Get Epic, a Resourceful website for Online Literacy Program

Wednesday November 3rd 2021

Academic Year 2020-2021 is full of challenges for all the people around the globe, including those who work in the field of education. Schools, as the centers of education need to push themselves to innovate to fit the situation. Despite any circumstances, schools have made the effort to keep students on track by providing them with their academic needs so as to enable them to learn as in the normal situation.

Getepic is a platform that a school can use to fulfill students’ need for literacy (reading log) activities. It provides them with digital books which are visually eye-catching, user-friendly as well as easy to navigate. It is designed to respond to the fact that students spend more time using gadgets for playing games or watching videos than reading books. The platform gets students spend more time on reading books. However, such an experience will not make them bored as they have plenty of options of books for young readers like them to read.

Getepic does not only improve students’ reading, but also their speaking, listening and writing skills. It also has some menus such as read-to-me books, audio books, videos with topics that are appropriate with their age(s). In addition to that, it even provides vocabulary and how to pronounce words features that will be useful for young readers who are still in the process of learning English. Another advantage that Getepic offers is that teachers are able to assign some books to read and then monitor students’ daily reading. The platform also lets teachers choose the age range and reading level so that students will only read books that fit their age. Over all, Getepic helps to grow students’ interest in and love of reading.
Considering its benefits, Al Azhar 55 Islamic Primary School has been using this platform since the early weeks of the covid-19 pandemic. After a year of application, we have found it very useful, not only during online learning, but also when it is back to normal-face to face, as supplementary literacy activity materials. Given an opportunity to make a recommendation, we would like to highly recommend other schools to use Getepic (getepic.com).

Testimony

Prof. Dra. Hj. Suwarsih Madya, M.A., Ph.D.

Amidst the globalized situation which poses challenges of which one is a possible threat to identity, yet provides ample opportunities to excel for those who possess the prerequisites, we need to equip our children as the continuing generation with necessary competencies—affective, cognitive, psychomotor and interactive. In other words, we need to help them grow and develop into total persons and this can be achieved through the whole-child development approach which ensures the development of all potentials. In addition to this is the need for developing some competence which enables the children to communicate globally. All of this will ensure that the children will develop their citizenships both at the national and global levels. How can this ideal development be realized?

If you want to find out about how efforts are made to develop children’s whole potentials, you can come to SD Islam Al Azhar 55 Yogyakarta. Here you can see how the four-year old school has grown fast due to the stakeholders’ trust to send their children to study here. With only 54 children in the first year, this school now has 185 students. These students are educated to respect and preserve the social-cultural environment by learning the local language (Javanese, including the script) and arts (dance). Simultaneously, they certainly learn the national language (Bahasa Indonesia) and national content, which is unquestionable since it is compulsory, and English, which has now become a global lingua franca; thus, a prerequisite for successful global communication. More importantly, children in this school also learn to practise their religion consistently. So, in this school children’s identity is rooted in the local culture, with nationalism and global awareness being inherently developed together with reliogiosity.

Does the whole-child development approach at SD Islam Al Azhar still give room for children to excel? In my belief, when all their potentials are developed, children will have a greater chance to excel and I can see the truth in my belief in this primary school. In the last two years, the students have made great achievements in various competitions held at the local and national levels–gold medals in English, math and science competitions (national), silver and bronze medals in IT competitions (national), silver and bronze medals at colouring and swimming competitions (local) to mention some.

In conclusion, SD Islam Al Azhar has given evidence of the right efforts of true education to develop both intelligence and character.

Prof. DR. Budi S. Daryono, M.Agr. Sc.

Testimoni Sebagai Orang tua menyekolahkan anak Di Al-Azhar 55

Sudah menjadi kewajiban bagi orang tua untuk memberikan pendidikan yang terbaik bagi putra putrinya. Tantangan untuk mendidik anak di Era Global dan Digital pun semakin besar, kita tidak bisa lagi membendung segala perubahan yang begitu cepat terjadi, dan harus mempersiapkan anak-anak supaya bisa survive dan sholeh/sholehah tentunya. Saat ini dunia bagaikan kampung, dimana tidak ada batas-batas untuk melakukan transaksi kehidupan, untuk itu anak harus bisa berkomunikasi dengan bahasa universal sebagai modal utama. Disamping itu, pendidikah Ahlak dan Aqidah harus diberikan secara dini sebagai dasar anak dalam menghadapi gejolak gelombang kehidupan. Atas pertimbangan tersebutlah, kami selaku orang tua memilih untuk menyekolahkan putra kami tercinta Hikari di Sekolah Islam, yang menggunakan dua bahasa pengantar, yaitu Al-Azhar 55.

Prof. DR. Budi S.Daryono, M.Agr. Sc.