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BEING A PARENT in this era is both exciting and challenging having to deal with Internet-age children whose knowledge and lifestyle-influencing ideas are acquired simply through the click of a button. This ease has allowed the growth of globally connected children whose knowledge domain is in a sense borderless, being exposed to multiple cultures without even leaving home.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES for our children are no longer confined to the traditional space because of the ever-changing “new” economy and via ideas gleaned through interaction with their global network of friends. As a result, our children’s learning journey now exposes them to multi-disciplinary programmes that help to prepare them for interactivity across borders. EDUCATORS are also responding to the increasingly fast-paced changes by embracing information technology in their profession, and wherever/whenever possible, adopting more holistic approaches to education including the incorporation of life skills programmes such as entrepreneurship and money management into the curriculum. HOW CAN PARENTS respond to these important changes influencing their children’s lives?
onSponge believes that while there may be challenges for parents given the vast offerings and distractions in the world of new media, there lie even more opportunities to influence and mould the development of the child. The principles of guiding, nurturing and leading our children in the areas of family values, character building and social responsibility remain relevant in parenting regardless of time and space. At the same time, children’s new experiences via the world of the internet and new media should also serve to inspire and motivate parents to learn from them and further enrich their lifestyles. Noting that these influences of the internet media intensify in children’s formal learning years ie upon their entry into the educational mainstream, hence onSponge focuses on children from the age of 7 onwards.
onSponge offers earnest parents and educators a platform to:
The team subscribes to the belief that a child’s development should encompass a range of aspects beyond the academic. Hence our focus on issues related to enhancing children’s character, their aesthetics, skills and health. These form the core pillars that underpin the content, products and services provided by and through onSponge. To realise this mission, onSponge will also be bringing forth a suite of programmes, products and services throughout the year targeted at parents of children aged 7 to 14 years old. EXPERIENCE onSponge for the latest community News and Trends, educational product Reviews and Special Features in our Read section brought to you by the editorial team and its reporters called Sponganalists (the youngest is 13!), and be heard and beg to differ in Journal and Discussion of Share by blogging with our Journal Panelists comprising parents, educators and professionalsm, enter the Learn zone (coming soon) to have your child join programmes which we strive to deliver true interactive learning, and visit Shop (coming soon) if you are among those who constantly struggle to find the right gift for your 7 to 14-year old, and be amazed by the extraordinary gift ideas to bring on that smile on your child!
Meet the team (From Left - Wendy Choong, Anthony Thomas and Elsa Tan) ELSA TAN, an early adopter of the internet, devoted two career decades to the media scene spanning magazines, books, directories and the internet. She witnessed the industry transformation from technology applications to changes in usage behavious that led to the current dynamic media landscape. onSponge springs from her belief that the digital realm of the internet offers tremendous potential to help the young in their development. Simultaneously, it will serve as a critical source for parents and educators to learn more about our children – their learning inclination, channels of influences, forms of communication, means of interaction or simply their new-world lifestyle. With better appreciation, parenting will be more enjoyable as parents journey with their children in the evolving digital age. “IT has revolutionalised the way of things and our lifestyle. I have learnt the hard way of parenting my children especially with my elder boy. Everyday, I learn something about and from them. One of the platforms I have leveraged on constantly to connect with my kids is the digital media. The Internet is such an excellent tool to spark a conversation, impress them and become part of their new-aged lifestyle. Rather than shy away from the new media out of fear for the possible 'corruption' that the children might be exposed to, I prefer to understand and manage together with them. Better still, work on the pluses to equip my kids in a highly media-centric economy.” - Elsa Tan ANTHONY E C THOMAS was a trained teacher (Certificate in Education, National Institute of Education) in Singapore schools for 9 years. He then dedicated another 13 years to the publishing of books ranging from academic research to general & reference and education where he led in the conceptualising & launching of new publishing products and managed publishing programmes. Among the books he edited were the first Singapore produced book on the internet, The Singapore Internet Book by Jek Kian Jin & Jimmy Yap (1995, Longman Singapore Publishers, now Pearson Education) and The Singapore Story (Abridged Edition) by Lee Kuan Yew (2000, Times Publishing). Anthony who obtained his B.Sc from National University of Singapore, has held a range of publishing positions at Longman Singapore Publishers (Senior Editor), Times Publishing (Senior Editor), Marshall Cavendish Academic (Managing Editor), Marshall Cavendish Education (Senior Publishing Manager), and Yellow Pages Singapore (Senior Manager, Content & Data). “In my opinion, education with its role of imparting content and keeping alive a tradition of promoting ideas and scholarship, is the same in the past, present and future. What keeps critically changing is the delivery platforms. In this digital age marked by the explosive growth in virtual worlds, the young has taken enthusiastically to the speedy and wide variety of content dissemination, promoting the exchange of ideas without borders and giving rise to an internet generation…this has partly contributed to a generational knowledge gap especially between parents and their children. Parents thus need to find a means to bridge that gap…” - Anthony E C Thomas
WENDY CHOONG has been in marketing for the last 15 years, managing various type of products, ranging from office equipment, telecommunication services to telephone directories. Her focus is mainly in product management in which she leads and manage new product development, develop sales forecasts and product pricing, and launch them into the marketplace.
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