Generation YES

Malaysian Student Technology Leaders (MySTL)

The Malaysian Student Technology Leaders (MySTL) Catalyst Schools program is a student-centered approach to teaching ICT in Malaysia's secondary schools. The MySTL Catalyst Schools program is unique in its comprehensive plan to affect ICT info-culture in schools through its ‘bottom-up’ approach of using students as ICT drivers. The MySTL Catalyst schools program reflects a smart partnership between Generation YES, LABTECH International, MDeC, BTP, and UTHM to provide Malaysian schools with the most innovative solutions found in the world.

It is a challenge for schools to keep up with the unpredictable nature of technology while still meeting the mandate of providing the 3 R’s to their students. All schools in the world are facing this problem everyday. ICT teachers are challenged with deciding what applications are important for their students to know (which often results in merely teaching the ‘standard’ applications). Other subject area teachers face the challenge of effectively integrating ICT into their classes or risk their students missing out on valuable learning opportunities. These are daunting tasks, yet no one denies that ICT is crucial to students’ education in the 21st century.

The MySTL program provides a three-component, comprehensive solution to these challenges.

Technology Literacy Certification for students who meet the required standards (TechYES)
Student-Centered technology support to maintain infrastructure and support teachers’ ICT integration in the classroom (GenYES)
English language development as a component of technology literacy

MySTL recognizes the diversity in infrastructure and ICT proficiency amongst schools. To adapt to these differences, the program is customizable to the needs of any school and seamlessly integrates into already existing school activities. Once the program’s structure and ground work have been decided upon, the program sustains itself because of its student-centric approach. The teacher becomes a facilitator while the students learn ICT skills on their own and through Peer-to-Peer interaction.