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Developing An Internet Café
[Chew Keng Chee, Eugene Gan, Ng Zhuo Yang, and Samson Cheung]


Abstract


A group of five 16 year-old students from Raffles Institution in Singapore decided to do
their service-learning research project on development of an internet café for a local
school for special needs students. Their article discusses the processes they went
through in researching the topics involved, developing the lessons and programs to
teach the youth how to conduct and sustain the café at their school, and the valuable
lessons they and their students learned in the process. Their story provides a good
model for school-based service-learning programs that seek to use research as a format
for developing exemplary service-learning programs.

Introduction: Developing An Internet Café With Special Needs Students
Learning Objectives


Through this project, our group wanted to experience service-learning for ourselves and
understand the true meaning of making a difference. For too long, the few of us have
been doing school projects of competitive value. However, we have not applied the
skills we have learnt in project work by serving the community and making a difference
to the local society.

By engaging in this service-learning project, we wanted to learn and understand the
lives of special needs children and be able to empathize with their life experience. By
interacting with people who are different, we set out to widen our own perspectives of
society and its people so we could leave behind our narrow visions of the Singaporean
society and start taking in the big picture. We wanted to learn how to best appreciate
society for what it is, embrace it with open arms, and do our best to make our world a
better place.

Service Objectives


Through this project our group hoped to achieve a few goals and outcomes. First, we
had goals to achieve in terms of setting up the new Internet Café. Since the Internet
Café was actually converted from an old classroom, there was a need to redesign the
place to create a café atmosphere for the kids at Chaoyang School.
Developing An Internet Café




Thus, we wanted to assist in designing and coming up with a concept for the Internet
Café together with Chaoyang School. To do so, we strived to help in scouting for good
designs and play a part in choosing furniture and equipment, and the best way to do so
was to conduct our own background research in this area. The most important objective
of this aspect was to make sure that the café is operationally ready by the end of the
year, and that it can be successfully launched.

Secondly, we had goals to achieve in terms of the programmes to be conducted in the
new Internet Café. The main purpose of setting up such an Internet Café was to achieve
two purposes on Chaoyang School’s part: to train some pupils in managing and
operating food outlets, which might prove to be advantageous for their future careers,
and to inculcate basic cafe etiquette in students so they could conduct themselves
properly in social settings like cafés, using this as a training ground.

Thus, through our programmes to address both these purposes on Chaoyang Schools’
part, we wanted to improve the students’ learning capacity, and to a small extent, build
upon their learning capacities by using fun and engaging activities to conduct our
lessons. We also wanted to inculcate in them some hospitality skills and basic etiquettes
of service. Furthermore, we expected student to do simple accounting and money
exchange as a result of this project.

However, our group hoped to provide instruction in some of the intangible areas of
learning, such as students developing confidence in themselves. We wanted them to
recognize themselves as individuals who are unique and special in their own way, and
that they know they can make a contribution as, are the intangibles of this project. We
hoped that through this experience together, the students would learn to have even
more impact on others’ lives, and see themselves as having a desire to serve, and
develop initiative to be an outstanding person.

Preparation for Service


Planning our programmes for the Internet Café took much longer than expected. To
give a good lesson to the Chaoyang kids, sufficient planning and research is required.
Our group therefore spent much time on planning for the lessons in two parts –
background research and needs analysis. On top of that, we were relentless in seeking
out information from print materials, such as books and newspaper articles, as well as
non-print materials, which included online journals, forums, and newspaper articles
about children with special needs and things to note when interacting with them.




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The results of our literature review were very meaningful. They not only enlightened
us, but also helped us to better teach and help the special needs students in many ways.

Intellectually challenged children are often easily frustrated in many learning situations.
Thus, our group came up with a summary of learning points in terms of managing such
kids after the completion of our literature review.

   •   Students learn better through visual learning
   •   Students perform better if student-teachers lavish praise on them occasionally to
       re-affirm that they are doing well
   •   Students should be encouraged to speak up instead of keep quiet (some of the
       teachers at Chaoyang emphasized that students must keep quiet and be on “their
       best behaviour” at all times).
   •   Student teachers should provide guidance and attention (but not too much) to
       the students to encourage them to think about questions posed and to express
       their opinions on them

Student-teachers have to establish a position of “being-in-charge” while being kind and
friendly at the same time to be effective. This is in opposition to being strict and fierce
with the purpose of ensuring discipline.

   •   Pairing up two students to two volunteers for a smaller group size makes
       teaching easier and more flexible according to the needs of the students.

   •   Chaoyang students have great potential. As facilitators of their learning, we must
       try to unlock the spark within them.

   •   Chaoyang students are rather IT illiterate. As student leaders, we can try to use
       IT often in our lessons for more effective learning too (ties in with visual
       learning). Also, we must work with the other RE group doing the website to
       create one that boasts more interesting games and less repetitive content.

   •   Instructions used when communicating with the Chaoyang students have to be
       phrased concisely using simple English.

Thus, after the literature review, we went to the Chaoyang School to observe their
lessons to learn more about how their normal instruction was conducted. In so doing,
we wanted to see the possible areas where we could learn about better teaching.

From the observations (a total of 5 lessons altogether), our group came up with some
tips and pointers to take note of when we were planning the lessons. We know we can

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unlock the spark in them, for some of them are unresponsive due to feeling bored and
drifting off to a world of their own at times. Even in this class alone, there are many
students with different personalities, which require different ways of teaching. From
what we gathered from 1 of the students, they prefer to learn through visuals like
watching videos and do not like to write compositions such as the one they were
suppose to read in class.

