Vulnerable Students Addicted To Devices Due To The COVID-19 Pandemic

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JAKARTA - Mentari Group Creative Student Program Director Natalina Rimba said that distance education (PJJ) due to the COVID-19 pandemic makes students vulnerable to gadget addiction. "The COVID-19 pandemic condition is a challenge for students, who are very vulnerable to gadget addiction," Natalina said as quoted by Antara, Sunday, April 18. Implementation of PJJ cannot be separated from the dependence on devices, which results in students having a tendency to find it difficult to escape from their gadgets. "Even though we are struggling to improve student competence. In PISA 2018, Indonesian students are still far behind with the country "He said. The Mentari Group presents Creative Students to answer the challenges of today's Indonesian students and to provide a stage for them. The program is a series of competitions that support students throughout Indonesia to hone their literacy and numeracy skills. , character and creativity. Creative Students will be held in March-October 2021, and will become an annual activity. Catalina said that Creative Students are designed according to the needs of current students, namely answering the challenge of the Minimum Competency Assessment which focuses on literacy, numeracy, character. In addition, Creative Student activities are able to support students hone 21st century non-technical skills, such as critical thinking, collaborating, creating, communicating (known as 4C), and higher order thinking skills (HOTS). Creative students are also supported by experts in their fields. "For example, in one of the competitions, the Mentari Mathematics Olympiad or MEMO, which is a math competition in English. The question design team ensures that the questions presented are contextual and do not make students rely solely on formulas. Students must be able to understand the problems in the problems and find solutions to these problems, "said Natalina.

The author who is also the founder of the Chamber of Words, Reda Gaudiamo said parents and schools play an important role in providing key competencies and developing children's character from an early age. now, "he said. Reda explained several important aspects that need to be considered by parents and schools in improving children's competence and character. In this regard, Reda affirmed that parents and schools must channel children's interests through various activities and open their way to try things.