Digital Learning Camp Enables a Thousand Students from Disadvantaged Families to Learn Programming and Assemble robots [Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报]

I was recently interviewed by Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 about the launch of a digital bootcamp for children.

Here’s what I said in the interview:

At the moment, I think the market is too saturated with workshops and programmes teaching kids digital/tech skills. What’s really missing are programmes for parents to empower them and build their capabilities to meaningfully engage with their children on these devices, to understand what their children are doing online.

A comment I hear too frequently from parents is, “I don’t know what my kids are doing.” This knowledge gap is what makes it difficult for parents to fulfil their roles effectively. What this means is that even if the kids learn all these wonderful things – more often than not, there is no continuity because the parents can’t help to maintain the interest or help to keep their interest going; or even participate in what their kids do to bond together. These digital skills and device use becomes an increasing point of divide separating parents from their children.

Link to original article in Chinese: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20240905-4638569