From there, we came up with drafts for our lesson plans, which were to be approved by
the teachers at Chaoyang School. The lessons which we planned for the special team of
students who will operate and manage the Internet Café as waiters and waitresses,
included courtesy and behaviour in an Internet Café, money management, and
hospitality and service skills.

Concurrently, other students at the school also went through courses in computer skills,
which include the Internet, search engines, Microsoft Paint, online songs and games,
and MSN tools.

Evaluation of Service


When we conducted our lessons, we always had it recorded with a video camera left in
a corner of the Internet Café. This is used to review our lessons, to see what were some
of the things, which occurred, what were some of the things which we did wrongly, and
what should be improved in the coming lessons.

Furthermore, we maintained a group web-log (blog) which we updated weekly, where
each one of us would post our reflections. This served as a platform for us to review and
reflect upon what we did that week. Reading each others’ reflections also spurred some
new thoughts and ideas which one might not be able to come up with individually as
well. On our group’s part, this is how we evaluated our own service on a weekly basis.

Throughout the year, we constantly obtained feedback from the HOD of Pupil Well-
Being at Chaoyang School, Mrs. Anita Suwandi, whom we worked very closely with on
this project. Below is her final report of our contributions to Chaoyang School, which
was submitted to our school at the end of the school year.

   Zhuo Yang, Chun Yin, Eugene, Keng Chee and Samson have been on the above
   project with Chaoyang School since February this year. They first started with some
   observations of the pupils in the school so as to have a better understanding and some
   exposure to the special needs, especially pupils who are intellectually disabled.



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   During the initial stage of their project, the boys had contributed some ideas for the
   physical structure in the Internet Café. They have done a detailed research on various
   Internet Cafés in Singapore, which included some design, fixtures and furniture,
   suitable for the setting of the pupils in Chaoyang. These had indeed, been helpful for
   the school as it provided more ideas for the Internet Café, especially one that is
   appealing to the young ones, which the pupils could relate to.

   To ensure that the café was operationally ready, the boys had planned a systematic
   program for the pupils. They conducted basic training skills such as interpersonal
   skills, hospitality and service workshop as well as simple accounting (money skills)
   for the pupils. Although only two groups of pupils were focused for the trainings,
   these skills had helped developed some confidence in the pupils to manage an Internet
   Café. Furthermore, the boys would be conducting computer application skills for all
   pupils so as to strengthen their ability in exploring the various search engines as well
   as surfing the Internet and emailing.

   Along the way, the boys had established good rapport and interaction with the pupils.
   One of their strengths was to write reflections of their interaction with the Chaoyang
   pupils, which, in fact, had created avenues to further improve their trainings as well
   as the learning styles of the pupils - catering to their needs.

   Last but not least, the boys were resourceful in their ideas. They showed very good
   sense of commitment in their project as well as working with the pupils of Chaoyang.
   They showed great enthusiasm in carrying out their tasks and are respectful &
   receptive to advice. It had been a great learning journey for the boys as well as the
   pupils in Chaoyang these few months. It is a pleasure to work with them in setting-
   up an Internet Café @ Chaoyang School.

Apart from Mrs. Anita Suwandi, we obtained feedback from our students as well. We
did so by designing survey forms with a smile or frown option for questions, and also
an open feedback column for them to express their feelings. The feedback received was
very positive, but one of the comments really touched us. A student wrote that he was
unhappy because he wanted to learn more. From those words we could see that he had
a determination to learn and live his life to the best, and that fueled our determination
to do our best for them.

Besides these avenues used to evaluate our service, our project was also featured in a
local tabloid, the TODAY newspaper (November 8-9, 2008). This is a strong indication
that our project is not only well-received by Chaoyang School, but our efforts together
with Chaoyang School have been affirmed at the national level as well.

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Despite being in operation only for a year, we have accomplished much with the
Internet Café at Chaoyang School in this short period of time. The programmes we
came up with, which were run jointly by us during our weekly visits, and the teachers
at Chaoyang School on other school days, won recognition at the 2008 MOE-NCSS
Special Education Awards, organized by the Ministry of Education, Singapore. The
Internet Café clinched the Innovation Award for the ‘outstanding innovation to
promote student learning’. This is the best affirmation that we could get, knowing that
what we are doing is truly meaningful and beneficial to the students at Chaoyang
School, and also that we are well on track to fulfill both our learning, and service
objectives.




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Accomplishment of Learning Objectives


The Service-Learning journey is one that cannot be defined by tangibles, one that
should not be restricted to accolades and fixed rewards or outcomes. It is a process in
which mutual learning takes place, and the building of a relationship between the
parties involved throughout this journey.

However, we did forge buddy-mentor relationships while making many friends in
Chaoyang School. All these are precious experiences, and are the best evidence on how
our objectives are met. Like they say, the first step is always the hardest; it was indeed
true for us too. However, we managed to overcome it and had more interactions with
the students gradually over time as we picked up more courage to be more open and
friendly.

While many of the kids were less intellectually and physically capable, they seemed
like ordinary kids to us, having some of the same desires and needs. We have learnt as
a group not to take things for granted, but to appreciate everything we have, including
the upbringing we received and the financial stability we enjoy. Most importantly, we
have learnt that it is our responsibility to give back to the community and help others.
Through these activities, five of us have fulfilled the objectives of Service-Learning –
service in helping the students and teaching them social skills while learning from the
whole experience to contribute back to our community.



