival, they combine their technological chops with their passion for serving the community to ensure Singapore’s digital transformation is an inclusive one.

Diminishing the digital divide

In her role at IMDA, Ms Lin regularly talks about the latest cyber trends, excites the public with technology’s myriad possibilities and galvanises Singaporeans young and old to participate in digital activities.

Yet, unlike most kids in the 21^st century, the IMDA manager for Digital Literacy & Participation grew up with limited exposure to technology. The computer lessons that were part of her school curriculum were her sole windows of opportunity to interact with the then-unfamiliar technology. While limited, those sessions gave her a precious peek into a vibrant digital world—a world she would later pursue through a course in Infocomm.

Today, Ms Lin combines her love for technology and empathetic nature to reach out to Singaporeans from all walks of life. By designing and curating hands-on activities and showcases for the SG:Digital Wonderland and roving Lab on Wheels buses, she makes emerging technologies such as AI and cybersecurity come alive for diverse audiences.

“There is no one-size-fits-all template and we often have to customise activities and use-cases for different sets of audience,” she shared. “For instance, when talking to younger folks, we share how artificial intelligence powers their favourite social media platforms like TikTok to receive recommendations on their ‘For You’ page. For others, it is to debunk myths.”

Ms Lin’s outreach efforts also include the youths whose shoes she once walked in. In fact, the digital divide in education brought about by the pandemic hit close to home, she shared. “Some parents I spoke to felt really helpless at not being able to support their child during HBL,” she said. “This definitely struck a chord with me as I fully empathise with how it feels to be helpless in such a situation and having to play catch-up with peers who might be in a more comfortable position.”

Training students to be tech-savvy

For Mr Melvin Lin—also an IMDA manager for Digital Literacy & Participation—it was his fervour for gadgets that first sparked his passion for all things digital. Outside of work, the self-professed “gadget geek” spends a large portion of his free time on YouTube learning about the latest technologies.

Today, Mr Lin’s infectious enthusiasm for the digital finds its expression at IMDA. In his role, he is regularly exposed to new gadgets such as robotic coding toys and technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR). Harnessing both passion and purpose, he crafts programmes that make it both easy and interesting for youths to pick up new digital skills.

For instance, Mr Lin is concurrently the programme manager for Code for Fun, which teaches upper primary and secondary school students in Singapore computational thinking and basic coding skills. By introducing Singaporeans to such skills at a young age, he hopes to spark their interest in tech and eventually help them pursue their tech career of choice.

To this end, ensuring the syllabus content is exciting and engaging is crucial, he said. “People will always remember their first experience when acquiring a new hobby or learning a new skill,” he added.

In fact, Mr Lin’s favourite part of the programme is seeing students marvel at the process of turning their code into concrete applications.

As the world continues to digitalise in the wake of the pandemic, Mr Lin hopes to awaken more students to the promises and potential of new technologies.

“It doesn’t mean that everyone needs to be a programmer but we should provide avenues so that every child can get the chance to be exposed to the skill if they want to learn coding,” he said. “Even for those who are not interested, they gain a better appreciation of what technology can do for them.”