education
There is an old joke that asks “where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep?” To which the answer is “anywhere it wants”. Today, that large ape is synonymous with any entity that can’t be defeated. One such area of seemingly inevitable growth is the education technology market.
According to a 2016 estimate by EdTechXEurope, a summit that brings together investors, innovators and influencers, the so-called edtech market will grow by 17 per cent per annum and will be worth $252 billion by 2020. There is no denying that classroom technology such as tablets, VR goggles and drones has the potential to engage young people like never before. Apple, Google and Microsoft are currently working hard to gain a substantial place in the education market, so you can be sure that an online classroom will soon be making its way to a school near you.
However, before we blithely fall off the digital cliff face like pixelated lemmings, we do need to assess the effect of our coming bout with the big gorilla. Education has always been about freeing ourselves from the coercive effect of ideology so that we can live informed lives free from superstition or marketing. However, today we are on the cusp of hitching ourselves to big business with very little empirical research on the effect of technology in schools.
For many years anthropologists referred to “McDonaldisation” to describe the resentment of autonomous cultures to the colonisation of the world by global brands such as Coca-Cola and Starbucks, whose products were highly addictive and bad for our health. Today, schools risk losing their identities by adopting the highly addictive world view that the tech giants would have us believe is the future of education. This month saw the release of the book Irresistible by Adam Alter in which the author reveals why it is no accident that you can’t stop looking at your screen. The mission of tech designers is to make their products as addictive as possible.
Alter reveals that for a time Google had a “design ethicist”, remarking that you do not make such an appointment unless you are concerned about the ethics of the products you are creating. Interestingly enough, he also mentions the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Silicon Valley, where students do not have access to any technology. This example has been cited often over the past few years because 75 per cent of the students there have parents who are big names in technology.
If some of Silicon Valley’s key players are choosing schools that shun technology, then we all need to tread carefully.
The only major global evaluation of digital technology in the classroom was conducted in 2015 by the OECD. “If you look at the best-performing education systems, such as those in East Asia, they've been very cautious about using technology in their classrooms,” said the OECD's Andreas Schleicher. “Those students who use tablets and computers very often tend to do worse than those who use them moderately.”
I write this opinion piece neither as a Luddite nor as a contrarian. I blog, tweet and Facebook in the name of education. I own a Microsoft SurfacePro, coordinate my life on OneNote and advocate preparation for the digital age to my parents, students and teachers. But I do so infused with a healthy dose of circumspection and pragmatism rather than evangelism. Yes, an awareness of the economic needs of society must remain a practical focus of education: if the information age is upon us then schools must ensure that students can transition into the working world. However, it is too tempting to see schools exclusively as servants of the economy.
If we need to surrender our educational establishments to global corporations whose acquisition of market share is dependent on the sale and school-wide implementation of “irresistible” technology then we should all be wary. My views, I realise, will be seen by some as quaint and they will be met with derision by others.
And yet a recent article in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning that ran with the headline “The best app is the teacher”, tells us what we already know: the empirical research on the effect of tablet devices is limited as is research focusing on how teachers should be supported while using tablet devices.
The results of their study show that besides the way tablets are implemented, it remains the teacher who determines the success of learner-centred learning with tablets. In spite of tablet devices’ potential to promote learner-centred learning, students reported the need of plenary teacher-led class interventions.
All schools about to embark on the digital journey as well as parents, students and boards of governors would be well advised to measure the effect of edtech through systematic research. What will be the cost of screen time in class? In pure financial terms what will be the effect on the bottom line of the school in terms, of training, technology and running costs? What will be the cost to the social skills if all work is produced and consumed online? Without two-way conversations which rely on the subtle acquisition of social cues, how will our students learn to negotiate differences? How will we know? What will be the effect on actual examined outcomes? The OECD research would suggest that the effect could be negative.
We must avoid jumping into the digital abyss and move gingerly around its edges.
Michael Lambert is headmaster of Dubai College
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Santiago, via Sao Paolo cost from Dh5,295 with Emirates.
The trip
A five-day trip (not including two days of flight travel) was split between Santiago and in Puerto Varas, with more time spent in the later where excursions were organised by TurisTour.
When to go
The summer months, from December to February are best though there is beauty in each season
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Race card
4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m
5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections:
4pm Zabardast
4.35pm Ibn Malik
5.10pm Space Blues
5.45pm Kimbear
6.20pm Barney Roy
6.55pm Matterhorn
7.30pm Defoe
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