Accomplishment of Service Objectives

As we started to set up the Internet Café, we knew that it was not
going to be easy. Hence, we visited other Internet Cafés around
Singapore in order to identify the main features that are present and
make the Internet Café attractive to customers. We drew up a floor plan detailing how
we wanted it to be designed. For example, the counter of the café was designed with
round edges also ensure that the safety of the students is not compromised, while
looking attractive. Through the use of bright colours, we hope that the students would
enjoy their time in the café. This was done so as to suit the learning styles of the
students, especially since these children require special help. Since the Internet Café
was built from a classroom, we decided that removing the wall and replacing it with a
glass panel would be more suitable as it simulates the structure of a real Internet Café.
Also, a small area is set aside outside the Internet Café for a possible Al Fresco to be
built in the future.


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At the same time, we also planned our own lessons to teach these students some simple
life skills. Hence, we organized our content into 8 separate lessons, each with two parts.
These lessons include the following:

Hospitality and Service Workshop


In this lesson, we had to teach the students the basics of running an Internet Café as
waiters and waitresses. First, we got them to sit in a circle around us before we started
explaining to them why it is important to have such skills. In order to reaffirm that they
have understood what we taught, we quizzed them occasionally on what we have just
said. At the same time, we did a PowerPoint to try making things easier for visual
learners. Through the use of animation and pictures, the students got a clearer idea on
what we are trying to teach them. The sentences on what the waiter and customer
would say were taught one by one. After making sure the students were clear of the
sentences which we have taught, we did a live demonstration to show them how it is
done before letting them try it out first hand. Every student took turns to be customers
and waiters so as to encourage experiential learning.

Interpersonal Skills


This was a continuation from the previous lesson in
which the students learnt how to be polite to customers
and how they should obtain feedback from customers
about their service. We emphasized the importance of
courtesy and smiling so as to be more polite to
customers. Upon the teaching of the theory, we
proceeded with a short skit on courtesy. The
demonstration consisted of 2 parts, the polite way to
treat customers, and the impolite way of treating
customers. We did this to allow the students to differentiate between what is right and
what is wrong.

The students were then taught how they should receive feedback from customers
positively. We emphasized to them that no matter how negative the feedback is, they
should take it with a positive mindset and try to improve based on it as the customers
always come first.

Simple Accounting and Money Exchange




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                                    This lesson was extremely important as it involved
                                    money skills, which will be needed in the future. We
                                    started off the lesson by emphasizing to them the
                                    importance of money and it is not something that they
                                    should play around with. Money exchange is very
                                    important in an Internet Café as one has to ensure that
                                    the right amount of money was paid and returned as
                                    change. Due to the difficulty of the lesson, we split the
                                    class into 2 groups of 2 and 3 in order to give them
                                    closer attention. Since the students were weaker in
mathematics, we started off by revising with them simple addition and subtraction.
Also, we only introduced them to counting in dollars as combining cents and dollars
together was hard for them. By adapting our teaching style to the pace of learning for
different students, we were able to teach the students and make them understand how
money exchange works. Real food and drinks was also used with a price given to them
so as to add realism to the lesson.

Use of Computers and Internet


This is the second part of our curriculum in the Internet
Café and it involved teaching the students how to use
the internet and other applications such as the Windows
Media Player and Microsoft Paint. This is very important
as these are the basic features in the Internet Café and
we believe that every student should understand how to
use the computer. We started off the teaching of the
Internet by explaining the uses of Google and how it can
be used to look for information easily. This was done 1
to 1 so as to ensure that every student knows exactly it works. In later lessons, we
introduced new sites to them such as YouTube and Hotmail to further increase their
knowledge on how to use the Internet effectively. Other applications such as Microsoft
Paint and Word were later taught in a similar way. After the 1 to 1 teaching, one of us
would do a demonstration to the whole class again using PowerPoint as we want each
and every one of the students to understand how to use the features properly.




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Developing An Internet Café



Sponsorship


In order to run the Internet Café, a constant supply of
food needs to be served. As there was no budget set
aside at the beginning for food, we decided to start
looking for sponsorship for the Internet Café by
sending out sponsorship requests to 4 different local
companies: Polar, Old Chang Kee, Prima Deli and
Bread Talk. Although we faced many difficulties in
getting their support, Prima Deli finally showed
interest in the end. By liaising directly with Prima Deli, we were able to get a regular
sponsorship of 50 pastries per week for Chaoyang School. This was probably one of the
greatest turning points of our project because it gave us the encouragement that we
needed and showed us the value of perseverance in success. It brings us great joy to see
how much our sponsorship has helped to bring happiness to these student’s lives.

Sustainability of Project


Looking ahead, there are a few things left to be done to ensure the sustainability of this
project. For us, this journey of service is never ending.

First, we would need to secure an extension to the Prima Deli sponsorship, which only
runs until the end of this year. We did this so that future batches of students can enjoy
these great pastries, which are utilized for lessons, while using the Internet Café for
recreational learning themselves. To do this, we have collected photos and data to prove
that the Internet Café is worthy of Prima Deli’s investment, and this process will be
carried out towards the end of 2008.

Second, we hope to secure another sponsorship deal with a beverage company, such as
Milo which is well-liked by students, so that it can be supplied during lessons to make
things more interesting and realistic.

Third, we would have to compile our work in a collection such that school teachers can
build upon our project as well. Currently, teachers at Chaoyang School make use of the
worksheet, which we designed during their curriculum time. To make it more
convenient for the school, we would be putting everything, which we have done in the
past year together so that they can be used as reference by Chaoyang School in the
future.




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Last, we will continue to serve at Chaoyang School’s Internet Café by helping to design
newer programmes, and dropping by when time permits, to carry out some of the
lessons which we have been doing the past year. Although school life in Junior College
would make this extremely difficult, we will continue to work on this given our strong
relationship and communication with our teacher-in-charge in Chaoyang School, Mrs.
Anita Suwandi.

