Education is in the middle of its biggest disruption within living memory. The precautions to curb the spread of Covid-19 have forced pupils to study online and forced schools to adapt to the new paradigm.
Distance learning is nothing new, but up until now it has been largely voluntary and focused on higher and professional education. As primary and secondary schools adapt to the digital space, it begs the question, where do we go from here?
Forward-thinking
Futurists such as Alvin Toffler have long warned education must adapt if pupils are to learn the skills needed for the 21st century. In his book Future Shock, published in 1984, he wrote: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn."
As the Fourth Industrial Revolution gathers pace and routine tasks are taken up by machines, forward-thinking educators and academics are calling for a new approach to education – one that stresses human values, such as creativity, curiosity, design thinking, and the adaptability and lifelong learning Toffler championed.
On the surface, this is at odds with traditional class-based education. Who needs to know when or where two trains will pass if one of them leaves Delhi at 3pm travelling at 45km/h when an app will calculate it for you?
Who needs to be able to reel off a list of the kings and queens of England and the dates they ruled when a search engine will provide the data at the click of a button?
The value of education
This is somewhat unfair to traditional education. Maths teachers will point out arithmetic is critical to everyday life and that maths underlies many creative fields, whether it be the pitch and harmonies of musical notes or the pleasing proportions of graphic design. History teaches us to research and to evaluate sources using critical thinking.
School curriculums are not designed on a whim. They ensure young people leave school with a basic level of knowledge and with the skills required to enter the workforce at a basic level or to carry their education further, whether it be in technical skills or intellectual ones. They are standardised, and can be tested and evaluated, progress measured.
But all too often pupils – particularly those not of an academic mindset – leave school without realising their skills, considering their education complete.
Grass roots learning
Enter the guerrilla teacher, the pop-up pedagogue. Guerrilla teachers do not fit into the established education establishment – they have no real hierarchy or set curriculum, and often no fixed college. They work online or in extra-curricular clubs and after-school activities. They make learning fun. They may be volunteers or act as freelancers. Because they are so flexible, they can adapt their teaching to the individual needs of a pupil far more readily than a classroom teacher adhering to a set curriculum.
The difficulty then is how to evaluate the effectiveness of such teaching. How can education authorities and potential employers be assured that learning is taking place?
One possibility is to apply a degree of oversight and quality assurance to the teaching. An example might be found in CoderDojo, an international, volunteer-led series of tech-based learning clubs for young people that has operated in 111 countries, including Bahrain.
A new paradigm?
Voluntary clubs like CoderDojo run in physical locations, even if they are temporary ones. But when pupils – even primary-aged pupils – are learning online, is there a need to tie them to one particular institution? At the moment, that is how schools are dealing with the enforced digitisation brought on by Covid-19.
Bahrain offers an example of future possibilities. It is a highly digitised nation with 99 per cent of its population connected to the internet, putting it in fourth place in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness 2019.
In February 2020, Bahrain moved its schools online as part of Covid-19 precautions. It logged more than 5.7 million visits to its education portal between the third week of February 2020 and April 14, when the move online took place.
Clearly digital nations such as Bahrain have the capabilities to move schools online in the longer term.
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn
The issue comes when expensive resources are required for practical lessons – most households do not have access to chemistry laboratories, for example.
It is not hard to see the benefits of creating chemistry, physics or technological education hubs, rather than expecting each school to provide its own labs.
Covid-19 has disrupted lives drastically, but we are learning to cope with it. If we go back to the way things were before the crisis, we would have failed to learn, adapt and grow – the very things we want education to teach our children. As Toffler said, we must learn, unlearn and relearn.
David Parker is the co chief investment officer at Economic Development Board Bahrain
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United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
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About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
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Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
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Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Sand storm
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- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
