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Singapore Sikh foundation conducts online learning of Punjabi language
Google Meet is used to conduct face-to-face lessons by teachers of SSEF, a non-profit organisation which oversees the “SSEF Punjabi School” that teaches students from the primary level to A-levels (advanced standard or 12 years of completing higher secondary school), as well as the “SSEF Kindergarten” that caters to students aged two to six.
A Sikh education foundation has established an online learning management system (LMS) using an open-source platform to ensure structured lesson delivery in Punjabi as part of its efforts to promote the language.
Punjabi is being taught in Singapore through the technology to around 500 students annually through classes conducted by the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation (SSEF) teachers who had to rapidly embrace new digital platforms by self-taping video lessons that were compiled into Google Slides and systematically uploaded to the LMS platform, reported Friday weekly Tabla!.
Google Meet is used to conduct face-to-face lessons by teachers of SSEF, a non-profit organisation which oversees the “SSEF Punjabi School” that teaches students from the primary level to A-levels (advanced standard or 12 years of completing higher secondary school), as well as the “SSEF Kindergarten” that caters to students aged two to six.
Students are engaged through interactive elements – gamified spelling, grammar quizzes and storytelling videos – with the aim of increasing students’ exposure to Punjabi narratives while making the learning process more fun and immersive, said SSEF chairperson Gurdial Kaur.
“While some students took time to adjust, many found the flexibility and accessibility of digital learning beneficial, allowing them to revisit lessons at their own pace,” Gurdial Kaur was quoted as saying by Tabla! Gurdial Kaur elaborated on the organisation’s pivot to embracing technology during the pandemic when mainstream schools shifted to home-based learning.
The Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda), a charity of the Indian community, has also stepped in to aid the SSEF as well as various community groups such as the Sikh Welfare Council to fund the necessary devices and management of the LMS. This support ensured students had access to digital resources.
“This experience reinforced the understanding that technology must not only be seen as a temporary solution but as an essential long-term tool to enhance education,” SSEF said in their 35th Anniversary publication. Singapore has about 12,000 members from the Sikh community.