Summary of Project
February 2008       •    Contacting Chaoyang School
                    •    Visiting the school for the first time and getting to know the needs of the
                         school
                    •    Visit cafes all around Singapore to gain ideas and concepts for the interior
                         design of the Internet Café

March 2008          •    Interaction sessions at Chaoyang School whereby we help teachers with
                         their conducting of normal lessons at Chaoyang School
                    •    Sit-in to observe lessons at Chaoyang School
                    •    Background research conducted on the methods to teach intellectually
                         disabled kids
                    •    Background research into the American model of lesson planning
                    •    Brainstorm sessions to identify the needs of the students which should be
                         addressed in our lessons

April 2008          •    Drawing up and approval of lesson plans (multiple times)
                    •    Sit-in to observe lessons at Chaoyang School
                    •    Group decision made regarding our softer & friendlier approach towards the
                         students
                    •    Conversion of Internet Café complete

May 2008            •    Conducting of café management lessons start
                    •    Initially we had communication & technical problems (e.g. projector faults),
                         had to be flexible and overcome these various challenges along the way, learn
                         to change plans on the spot
                    •    Lessons conducted weekly from now on

June 2008           •    School holidays: lessons stop for a month; more planning work
                    •    Prepared letters appealing for sponsorships to be sent
                    •    Drawing up lesson plans for computer lessons for other students in
                         Chaoyang School

July 2008           •    Preparation for RI Research Education Congress
                    •    Approval of new lesson plans (multiple times)


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                   •    Negotiations with Prima Deli to get the sponsorship going; persevered on
                        despite being referred from one department to another, and at one stage,
                        being rejected completely
                   •    Sponsorship finally secured

August 2008        •    First batch of sponsored pastries arrive; used in our lessons
                   •    Conducting computer & café management lessons resume
                   •    Less problems in controlling the class with more experience now
                   •    Helping out at Chaoyang Family Day
                   •    Lessons conducted weekly from now on

September 2008     •    Lessons continue
                   •    Preparations for RI Research Education Congress: poster, documents,
                         presentations, etc.
                   •    Progressing all the way to the finals throughout the entire month

October 2008       •    Presented at the RI Service-Learning Fair VIP Session as Gold Award
                        winner of the RI Research Education Congress; share our experiences &
                        convince more schoolmates to take up Service-Learning

November 2008      •    Chaoyang School Internet Café awarded Innovation Award at the 2008
                        MOE-NCSS Special Education Awards

December 2008      •    Securing sponsorships in the future
                   •    Compiling our works this year for future reference

The Future         •    Continue to conduct lessons at the Internet Café
                   •    Helping out with any planning of programmes for the school



Reflections


This was actually our first time undertaking a service-learning project. We will never
forget all the things we learnt. The project was very meaningful and eye-opening as we
got to make a positive difference to the Chaoyang students’ lives. The lessons we
conducted were most memorable as we had first-hand interaction with the kids, who
were cheerful and friendly. The children’s positive learning attitude was especially
commendable, and that served not only as a pillar of strength for us in doing this
project, but also as a motivation in our personal lives as well.




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Some of us went into this project thinking of it very objectively and how to complete it.
In the end, we learned that the intangible benefits like sincerity and respect, which the
children learned, were actually the most important. The happiness that they
experienced while serving at the Internet Café made this project an experience we will
cherish forever.

During one of our lesson observations we could still remember very clearly was that
one of the children actually made a pink paper flower for Eugene. She had slight autism
and couldn’t pronounce properly, but she nudged him, and passed him the flower she
made. This was deeply touching, as we knew the gift was from the bottom of her heart.
Service-learning is more than planning and writing, it is about working from the heart,
for the heart. Service-learning seeks the intangibles, results not in the form of black and
white, but results measured by the joy on a person’s face. It was not about the task, but
more about the people involved.

We have learnt to be happier and more content with what we have. The kids might not
know it, but their innocent and carefree smiles have left such a great impact on us. The
Chaoyang kids may not lead extravagant lives like some of us do, but they have an
innocence and pure happiness that few people can undoubtedly claim to possess.

As the saying goes, “anyone can serve because we all have something to give”.
However, we believe that it should also be “anyone can serve, but let us all learn from
giving too”, as it is only by contributing our best to our community while learning and
growing ourselves, only by being leaves that will do its best for the tree, can we make it
as green as it can be. Life is just like a beach full of starfishes. Each starfish represents an
opportunity to make a difference and every starfish makes up a part of this story. Our
group has had the joy of scouring the glittering sands, releasing the starfish one by one,
who delight in returning to the ocean and experiencing life at the fullest. Looking back
at our journey, it was one so unforgettable, so meaningful.

Cesar Chavez, one of the greatest civil rights leaders that America saw in the 20th
century, once said “we cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress
for our community.” Similarly, we should, will, and must always remember about our
society and its needs.




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Developing An Internet Café



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


We would like to thank the following people, without whom our project would not
have come to fruition:

    •   Mrs. Low Siew Ting, Principal of Chaoyang School, for approving the project
        and providing all the support.
    •   Mrs. Anita Suwandi & Ms. May Chui, teachers at Chaoyang School, for their
        guidance and commitment to helping us with this project.
    •   Ms. Dee Chia, Coordinator from Ministry of Education, for her help in our initial
        liaison with Chaoyang School.
    •   Mrs. Cheryl Yap, HOD Research Education of Raffles Institution, for opening us
        up to so many opportunities and guiding us all the way throughout this project.
    •   Mrs. Lim Yoke Tong, Programme Head Research Education of Raffles
        Institution, for her guidance throughout the completion and submission of this
        report.
    •   Our young friends at Chaoyang School, for without their unwavering
        determination towards learning, we would never have had the motivation to
        carry this project through

AUTHORS


Chew Keng Chee, Eugene Gan, Ng Zhuo Yang, Samson Cheung, Tam
Chun Yin, are 10th grade (Secondary 4) students at Raffles Institution.



