The Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme was launched in 2009 to promote safe and responsible use of information and communication technologies.
WHEN threatened with nasty remarks, this young warrior does not back down. The 12-year-old girl digs in, stands her ground and confronts them - online, that is.
She is one of 12 Cyber Wellness Student Ambassadors at West View Primary School - also known as Cyber Warriors - who have been recruited to help fight cyber-bullying.
Winona L Mazo, a Primary 6 pupil, said: "We are Cyber Warriors because we battle cyber-bullying on the Internet. "When I see nasty messages online, I try to tell my friends that it is wrong. But they don't always take it well.
"Sometimes I get nasty replies, but I still try my best to convince them and educate them."
Standing at one of the booths at the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassadors' Conference 2011, Winona and Lai Kai Xuan, 12, presented their initiatives to fellow primary school ambassadors.
With a golden sash emblazoned with the words "Cyber Warriors" slung across their shoulder, the pair confidently dispensed tips about cyber-wellness such as not revealing their address online and not copying information without seeking permission.
The conference, organised by the Ministry of Education, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and Microsoft Singapore was held at Nanyang Polytechnic yesterday.
It was attended by 240 primary school student ambassadors.
It aims to deliver cyber-wellness messages from a viewpoint that students can identify with.
Student ambassadors were given the task of educating their peers in becoming responsible Internet users.
Yesterday, the teams from West View Primary School, Radin Mas Primary School and Yuhua Primary School received the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Recognition Award for their cyber-wellness programmes.
In the spirit of promoting online safety and good behaviour, it seemed only fitting that many initiatives presented were online-based ones.
One such initiative by West View Primary School is blog-writing. Student ambassadors update their blogs once a week to reflect on cyber-wellness issues.
It aims to educate their peers on good online habits and provide tips on how to become responsible users of the Internet.
Said Kai Xuan: "I write about my activities as a Cyber Warrior and my reflections on the use of the Internet." And she has received "nice and encouraging" feedback from her peers about it.
Winona and Kai Xuan are part of the first batch of Cyber Warriors in West View Primary School, and already, two students are being trained to replace the Primary Six ambassadors after they leave.
Other initiatives presented at the booths included board games and quizzes.
Student ambassador Isaac Too, 10, a Primary Five student at Casuarina Primary School, presented the games available at the cyber-wellness corner in his school.
Upgrades & Downgrades, a game modified from Snakes and Ladders targeted at Primary One and Two students and 3 Strikes, a quiz game, targeted at Primary 3 and 4 students were on display.
Said Isaac: "We give out sweets, stickers and bookmarks when they give the right answers."
But games have their limitations in maintaining the students' interests.
Miss Juliana Jamil, 29, information and communication technologies coordinator at Casuarina Primary School, said: "For two months, we organised games weekly. But after a while, the students got bored of the games. Now we organise the games less regularly."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
WHEN threatened with nasty remarks, this young warrior does not back down. The 12-year-old girl digs in, stands her ground and confronts them - online, that is.
She is one of 12 Cyber Wellness Student Ambassadors at West View Primary School - also known as Cyber Warriors - who have been recruited to help fight cyber-bullying.
Winona L Mazo, a Primary 6 pupil, said: "We are Cyber Warriors because we battle cyber-bullying on the Internet. "When I see nasty messages online, I try to tell my friends that it is wrong. But they don't always take it well.
"Sometimes I get nasty replies, but I still try my best to convince them and educate them."
Standing at one of the booths at the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassadors' Conference 2011, Winona and Lai Kai Xuan, 12, presented their initiatives to fellow primary school ambassadors.
With a golden sash emblazoned with the words "Cyber Warriors" slung across their shoulder, the pair confidently dispensed tips about cyber-wellness such as not revealing their address online and not copying information without seeking permission.
The conference, organised by the Ministry of Education, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and Microsoft Singapore was held at Nanyang Polytechnic yesterday.
It was attended by 240 primary school student ambassadors.
It aims to deliver cyber-wellness messages from a viewpoint that students can identify with.
Student ambassadors were given the task of educating their peers in becoming responsible Internet users.
Yesterday, the teams from West View Primary School, Radin Mas Primary School and Yuhua Primary School received the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Recognition Award for their cyber-wellness programmes.
In the spirit of promoting online safety and good behaviour, it seemed only fitting that many initiatives presented were online-based ones.
One such initiative by West View Primary School is blog-writing. Student ambassadors update their blogs once a week to reflect on cyber-wellness issues.
It aims to educate their peers on good online habits and provide tips on how to become responsible users of the Internet.
Said Kai Xuan: "I write about my activities as a Cyber Warrior and my reflections on the use of the Internet." And she has received "nice and encouraging" feedback from her peers about it.
Winona and Kai Xuan are part of the first batch of Cyber Warriors in West View Primary School, and already, two students are being trained to replace the Primary Six ambassadors after they leave.
Other initiatives presented at the booths included board games and quizzes.
Student ambassador Isaac Too, 10, a Primary Five student at Casuarina Primary School, presented the games available at the cyber-wellness corner in his school.
Upgrades & Downgrades, a game modified from Snakes and Ladders targeted at Primary One and Two students and 3 Strikes, a quiz game, targeted at Primary 3 and 4 students were on display.
Said Isaac: "We give out sweets, stickers and bookmarks when they give the right answers."
But games have their limitations in maintaining the students' interests.
Miss Juliana Jamil, 29, information and communication technologies coordinator at Casuarina Primary School, said: "For two months, we organised games weekly. But after a while, the students got bored of the games. Now we organise the games less regularly."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
