Future Skills For All: Enabling differently abled students to learn coding

Future Skills For All: Enabling differently abled students to learn coding

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Future Skills For All: Enabling differently abled students to learn coding

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December 13, 2021

Micro:bit training for teachers from Malaysian Federation of the Deaf to teach deaf students

SUBANG JAYA, 13 DECEMBER 2021 - In efforts to make digital skills and modules more accessible for all, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) and its Future Skills For All (FS4A) programme partners are providing coding training for teachers from the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf (MFD). This training will equip the teachers to teach the digital modules to deaf students to prepare them for the future workforce.

Digi has distributed micro:bit sets to MFD to facilitate the training. This pilot initiative helps Digi to better assess the needs of the deaf community and develop a more inclusive line-up of existing FS4A modules. FS4A is a free education platform to make digital skills learning accessible to schoolchildren.

As a start, a sign-language interpretation will be embedded within the Basic Computer Science video modules and eventually expanded to other modules progressively. Some of the coding terms that are new to the deaf community will be interpreted creatively aside from fingerspelling the terms.

Digi's Head of Sustainability, Philip Ling said this collaboration is part of Digi's continuous commitment to reduce inequalities for underserved communities.

"With the future workforce becoming increasingly digital, coding is undoubtedly an invaluable asset for students to be equipped with from a young age. This initiative enables us to make coding language more accessible for deaf students with the opportunity to futureproof themselves. We welcome more like-minded entities with a similar vision to partner us in co-creating an inclusive environment for children to continue digital learning and upskilling."

In line with Digi's Yellow Heart commitment to improve digital inclusion and empower societies, FS4A programme equips Malaysian children, especially those from the underserved communities, with digital skillsets. It is a joint initiative with Arus Academy, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Ministry of Education and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Recently, FS4A introduced the #BolehCode campaign to spark interest in coding among schoolchildren through competitions, school holiday programmes, workshops and video series, and certification programmes. Digi has also worked to make the learning materials and tutorials accessible to all in multiple languages alongside sign language.

For more information on other Digi Yellow Heart initiatives, visit https://www.digi.com.my/sustainability-yellow-heart