This article was only minimally edited to keep the language and spirit of the students in
place. We hope, as readers, you will understand the need to keep the format as close to the
original as possible.




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Internet cafe.vol2no1

  • 1. Developing An Internet Café [Chew Keng Chee, Eugene Gan, Ng Zhuo Yang, and Samson Cheung] Abstract A group of five 16 year-old students from Raffles Institution in Singapore decided to do their service-learning research project on development of an internet café for a local school for special needs students. Their article discusses the processes they went through in researching the topics involved, developing the lessons and programs to teach the youth how to conduct and sustain the café at their school, and the valuable lessons they and their students learned in the process. Their story provides a good model for school-based service-learning programs that seek to use research as a format for developing exemplary service-learning programs. Introduction: Developing An Internet Café With Special Needs Students Learning Objectives Through this project, our group wanted to experience service-learning for ourselves and understand the true meaning of making a difference. For too long, the few of us have been doing school projects of competitive value. However, we have not applied the skills we have learnt in project work by serving the community and making a difference to the local society. By engaging in this service-learning project, we wanted to learn and understand the lives of special needs children and be able to empathize with their life experience. By interacting with people who are different, we set out to widen our own perspectives of society and its people so we could leave behind our narrow visions of the Singaporean society and start taking in the big picture. We wanted to learn how to best appreciate society for what it is, embrace it with open arms, and do our best to make our world a better place. Service Objectives Through this project our group hoped to achieve a few goals and outcomes. First, we had goals to achieve in terms of setting up the new Internet Café. Since the Internet Café was actually converted from an old classroom, there was a need to redesign the place to create a café atmosphere for the kids at Chaoyang School.
  • 2. Developing An Internet Café Thus, we wanted to assist in designing and coming up with a concept for the Internet Café together with Chaoyang School. To do so, we strived to help in scouting for good designs and play a part in choosing furniture and equipment, and the best way to do so was to conduct our own background research in this area. The most important objective of this aspect was to make sure that the café is operationally ready by the end of the year, and that it can be successfully launched. Secondly, we had goals to achieve in terms of the programmes to be conducted in the new Internet Café. The main purpose of setting up such an Internet Café was to achieve two purposes on Chaoyang School’s part: to train some pupils in managing and operating food outlets, which might prove to be advantageous for their future careers, and to inculcate basic cafe etiquette in students so they could conduct themselves properly in social settings like cafés, using this as a training ground. Thus, through our programmes to address both these purposes on Chaoyang Schools’ part, we wanted to improve the students’ learning capacity, and to a small extent, build upon their learning capacities by using fun and engaging activities to conduct our lessons. We also wanted to inculcate in them some hospitality skills and basic etiquettes of service. Furthermore, we expected student to do simple accounting and money exchange as a result of this project. However, our group hoped to provide instruction in some of the intangible areas of learning, such as students developing confidence in themselves. We wanted them to recognize themselves as individuals who are unique and special in their own way, and that they know they can make a contribution as, are the intangibles of this project. We hoped that through this experience together, the students would learn to have even more impact on others’ lives, and see themselves as having a desire to serve, and develop initiative to be an outstanding person. Preparation for Service Planning our programmes for the Internet Café took much longer than expected. To give a good lesson to the Chaoyang kids, sufficient planning and research is required. Our group therefore spent much time on planning for the lessons in two parts – background research and needs analysis. On top of that, we were relentless in seeking out information from print materials, such as books and newspaper articles, as well as non-print materials, which included online journals, forums, and newspaper articles about children with special needs and things to note when interacting with them. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 2
  • 3. Developing An Internet Café The results of our literature review were very meaningful. They not only enlightened us, but also helped us to better teach and help the special needs students in many ways. Intellectually challenged children are often easily frustrated in many learning situations. Thus, our group came up with a summary of learning points in terms of managing such kids after the completion of our literature review. • Students learn better through visual learning • Students perform better if student-teachers lavish praise on them occasionally to re-affirm that they are doing well • Students should be encouraged to speak up instead of keep quiet (some of the teachers at Chaoyang emphasized that students must keep quiet and be on “their best behaviour” at all times). • Student teachers should provide guidance and attention (but not too much) to the students to encourage them to think about questions posed and to express their opinions on them Student-teachers have to establish a position of “being-in-charge” while being kind and friendly at the same time to be effective. This is in opposition to being strict and fierce with the purpose of ensuring discipline. • Pairing up two students to two volunteers for a smaller group size makes teaching easier and more flexible according to the needs of the students. • Chaoyang students have great potential. As facilitators of their learning, we must try to unlock the spark within them. • Chaoyang students are rather IT illiterate. As student leaders, we can try to use IT often in our lessons for more effective learning too (ties in with visual learning). Also, we must work with the other RE group doing the website to create one that boasts more interesting games and less repetitive content. • Instructions used when communicating with the Chaoyang students have to be phrased concisely using simple English. Thus, after the literature review, we went to the Chaoyang School to observe their lessons to learn more about how their normal instruction was conducted. In so doing, we wanted to see the possible areas where we could learn about better teaching. From the observations (a total of 5 lessons altogether), our group came up with some tips and pointers to take note of when we were planning the lessons. We know we can INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 3
