ABU DHABI // Textbooks, blackboards, chalk … they're so last century. Next week school pupils as young as 7 or 8 will start learning with iPads and laptops.
Not only that, but parents will be able to watch the children's progress via classroom cameras connected to the internet.
The iClass initiative is part of Abu Dhabi Education Council's New School Model, launched last year with the aim of promoting critical thinking, free learning, problem solving and teamwork by using different resources and technology.
The pilot programme in grades three and four at eight government schools in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Garbia is expected to be extended to all schools in the emirate by next year.
"We were working on a model that revolved only around the textbook and the teacher," said Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, director general of Adec.
"We do not want the teacher to be restricted to only one resource and are working to include all forms of technology, the internet and games to teach."
The iClass will provide a multimedia spin to Arabic, English, mathematics and science, with pupils carrying out practical assignments on the laptops and Apple tablet computers for a few hours each day. The classrooms will also be equipped with interactive blackboards and tabletop touch screens.
Dr Karima Al Mazroui, manager of the Arabic curriculum section at Adec, said pupils will have easy access to all lessons taught on their new technology.
"Most children are already hooked on their iPhones and BlackBerrys and sometimes know more than us," she said. "This makes it essential to use such technology for their academic benefit as well."
Adec has prepared specific materials and applications for these classes. The iPads will be preloaded with several Arabic-language applications, or apps.
"It is easy to find English teaching resources but there are very few in Arabic," said Dr Al Mazroui.
The authority has created alphabet kits that comprise books, guides and software for teachers.
"Children will also be expected to read and research more, reading at least one Arabic and one English book a week. They will then have to conduct discussions on them in class."
Cameras will allow classrooms in different schools to be connected together. That way, said Dr Al Khaili, pupils "can collaborate and learn together despite being in different schools".
They will also allow parents to monitor their children's progress and lessons. "Parents and Adec can see what is happening during these classes by accessing a website," said Dr Al Mazroui. "This allows parents to understand the new way of teaching.
"It also makes communication between parent and teacher easier, because they can check their child's assessment records, homework and send feedback by using a designated website."
There will be training and workshops for teachers on the effective use of technology in the classroom.
Teachers from other schools will be sent to those in the pilot to observe the classes so they can incorporate similar activities for their own pupils.
"We aim to have such classrooms in every school, and pupils can use the programmes for various subjects," said Dr Al Khaili.
Adec began a Dh350 million upgrade of the IT infrastructure at government schools last year. More than 150 schools have already been fitted with wireless internet and other facilities, with the rest to be completed by November.
The revamp includes an electronic student information system that stores pupils' records.
"We want all school-based work to be done via the internet," said Dr Al Khaili. "Every parent, teacher and pupil will have a username and password to access all school information and academic work."
Omar Al Saadi, a technology teacher at the Ghantoot School, is looking forward to the pilot. "This is how all children will learn in the future," he said.
aahmed@thenational.ae
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):
PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)
Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia