RELECT_EduHacks_Tan_Zi_Xuan

RELECT: recall your dialects!

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Inspiration

In the vibrant tapestry of Singapore's cultural landscape, the rich linguistic diversity, including iconic languages like Singlish and traditional dialects, has played a crucial role in shaping the nation's identity. However, as we navigate the digital age, there is a growing concern about the gradual loss of dialects, particularly among the younger generation. The potential loss of dialects isn't merely a linguistic issue; it's a cultural one. The diminishing use of dialects risks eroding a significant part of Singapore's cultural identity. As we work towards social good and equality, it is essential to address this cultural gap to ensure inclusivity and unity among different age groups within the community.

What it does

Therefore, I ideated a user-friendly website, RELECT, with the aim of promoting and preserving dialects among the younger generation while fostering intergenerational connections.

Features

  • Digital Sharing: A platform for the older generation and/or anyone who is keen on dialect-sharing to share their wisdom and experiences through contributing phrases of dialect to the website, thus fostering a sense of community and intergenerational understanding.
  • Online Language Exchange: Facilitate language exchange between the older and younger generations, encouraging dialogue and cultural exchange.
  • Community Appreciation: Provide opportunities for users to recognise the contributors' efforts by commenting a short message for any contributor of choice.

How we built it

The website was coded in HTML and CSS was used to beautify the site. Python and Flask were used to create the web framework, and an SQLite database was used to store the data contributed to the site.

Challenges we ran into

One of the primary challenges I encountered revolved around the inability to facilitate users in recording and directly submitting audio files through the website. My prior experience predominantly involved designing websites that focused on displaying text and images, hence I was uncertained about how to seamlessly integrate and manage audio files.

Ultimately, I addressed this hurdle by incorporating Reverb Record into the framework. Reverb Record not only enabled users to record audio directly but also streamlined the process by converting the recordings into unique audio links. This strategic integration allowed me to overcome the initial barrier and successfully implement audio sharing functionality on the website.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

On a personal level, I take pride in successfully bringing my idea to fruition and developing a functional website that is now accessible to the public. Notably, this project also marks my inaugural experience in deploying a website online, making the accomplishment even more satisfying.

Reflecting on the broader scope of the project, I am glad that I could leverage the coding knowledge acquired during my schooling years. They enabled me to create RELECT, which addresses a topic that holds personal significance and is prevalent in my society, ultimately contributing to the betterment of the community.

What we learned

In terms of technical skills, the deployment of the website on PythonAnywhere expanded my knowledge beyond the local environment, where I primarily ran my web applications. The utilisation of PythonAnywhere also introduced me to the advantages of employing MySQL over SQLite for database functionality. While SQLite is more suited for smaller projects, MySQL seems to be a more suitable choice for RELECT, given its future as a public website with anticipated widespread accessibility and usage.

On the softer side of skill development, the satisfaction derived from coding a project that evolves from nothing to a tangible contribution for society was immensely rewarding. Unlike my school experience, which predominantly focused on assigned work, embarking on a project from scratch was a novel experience. I take pride in navigating this uncharted territory and utilising my existing knowledge to contribute meaningfully to the community.

What's next for RELECT

  1. Assess the website's effectiveness in facilitating the learning, appreciation, and usage of dialects with a small group of trial users.
  2. Prioritise active engagement with users to gather valuable feedback on various aspects, including the adequacy of features and the overall user-friendliness of the website. This will be instrumental in refining and enhancing the user experience.
  3. Upgrade database from SQLite to SQL so as to cater to the growing dialect base and user base.
  4. As a long-term objective, I hope to work towards empowering users to seamlessly record and share audio phrases directly within the RELECT website. This will eliminate the need for external platforms, fostering a more integrated and user-centric language learning experience.

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