  • 4. Developing An Internet Café unlock the spark in them, for some of them are unresponsive due to feeling bored and drifting off to a world of their own at times. Even in this class alone, there are many students with different personalities, which require different ways of teaching. From what we gathered from 1 of the students, they prefer to learn through visuals like watching videos and do not like to write compositions such as the one they were suppose to read in class. From there, we came up with drafts for our lesson plans, which were to be approved by the teachers at Chaoyang School. The lessons which we planned for the special team of students who will operate and manage the Internet Café as waiters and waitresses, included courtesy and behaviour in an Internet Café, money management, and hospitality and service skills. Concurrently, other students at the school also went through courses in computer skills, which include the Internet, search engines, Microsoft Paint, online songs and games, and MSN tools. Evaluation of Service When we conducted our lessons, we always had it recorded with a video camera left in a corner of the Internet Café. This is used to review our lessons, to see what were some of the things, which occurred, what were some of the things which we did wrongly, and what should be improved in the coming lessons. Furthermore, we maintained a group web-log (blog) which we updated weekly, where each one of us would post our reflections. This served as a platform for us to review and reflect upon what we did that week. Reading each others’ reflections also spurred some new thoughts and ideas which one might not be able to come up with individually as well. On our group’s part, this is how we evaluated our own service on a weekly basis. Throughout the year, we constantly obtained feedback from the HOD of Pupil Well- Being at Chaoyang School, Mrs. Anita Suwandi, whom we worked very closely with on this project. Below is her final report of our contributions to Chaoyang School, which was submitted to our school at the end of the school year. Zhuo Yang, Chun Yin, Eugene, Keng Chee and Samson have been on the above project with Chaoyang School since February this year. They first started with some observations of the pupils in the school so as to have a better understanding and some exposure to the special needs, especially pupils who are intellectually disabled. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 4
  • 5. Developing An Internet Café During the initial stage of their project, the boys had contributed some ideas for the physical structure in the Internet Café. They have done a detailed research on various Internet Cafés in Singapore, which included some design, fixtures and furniture, suitable for the setting of the pupils in Chaoyang. These had indeed, been helpful for the school as it provided more ideas for the Internet Café, especially one that is appealing to the young ones, which the pupils could relate to. To ensure that the café was operationally ready, the boys had planned a systematic program for the pupils. They conducted basic training skills such as interpersonal skills, hospitality and service workshop as well as simple accounting (money skills) for the pupils. Although only two groups of pupils were focused for the trainings, these skills had helped developed some confidence in the pupils to manage an Internet Café. Furthermore, the boys would be conducting computer application skills for all pupils so as to strengthen their ability in exploring the various search engines as well as surfing the Internet and emailing. Along the way, the boys had established good rapport and interaction with the pupils. One of their strengths was to write reflections of their interaction with the Chaoyang pupils, which, in fact, had created avenues to further improve their trainings as well as the learning styles of the pupils - catering to their needs. Last but not least, the boys were resourceful in their ideas. They showed very good sense of commitment in their project as well as working with the pupils of Chaoyang. They showed great enthusiasm in carrying out their tasks and are respectful & receptive to advice. It had been a great learning journey for the boys as well as the pupils in Chaoyang these few months. It is a pleasure to work with them in setting- up an Internet Café @ Chaoyang School. Apart from Mrs. Anita Suwandi, we obtained feedback from our students as well. We did so by designing survey forms with a smile or frown option for questions, and also an open feedback column for them to express their feelings. The feedback received was very positive, but one of the comments really touched us. A student wrote that he was unhappy because he wanted to learn more. From those words we could see that he had a determination to learn and live his life to the best, and that fueled our determination to do our best for them. Besides these avenues used to evaluate our service, our project was also featured in a local tabloid, the TODAY newspaper (November 8-9, 2008). This is a strong indication that our project is not only well-received by Chaoyang School, but our efforts together with Chaoyang School have been affirmed at the national level as well. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 5
  • 6. Developing An Internet Café Despite being in operation only for a year, we have accomplished much with the Internet Café at Chaoyang School in this short period of time. The programmes we came up with, which were run jointly by us during our weekly visits, and the teachers at Chaoyang School on other school days, won recognition at the 2008 MOE-NCSS Special Education Awards, organized by the Ministry of Education, Singapore. The Internet Café clinched the Innovation Award for the ‘outstanding innovation to promote student learning’. This is the best affirmation that we could get, knowing that what we are doing is truly meaningful and beneficial to the students at Chaoyang School, and also that we are well on track to fulfill both our learning, and service objectives. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 6
  • 7. Developing An Internet Café Accomplishment of Learning Objectives The Service-Learning journey is one that cannot be defined by tangibles, one that should not be restricted to accolades and fixed rewards or outcomes. It is a process in which mutual learning takes place, and the building of a relationship between the parties involved throughout this journey. However, we did forge buddy-mentor relationships while making many friends in Chaoyang School. All these are precious experiences, and are the best evidence on how our objectives are met. Like they say, the first step is always the hardest; it was indeed true for us too. However, we managed to overcome it and had more interactions with the students gradually over time as we picked up more courage to be more open and friendly. While many of the kids were less intellectually and physically capable, they seemed like ordinary kids to us, having some of the same desires and needs. We have learnt as a group not to take things for granted, but to appreciate everything we have, including the upbringing we received and the financial stability we enjoy. Most importantly, we have learnt that it is our responsibility to give back to the community and help others. Through these activities, five of us have fulfilled the objectives of Service-Learning – service in helping the students and teaching them social skills while learning from the whole experience to contribute back to our community. Accomplishment of Service Objectives As we started to set up the Internet Café, we knew that it was not going to be easy. Hence, we visited other Internet Cafés around Singapore in order to identify the main features that are present and make the Internet Café attractive to customers. We drew up a floor plan detailing how we wanted it to be designed. For example, the counter of the café was designed with round edges also ensure that the safety of the students is not compromised, while looking attractive. Through the use of bright colours, we hope that the students would enjoy their time in the café. This was done so as to suit the learning styles of the students, especially since these children require special help. Since the Internet Café was built from a classroom, we decided that removing the wall and replacing it with a glass panel would be more suitable as it simulates the structure of a real Internet Café. Also, a small area is set aside outside the Internet Café for a possible Al Fresco to be built in the future. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 7
