By Chey Jedd and Lucas Loh
Updated: 29 December 2021
Today, on the 31 March 2.48pm, the third anniversary since the launch of our website, Catholic High Scout Group officially launched our Troop’s Instagram as a new platform for the Troop to share our achievements and better connect with the Singapore scouting community and wider public.
This new Instagram page will serve as an extension to the website and the Troop Facebook page to allow the Troop to better position ourselves in our online outreach efforts. With features such as linkinbio, the Instagram page allows the Troop to drive more traffic to the website in a timely manner while keeping Scouts, parents, and the community updated on our weekly activities.
Additionally, the Troop's Instagram will be used to post short-form content on skills and other interesting scouting content suited to modern media consumption habits of youth today. This will be led by our Editor-In-Chief, Chey Jedd.
Webmaster Council
The Instagram page also marks the first major online outreach project completed by the Troop's newly established Webmaster Council which will be spearheading numerous online outreach initiatives while developing new digital capabilities for the Troop. The Webmaster Council of 2021 is led by the following Ventures:
Chief-Webmaster: Joshua Low
Editor-in-Chief: Chey Jedd
Administrator: Daniel Ong
Special Advisors: Seah Zhang Qi and Ryan Loh
Lead Rover: Lucas Loh
This council also symbolises the growing importance of digital assets in scouting, be it for training, administrative or publicity purposes. One example is the Troop website's online Badge Management System, which allows Scouts to apply for badges by submitting supporting documents to receive online certificates approved remotely by leaders. This saves valuable training time and manpower, autonomously handling administrative processes.
Be Prepared
Catholic High Scout Group has always taken pride in being able to adapt to any changes. 2020 was a strong demonstration of our Troop capabilities after a year of building up digital resources on almost every skillset in scouting. Going forward, the Webmaster Council will continue this momentum to develop even better assets for benefit of future training in a new decade, pushing the Troop to achieve greater success and be at the forefront of scouting.
One example is the complete revamp of our first aid training assets to facilitate better learning through a new tier-based system. This restructuring mirrors science education in school and allows Scouts to learn layer by layer, deepening their knowledge each year.
Additionally, extensive theory question banks have been developed to complement practical training by conducting theory training at home and focusing on practical experience-based skills such as triage and situational response during training hours.
Development has also begun in coding new tools for training Scouts. One such tool that has recently been completed is the Interactive SG Topo Map app that turns what was a hardcopy topographical map into an interactive and easy-to-use tool for Scouts to learn map reading and the various global coordinate systems right at home.
The Troop will continue to strengthen its digital assets, led by Administrator Daniel Ong who is currently leading the charge in upgrading the Scouts and Ventures Google Drives, merging four major past databases and archives into one Digital QM, making it the largest collection of scouting resources our Troop has ever developed.
Troop Website
The current iteration of the Troop website was launched exactly 3 years ago on 31 March 2018 as an online resource platform for Scouts to use and aid in their scouting training. After 3 years, the website has been updated and improved multiple times by the Chief Webmaster to make the website more interactive and streamlined to better support the Troop.
The Troop website contains articles detailing the training and events the Troop has conducted and participated in as well as values and lessons each of them teaches so that Scouts can better understand the purpose and meaning behind them and reflect on their own personal involvement in the experiences. The articles also double as a log for future Scouts to read and learn about the achievements of their predecessors and be inspired to carry on their legacy.
Moving forward, new web apps will be developed for the website to further streamline administrative and online training processes, all while we begin preparing for our 75th-anniversary celebration with a new online Singapore Scouting History gallery that will take you through the illustrated history of scouting in Singapore and our legacy of excellence intertwined with it.
Conclusion
The articles and posts on both the Troop Instagram and website are valuable resources for Scouts to learn more about scouting and understand the achievements of the Troop. Scouts should take these articles and posts as inspiration to put the Troop at the top, upholding the Troop’s legacy of 73-years of service and excellence. As the world continues to progress and develop, Catholic High Scout Group will continue to adapt and innovate, always being ahead of the curve and aiming for nothing less than the best.