Nur Hidayah Binti Nor Isamuddin (MIC190036)
GIG1005 SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
REFLECTIVE WRITING
Nur Hidayah Binti Nor Isamuddin (MIC190036) 25th April 2020
I remembered receiving an email from Dr Puah who is the instructor for Social Engagement course during my last semester break. She gave a brief explanation regarding Social Engagement course and asked us to work in groups to prepare modules related to DNA and microbe as a preparation for this course through the email. From there, I started to acknowledge that this course is something new and interesting.
Soon after we divided ourselves into several groups, we immediately began preparing the module based on the topic that was assigned for our group (Year 1 Group 2) which is ‘The Secret Life of DNA”. The process of preparing the module was easy even though I was not able to meet my other group members to discuss about it since we are still on our semester break at that time but luckily all my group members were cooperative and we managed to get it done by online discussion.
My group was scheduled as the last group to implement the Social Engagement task so our workshop was held later compared to other groups. We had our first workshop on 13th March 2020. The workshop was fun and very informative. It was held for us to get a clearer picture on what we need to do during the event day and get the hang of it. From there, we managed to develop deeper understanding of the Microbe module which we are supposed to present at SMK Sri Pantai. I think this will be a juncture for us to sharpen our soft skills and to share our knowledge in a fun and interactive way.
The first activity that we had during the workshop was making a simple foldscope in pairs which are then used to view some slides which was very intriguing for me because I never knew that we can see microbes through such small and conducive foldscope up to 140X magnification. Next, we inflated balloons according to microbe shapes such as staphylococci and bacillus, to educate the students about the microbe shapes. The next activity involved the sneeze zone where we had to simulate the aerosol travel of a sneeze from a person through the air. From this activity, we aimed to raise awareness on the importance of covering their mouth properly when they sneeze or cough because the microorganisms can be spread to other people around them and this is one of the important precautionary measure in preventing further spreading of diseases.
Our final activity was handshake effects by using powder and UV light. It was an effective presentation to demonstrate the effects of microbe transmission via touch. We also ruled out the best way to wash hands by checking our hands under the UV light to see which method yields the cleanest hands. Overall, it was a thrilling experience and also a great way to strengthen the bonds between our group members in hopes of carrying the module activities successfully at the school later.
On 18th March 2020, Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced and resulting the academic calendar for this semester to be rescheduled and mode of learning was changed to e-learning. Unfortunately, our group were unable to perform our task at SMK Sri Pantai due to increasing cases of Covid-19. I was kind of sad that we did not get the chance to perform our social engagement activities as we have made several preparations for it. Nevertheless, I believe everything happened for a reason.
However, Dr Puah had suggested an alternative delivery method through online assessment. From there on, we were assigned to do infographic posters, proper handwashing video and online questionnaire. We divided the tasks among us equally. The infographic was to educate the people regarding the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and proper steps of handwashing. The online questionnaire is mainly to assess the knowledge and behaviour of biomedical students regarding proper hygiene while the handwashing video offers a more detailed way of proper handwashing.
Although we were unable to carry out our social engagement task at SMK Sri Pantai physically, we were glad that we still managed to complete it by the online tasks. I aspire our posters and video to give more exposure and benefits not just to students in SMK Sri Pantai only but as many people as possible through our blog post. As for my dearest biomedical friends, I hope we would practice more proper hygiene after answering the questionnaire. I am glad that I have learned so much through this whole course despite the constraints that we were forced to face. What I can keep in mind was that engaging with people does not necessarily to be done physically but also through online platform that we have now. With all these modern creations, there is no excuse on why we cannot engage and continue to spread beneficial information to the society.
Soon after we divided ourselves into several groups, we immediately began preparing the module based on the topic that was assigned for our group (Year 1 Group 2) which is ‘The Secret Life of DNA”. The process of preparing the module was easy even though I was not able to meet my other group members to discuss about it since we are still on our semester break at that time but luckily all my group members were cooperative and we managed to get it done by online discussion.
My group was scheduled as the last group to implement the Social Engagement task so our workshop was held later compared to other groups. We had our first workshop on 13th March 2020. The workshop was fun and very informative. It was held for us to get a clearer picture on what we need to do during the event day and get the hang of it. From there, we managed to develop deeper understanding of the Microbe module which we are supposed to present at SMK Sri Pantai. I think this will be a juncture for us to sharpen our soft skills and to share our knowledge in a fun and interactive way.
The first activity that we had during the workshop was making a simple foldscope in pairs which are then used to view some slides which was very intriguing for me because I never knew that we can see microbes through such small and conducive foldscope up to 140X magnification. Next, we inflated balloons according to microbe shapes such as staphylococci and bacillus, to educate the students about the microbe shapes. The next activity involved the sneeze zone where we had to simulate the aerosol travel of a sneeze from a person through the air. From this activity, we aimed to raise awareness on the importance of covering their mouth properly when they sneeze or cough because the microorganisms can be spread to other people around them and this is one of the important precautionary measure in preventing further spreading of diseases.
Our final activity was handshake effects by using powder and UV light. It was an effective presentation to demonstrate the effects of microbe transmission via touch. We also ruled out the best way to wash hands by checking our hands under the UV light to see which method yields the cleanest hands. Overall, it was a thrilling experience and also a great way to strengthen the bonds between our group members in hopes of carrying the module activities successfully at the school later.
On 18th March 2020, Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced and resulting the academic calendar for this semester to be rescheduled and mode of learning was changed to e-learning. Unfortunately, our group were unable to perform our task at SMK Sri Pantai due to increasing cases of Covid-19. I was kind of sad that we did not get the chance to perform our social engagement activities as we have made several preparations for it. Nevertheless, I believe everything happened for a reason.
However, Dr Puah had suggested an alternative delivery method through online assessment. From there on, we were assigned to do infographic posters, proper handwashing video and online questionnaire. We divided the tasks among us equally. The infographic was to educate the people regarding the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and proper steps of handwashing. The online questionnaire is mainly to assess the knowledge and behaviour of biomedical students regarding proper hygiene while the handwashing video offers a more detailed way of proper handwashing.
Although we were unable to carry out our social engagement task at SMK Sri Pantai physically, we were glad that we still managed to complete it by the online tasks. I aspire our posters and video to give more exposure and benefits not just to students in SMK Sri Pantai only but as many people as possible through our blog post. As for my dearest biomedical friends, I hope we would practice more proper hygiene after answering the questionnaire. I am glad that I have learned so much through this whole course despite the constraints that we were forced to face. What I can keep in mind was that engaging with people does not necessarily to be done physically but also through online platform that we have now. With all these modern creations, there is no excuse on why we cannot engage and continue to spread beneficial information to the society.
(808 words)
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