  • 8. Developing An Internet Café At the same time, we also planned our own lessons to teach these students some simple life skills. Hence, we organized our content into 8 separate lessons, each with two parts. These lessons include the following: Hospitality and Service Workshop In this lesson, we had to teach the students the basics of running an Internet Café as waiters and waitresses. First, we got them to sit in a circle around us before we started explaining to them why it is important to have such skills. In order to reaffirm that they have understood what we taught, we quizzed them occasionally on what we have just said. At the same time, we did a PowerPoint to try making things easier for visual learners. Through the use of animation and pictures, the students got a clearer idea on what we are trying to teach them. The sentences on what the waiter and customer would say were taught one by one. After making sure the students were clear of the sentences which we have taught, we did a live demonstration to show them how it is done before letting them try it out first hand. Every student took turns to be customers and waiters so as to encourage experiential learning. Interpersonal Skills This was a continuation from the previous lesson in which the students learnt how to be polite to customers and how they should obtain feedback from customers about their service. We emphasized the importance of courtesy and smiling so as to be more polite to customers. Upon the teaching of the theory, we proceeded with a short skit on courtesy. The demonstration consisted of 2 parts, the polite way to treat customers, and the impolite way of treating customers. We did this to allow the students to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. The students were then taught how they should receive feedback from customers positively. We emphasized to them that no matter how negative the feedback is, they should take it with a positive mindset and try to improve based on it as the customers always come first. Simple Accounting and Money Exchange INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 8
  • 9. Developing An Internet Café This lesson was extremely important as it involved money skills, which will be needed in the future. We started off the lesson by emphasizing to them the importance of money and it is not something that they should play around with. Money exchange is very important in an Internet Café as one has to ensure that the right amount of money was paid and returned as change. Due to the difficulty of the lesson, we split the class into 2 groups of 2 and 3 in order to give them closer attention. Since the students were weaker in mathematics, we started off by revising with them simple addition and subtraction. Also, we only introduced them to counting in dollars as combining cents and dollars together was hard for them. By adapting our teaching style to the pace of learning for different students, we were able to teach the students and make them understand how money exchange works. Real food and drinks was also used with a price given to them so as to add realism to the lesson. Use of Computers and Internet This is the second part of our curriculum in the Internet Café and it involved teaching the students how to use the internet and other applications such as the Windows Media Player and Microsoft Paint. This is very important as these are the basic features in the Internet Café and we believe that every student should understand how to use the computer. We started off the teaching of the Internet by explaining the uses of Google and how it can be used to look for information easily. This was done 1 to 1 so as to ensure that every student knows exactly it works. In later lessons, we introduced new sites to them such as YouTube and Hotmail to further increase their knowledge on how to use the Internet effectively. Other applications such as Microsoft Paint and Word were later taught in a similar way. After the 1 to 1 teaching, one of us would do a demonstration to the whole class again using PowerPoint as we want each and every one of the students to understand how to use the features properly. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 9
  • 10. Developing An Internet Café Sponsorship In order to run the Internet Café, a constant supply of food needs to be served. As there was no budget set aside at the beginning for food, we decided to start looking for sponsorship for the Internet Café by sending out sponsorship requests to 4 different local companies: Polar, Old Chang Kee, Prima Deli and Bread Talk. Although we faced many difficulties in getting their support, Prima Deli finally showed interest in the end. By liaising directly with Prima Deli, we were able to get a regular sponsorship of 50 pastries per week for Chaoyang School. This was probably one of the greatest turning points of our project because it gave us the encouragement that we needed and showed us the value of perseverance in success. It brings us great joy to see how much our sponsorship has helped to bring happiness to these student’s lives. Sustainability of Project Looking ahead, there are a few things left to be done to ensure the sustainability of this project. For us, this journey of service is never ending. First, we would need to secure an extension to the Prima Deli sponsorship, which only runs until the end of this year. We did this so that future batches of students can enjoy these great pastries, which are utilized for lessons, while using the Internet Café for recreational learning themselves. To do this, we have collected photos and data to prove that the Internet Café is worthy of Prima Deli’s investment, and this process will be carried out towards the end of 2008. Second, we hope to secure another sponsorship deal with a beverage company, such as Milo which is well-liked by students, so that it can be supplied during lessons to make things more interesting and realistic. Third, we would have to compile our work in a collection such that school teachers can build upon our project as well. Currently, teachers at Chaoyang School make use of the worksheet, which we designed during their curriculum time. To make it more convenient for the school, we would be putting everything, which we have done in the past year together so that they can be used as reference by Chaoyang School in the future. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 10
