Service Learning

Year 2.1 FP2

Pre-Reflection

I am going for this service project because I feel that it is meaningful to help the elderly with technological difficulties that they face. I also feel that it is important to contribute to my society in one way or another, and thereby understanding others.

My perception of my beneficiaries, the elderly, is that they take a longer time to grasp new information as compared to the younger generations.

Hence, I will need to be patient when teaching the elderly as they may not understand after a round of explanation.

However, I am worried that there might be a communication breakdown due to the language barrier that the elderly and I will have. Despite that, I am quite excited to challenge myself to do something special and meaningful for my community.

For this project, I can contribute by doing a Phone Demonstration while presenting. As I am taking Mobile Applications Development (MAD) this year, I know how to use the Android emulator which will be able to show them a clear demonstration of the basic features on a phone.

Post-Reflection

My Learning Outcome

For my service learning, I had to apply technological skills to teach a group of seniors the basic features of a phone, and how to use payment applications such as PayNow and PayLah.

Describing My Experience

In light of Covid-19, my service learning was rather special. It took place online on 11 July 2020 from 2pm to 4pm. At 1.45pm, my classmates and I entered a Zoom call to be prepared and ready for the service-learning. We were split into pairs, and my partner was Woei Yih.

Examining My Academic Learning

The skills needed to execute the service-learning are communication, digital literacy, and teamwork.

During the service-learning, I communicated to them in Mandarin, which was the language that they were most comfortable with. I applied communication skills by asking casual questions and checked if they were facing any difficulties after every segment.

Woei Yih and I applied teamwork by contributing our share, and offering each other support when either of us was having difficulties.

I applied digital literacy by using the Android emulator that I have learnt in MAD to show a phone demonstration, making it easier for the elderly to understand what we are trying to express. For example, they did not understand how to install the PayNow and PayLah applications. Hence, I guided them through the process of installing them from the Play Store.

The seniors have learnt what I have intended to teach. I know this as they managed to showcase their progress once they were done with the exercises.

I would rate my application of skills to the service as an 8 out of 10. I was able to create a light-hearted conversation with the seniors, making them feel more comfortable. However, I feel that my Mandarin can be improved, providing a more pleasant communication for the seniors.

Examining My Civic Learning

As this was an online session, we did not get the chance to know the seniors better, hence they did not share their life stories.

Overall, I feel that charities in Singapore should be more present online by reaching out to potential volunteers through social media. This way, more people would be aware of them and likely sign up as a volunteer, hence cultivating the act of care and concern nationally.

I think that charity organizations should not be replaced by government agencies but instead, work hand in hand with them. The government can provide funding to these organizations so that the organizations can wholeheartedly work towards their goal of serving and helping the community.

The government should not be fully responsible for the issues that arise from ageing. Instead, everyone should play a part in being responsible. As grandchildren/children, we should help to take care of our grandparents/parents because they are our family. As citizens, we should volunteer to help seniors who are facing difficulties and be willing to give a helping hand.

Examining My Personal Growth

I felt very grateful for the seniors’ patience during the experience. I learnt that my presumptions about the seniors may be wrong. From my experience, Ms Ho and Mdm Teo were able to understand most of the materials easily.

I have learnt patience and respect from the seniors. As it was not an easy task for me to converse in Mandarin, I stuttered a couple of times. However, the seniors were very patient with me, and would always wait till I was done to ask questions. In addition, Ms Ho also taught me a few words in Mandarin!

I have also learnt about gratitude. Gratitude is being thankful and to show appreciation to others. We can learn to be more grateful by writing reflections the things that we are grateful for in that day.

I have learnt about gratitude in the service learning as the seniors were very grateful that we were there to help them. During the service learning, the seniors’ patience is an act of gratitude, which shows that they were thankful that we are helping them. At the end of the service learning, Ms Ho, Mdm Teo and her daughter sincerely thanked us, which was also another act of gratitude.

Through this experience, I realised that I rarely acknowledge my family’s acts of kindness as they have become a norm over the years. The most grateful person I know of is my mother. She will always be thankful whenever I offer to help her, such as household chores, buying food, etc. She is not only thankful towards me, but to her friends as well. She will always appreciative and will try to return favours.

The person I am most grateful for is also my mother. During this Covid-19 period, she has been cooking for my family almost everyday. As my break time is mostly from 1-2pm, she would wake up earlier than usual to prepare my lunch. The thought and effort that she has put in for me is very heart-warming, hence she is the person I am most grateful for.

I think Ngee Ann Poly is doing a good job of teaching the value of gratitude to us. This is because of the Dialogue in the Dark session that we had during the Innovation Made Possible (IMP) module in our First Semester of Year 1. There were several activities prepared for us. The first activity was to wear a spectacle that would allow us to understand how people with partial blindness see the world. The second activity was to wear weights on our body to understand how it feels like when our body muscles age and become weaker. These activities have taught me to be thankful and grateful with what I have.

I think that there should be more activities similar to the Dialogue in the Dark session. Through this service learning, I think social empathy should also be instilled in us students.

Conclusion

After completing this reflection, I have learnt that volunteering is a very meaningful. I also learnt about gratitude through the reflection process as I was thinking more about the people around me, especially my mother. This service matters because it shows the importance of helping others through difficulties they face. In light of this learning, I will be more patient and volunteer to help the community in various ways.