Digital Crew Update
The Digital Crew has been rolling for about a month now, check out a bit of an update and some inside info in this blog!
When we first went into lockdown it was all a bit hectic (remember everyone was freaking out about running out of food and toilet paper). It is not something any of us have been through before, and that is obviously the same for SADD. All of us (staff and students) have never tried to run the SADD programme through a pandemic and lockdown.
However, after the dust settled a little bit, our SADD staff team knew that we did want to offer some of the connections and opportunities to contribute to the SADD programme that we lost through our conferences being cancelled. That is why we created the Digital Crew. In the most simple way possible - it is a place for students to connect and contribute.
You might be thinking, “well what’s the plan for the Digital Crew moving forward?” and the answer is; we will see how we go! At SADD we really value trying things and never being afraid to try something different, even if it fails. We know that it has been pretty intense for a bunch of you over this lockdown period, so at this stage we are planning on keeping the Digital Crew up and alive for the future. We will continue to have projects on there that you can contribute to and also put up various things for feedback and connection. If you are thinking that you might like to get to know some other students around NZ, or create some resources then it is the place for you. Our SADD team will continue to assess how it is going, and feel free to drop us a line if you have any ideas or feedback!
When the SADD team first started the Digital Crew, we were not sure how many students would get involved in this new idea. In the first week of going live with the Digital Crew around 12 students signed up and started to get involved in a few projects including some our National Leaders introducing themselves to the crew. As we moved through the lockdown, we started to see a lot more students signing up to the digital crew and getting involved in a variety of different projects that we had to offer them from resource design projects, creating encouraging videos and participating in weekly quizzes!
We also had some awesome community partners sharing clips, giving advice and support for the SADD students involved in the Digital Crew.
From starting out with only 12 students involved in the Digital Crew, we now have over 60 keen young Kiwis involved in the last few weeks. It is fantastic watching them work together and support each other during this time.
The Digital Crew offers a lot of benefits for SADD and for students. We are able to reach out to all SADD students in Aotearoa within seconds. All students from different regions can interact and communicate with each other. The digital platform is a great tool to share ideas and information fast with easy access for everyone. Above all, every student can work in their own time. Nobody has to be present at a certain time unless we have zoom calls. In future we would like to upload videos from our workshops to summarise the main focus points. In that way, we ensure to give as much information to the students as possible and outline the purpose of each workshop. Every student absorbs information differently and is learning in a different way. The SDC offers a great channel to do exactly that.
Additionally, we have launched a separate classroom for all the Police Pathway students who are involved with SADD. The two programs are working hand in hand together. Whilst the Police studies course equips the students with the know-how what it takes to become a Police Officer; SADD provides the practical experience. The SDC is definitely a new added pillar that amplifies the diversity of SADD and will continue to grow in the future.
If you’re keen to get involved with the Digital Crew don’t hesitate to drop our team a line and we’ll set you up with access to the online platform. You can also check out more info and other ways to get involved here.