  • 11. Developing An Internet Café Last, we will continue to serve at Chaoyang School’s Internet Café by helping to design newer programmes, and dropping by when time permits, to carry out some of the lessons which we have been doing the past year. Although school life in Junior College would make this extremely difficult, we will continue to work on this given our strong relationship and communication with our teacher-in-charge in Chaoyang School, Mrs. Anita Suwandi. Summary of Project February 2008 • Contacting Chaoyang School • Visiting the school for the first time and getting to know the needs of the school • Visit cafes all around Singapore to gain ideas and concepts for the interior design of the Internet Café March 2008 • Interaction sessions at Chaoyang School whereby we help teachers with their conducting of normal lessons at Chaoyang School • Sit-in to observe lessons at Chaoyang School • Background research conducted on the methods to teach intellectually disabled kids • Background research into the American model of lesson planning • Brainstorm sessions to identify the needs of the students which should be addressed in our lessons April 2008 • Drawing up and approval of lesson plans (multiple times) • Sit-in to observe lessons at Chaoyang School • Group decision made regarding our softer & friendlier approach towards the students • Conversion of Internet Café complete May 2008 • Conducting of café management lessons start • Initially we had communication & technical problems (e.g. projector faults), had to be flexible and overcome these various challenges along the way, learn to change plans on the spot • Lessons conducted weekly from now on June 2008 • School holidays: lessons stop for a month; more planning work • Prepared letters appealing for sponsorships to be sent • Drawing up lesson plans for computer lessons for other students in Chaoyang School July 2008 • Preparation for RI Research Education Congress • Approval of new lesson plans (multiple times) INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 11
  • 12. Developing An Internet Café • Negotiations with Prima Deli to get the sponsorship going; persevered on despite being referred from one department to another, and at one stage, being rejected completely • Sponsorship finally secured August 2008 • First batch of sponsored pastries arrive; used in our lessons • Conducting computer & café management lessons resume • Less problems in controlling the class with more experience now • Helping out at Chaoyang Family Day • Lessons conducted weekly from now on September 2008 • Lessons continue • Preparations for RI Research Education Congress: poster, documents, presentations, etc. • Progressing all the way to the finals throughout the entire month October 2008 • Presented at the RI Service-Learning Fair VIP Session as Gold Award winner of the RI Research Education Congress; share our experiences & convince more schoolmates to take up Service-Learning November 2008 • Chaoyang School Internet Café awarded Innovation Award at the 2008 MOE-NCSS Special Education Awards December 2008 • Securing sponsorships in the future • Compiling our works this year for future reference The Future • Continue to conduct lessons at the Internet Café • Helping out with any planning of programmes for the school Reflections This was actually our first time undertaking a service-learning project. We will never forget all the things we learnt. The project was very meaningful and eye-opening as we got to make a positive difference to the Chaoyang students’ lives. The lessons we conducted were most memorable as we had first-hand interaction with the kids, who were cheerful and friendly. The children’s positive learning attitude was especially commendable, and that served not only as a pillar of strength for us in doing this project, but also as a motivation in our personal lives as well. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 12
  • 13. Developing An Internet Café Some of us went into this project thinking of it very objectively and how to complete it. In the end, we learned that the intangible benefits like sincerity and respect, which the children learned, were actually the most important. The happiness that they experienced while serving at the Internet Café made this project an experience we will cherish forever. During one of our lesson observations we could still remember very clearly was that one of the children actually made a pink paper flower for Eugene. She had slight autism and couldn’t pronounce properly, but she nudged him, and passed him the flower she made. This was deeply touching, as we knew the gift was from the bottom of her heart. Service-learning is more than planning and writing, it is about working from the heart, for the heart. Service-learning seeks the intangibles, results not in the form of black and white, but results measured by the joy on a person’s face. It was not about the task, but more about the people involved. We have learnt to be happier and more content with what we have. The kids might not know it, but their innocent and carefree smiles have left such a great impact on us. The Chaoyang kids may not lead extravagant lives like some of us do, but they have an innocence and pure happiness that few people can undoubtedly claim to possess. As the saying goes, “anyone can serve because we all have something to give”. However, we believe that it should also be “anyone can serve, but let us all learn from giving too”, as it is only by contributing our best to our community while learning and growing ourselves, only by being leaves that will do its best for the tree, can we make it as green as it can be. Life is just like a beach full of starfishes. Each starfish represents an opportunity to make a difference and every starfish makes up a part of this story. Our group has had the joy of scouring the glittering sands, releasing the starfish one by one, who delight in returning to the ocean and experiencing life at the fullest. Looking back at our journey, it was one so unforgettable, so meaningful. Cesar Chavez, one of the greatest civil rights leaders that America saw in the 20th century, once said “we cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress for our community.” Similarly, we should, will, and must always remember about our society and its needs. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 13
  • 14. Developing An Internet Café ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the following people, without whom our project would not have come to fruition: • Mrs. Low Siew Ting, Principal of Chaoyang School, for approving the project and providing all the support. • Mrs. Anita Suwandi & Ms. May Chui, teachers at Chaoyang School, for their guidance and commitment to helping us with this project. • Ms. Dee Chia, Coordinator from Ministry of Education, for her help in our initial liaison with Chaoyang School. • Mrs. Cheryl Yap, HOD Research Education of Raffles Institution, for opening us up to so many opportunities and guiding us all the way throughout this project. • Mrs. Lim Yoke Tong, Programme Head Research Education of Raffles Institution, for her guidance throughout the completion and submission of this report. • Our young friends at Chaoyang School, for without their unwavering determination towards learning, we would never have had the motivation to carry this project through AUTHORS Chew Keng Chee, Eugene Gan, Ng Zhuo Yang, Samson Cheung, Tam Chun Yin, are 10th grade (Secondary 4) students at Raffles Institution. This article was only minimally edited to keep the language and spirit of the students in place. We hope, as readers, you will understand the need to keep the format as close to the original as possible. INFORMATION FOR ACTION: A JOURNAL FOR SERVICE-LEARNING RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 14