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NIE workshop brings fun to learning
SPECIAL APPEARANCE: Jusuf Wanandi, founder of the Jakarta Post, made a special appearance af the Bali workshop to introduce the NIE program to more than 50 teachers who represented state, national plus and international schools in Bali
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SPECIAL APPEARANCE: Jusuf Wanandi, founder of the Jakarta Post, made a special appearance af the Bali workshop to introduce the NIE program to more than 50 teachers who represented state, national plus and international schools in Bali. (JP/Intan Indahsari)
The purpose of the workshop is to introduce teachers to innovative ways that they can use newspapers in their classrooms to stimulate creative, active learning.
On Nov. 21, 2007, The Jakarta Post launched the first English-language NIE program in Indonesia with Youthspeak: an educational tabloid dedicated to teen readers that features engaging stories by students, reporters and contributing writers, and includes an Activities insert that can be used as learning tools at home and at school.
At the Bali workshop, participating teachers were given the opportunity to try several sample lessons that could be applied easily in class. For example, in the first lesson, the teachers' teams had to work together to come up with a name for a newspaper.
Several participants felt it to be challenging, because everyone on the team had to agree on the name.
NIE program coordinator Rita A. Widiadana said, "NIE has been used in almost every country in the world. (Newspapers are) like having a living textbook. It's new every day."
The second lesson introduced participants to the different parts of a newspaper and their terminology, using the Activities insert from the inaugural issue of Youthspeak. Teachers were asked to answer questions on the insert, which had a clear diagram labeling each section of the newspaper.
"I think it might be difficult for younger classes to work with newspapers, but it would work well for older kids. For example, grades 9 to 12. Although, I do use the newspaper in my classes to teach passive and active voice," said Tim Bernadt, a teacher at Bali's Taman Rama Ubung school.
Jusuf Wanandi, founder of The Jakarta Post and chairman of the Post's Board of Directors, made a special appearance at the Bali workshop. He spoke about the purpose of NIE and his hopes for the program.
"The idea of getting you (teachers) more involved and more aware is to make the news media much more relevant for the younger generation," he said.
During the workshop, Jusuf also presented a certificate and prize to the 2nd runner-up winner of NIE's "You Name It" contest: Madelon Rietveld, a junior high school student at the Asian International School in Bali. The contest was held to find a name for the new teen publication.
This was followed by a scavenger hunt in which the teachers' teams had to find information in the newspaper in record time.
The final activity required the teams to create a front page for a newspaper, following The Jakarta Post design. Most of the teachers found this activity to be highly engaging, and felt that their students would greatly benefit from similar activities.
Edie Dwikara, a teacher at Anugrah junior high school commented: "The Jakarta Post is not the right newspaper for Anugrah..., because it's not an international school. I feel it will be difficult for them to understand the English."
Yet, the NIE program has already implemented a test run at a state school in Gianyar where, to the surprise of many teachers, the students quickly grasped the gist of this activity -- even with their limited English. The Gianyar students succeeded in creating their own newspaper with a lead story that included photo clippings, captions and a catchy headline.
The workshop is part of The Jakarta Post-NIE's outreach program, which coordinates with schools, teachers and students on how to use media publications effectively in the classroom. In addition, schools are welcome to visit the Post's Jakarta headquarters, so students can get a firsthand look at how a newspaper is produced from start to finish.
"My students aren't aware of the importance of reading a newspaper. They have no idea how to search for information or what the different sections are called, because they are more interested in video games," said Yun Rey, a teacher at Taman Rama Ubung. "Since I'm a business teacher, I'd like to use the newspaper to teach students how to create a new product which they can then market and sell."
The JP-NIE program will continue offering workshops, contests and training materials in order to encourage and support teachers and their students.
The NIE program is currently being offered for only grades 7-12 and university students, but there are plans to expand the program to include elementary schools.
