SCHOOLS are now using new media tools such as role-playing and simulation games, blogs and animation clips to engage the young and get them to learn about Singapore's past and the challenges it faces.
Praising this approach to National Education (NE), Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said it was timely and important because the young are exposed to so many 'competing worldviews' online.
Dr Ng, who is also Second Minister for Defence, spoke yesterday at a seminar attended by about 300 NE practitioners such as teachers, Singapore Armed Forces personnel and representatives from ministries such as Education and Home Affairs.
His remarks at the seminar at the Singapore Management University reflected the Government's growing push to engage citizens online, and not just face to face or through traditional media such as newspapers and television.
The seminar, Connexion 2009, was the first of its kind organised by Nexus, the central coordinating agency for NE, and which is part of the Ministry of Defence.
NE aims to get younger Singaporeans such as students and national servicemen interested in the country's past, its challenges and values, and its future.
Dr Ng marvelled at the sheer volume of information, images and interaction in cyberspace and how it can cater to an 'entire spectrum of diverse interests', such that 'whatever interest catches you, like a school of fish, (people) converge'.
While the Internet has transformed, mostly for the better, how people live, he noted that it could also be a source of bigotry, prejudices and untruths.
Thankfully, the vast majority of teenagers here are discerning and know which websites to go to for more reliable views. But still, NE efforts must have a presence online and 'provide a balance to ideas that sow discord and unity', he said.
'We also have to work harder to ensure Singaporeans - whether born here or a new citizen - develop a sense of shared identity, emotional attachment and sense of belonging to Singapore.'
Dr Ng yesterday launched Connexion.sg, a one-stop website developed by Nexus for NE practitioners to download and share ideas and materials, such as speeches, videos and lesson plans.
However he added that 'the mere presence of a portal will not be sufficient to achieve our goals'.
Reaching out to the new generation of Web-savvy Singaporeans entails not just rolling out information, but also using digital technology to 'become better story-tellers' and to bring people together.
Who better to join forces with in this respect than the young themselves, who are taught in schools how to interact and create content on the Web, Dr Ng said.
For example, Nexus has organised contests in which students produce animation clips giving their personal ideas on Total Defence.
The National Institute of Education has also developed a role-playing and simulation game in which students experience the challenges of managing a space station the size of Singapore.
NE practitioners at yesterday's seminar agreed that engaging students through the new media was critical, rather than simply talking down to them.
Mrs Wong Siew Shan, 47, principal of Elias Park Primary School, said her teachers have been using blogs and discussion threads, hosted on the school's own network, to get pupils to reflect on their NE trips to heritage sites.
Pupils are now very much exposed to different perspectives on the Internet, so 'when we used to dish out a very 'teacherly' style of NE, we found that some children were sceptical and felt that it was propaganda', she said.
By using blogs and discussion threads, a pupil can express views that teachers and classmates can respond to, which means there is a process of 'quite rich engagement and discussion as they go about learning what it means to be a Singaporean', she added.
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