A social platform that allows teachers to share pupils' creative writing with the world is motivating children to pen more stories, while improving the standards of writing in Dubai.
Pupils in Dubai are using the platform, called Pobble, to connect with their counterparts in China, Europe, UK and the UAE, to read each other's work and share feedback.
Educators in Dubai say pupils, especially young boys who were reluctant to write earlier, now want to be read by their peers, parents and family in different parts of the world.
Pobble, which was started in 2013 by a group of teachers based in North Yorkshire in England, allows teachers to plan lessons. Pupils can also research writing by their counterparts in different parts of the world, leave comments and receive feedback on their own pieces.
Andi Price, English lead at Ranches Primary School in Dubai, said the level of writing among his pupils has "shot through the roof" since the school started using Pobble last year.
“When looking at biographies or autobiographies, the first thing we do is search the 100,000 pieces of work on Pobble," said Mr Price, explaining how the platform works.
"The children filter and find the good examples, and immediately strike up a connection with the pupils who have written those pieces. The children also publish on Pobble and see the comments roll in,” he said. Parents are notified when their child’s work is published.
The platform has been a huge help in getting children to write, said Mr Price.
"I have been a teacher for 20 years and the motivation factor is number one. The boys in my class now see the point in writing because they have got an audience. Earlier they were reluctant to write in their books, but now they want to publish more and more,” he added.
The class will publish their first post in Arabic in a week, said Mr Price.
"When I told the children they will be publishing their work in Arabic their eyes lit up,” he said.
Expat children sometimes don’t see the worth of learning Arabic – but platforms like Pobble give them a purpose, he added.
And the platform was recently the source of public acclaim after a pupil's piece about Anthony Horowitz's book Stormbreaker was celebrated by the popular author on Twitter.
Russell Smart, assistant head teacher at Kings’ School Al Barsha in Dubai, said the school had been using Pobble for more than two years.
The platform has helped the school compare the writing level of their pupils to their British counterparts, he said.
“We do so much writing in books and it's read by the class or by the teacher. However, publishing it on Pobble means it's read by anyone, especially for our expat children,” he said.
The school’s home page has received 7,000 views, while 935 comments have been posted on their work.
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“We have published over 300 authors. I have been teaching for 15 years and historically it’s always the boys in upper primary children who have difficulty with when it comes to writing. This has given their writing a real purpose whether they are sharing it with their classmates or with the wider community,” said Mr Smart.
Pupils are encouraged to appreciate the pieces and leave positive remarks, as well as critique them.
The school posted writing in Arabic last week, Mr Smart said.
“We wanted to motivate those writers and to raise the profile of Arabic writing in the school,” he said.
Razan Shuqair, a Jordanian-British mother living in Dubai said her daughter, Sara Al Louzi, 10 – a year five student at Kings' School Al Barsha – was very excited that her work has been published on Pobble.
“She loves the fact that her writing has been acknowledged and celebrated by the school. It’s very encouraging and motivating. Now that her first piece was published, she wants to write more,” said Ms Shuqair.
“She never had the confidence earlier, but this has given it a boost. She believes in her writing a little bit more. Family members living abroad can also read her stories,” she said.
Sara likes writing descriptive stories in both Arabic and English, added Ms Shuqair.
“This is a great way to get students to write in Arabic. Writing is something personal and getting acknowledgement makes a difference,” she said.
Simon Blower, a former primary school deputy head teacher, is now the operations director and co-founder of Pobble.
“Pobble is an educational platform, designed by and for teachers to help improve children’s writing. Pobble is open for teachers to use in ways that best support the needs of their pupils. During our last visit, Kings’ School Al Barsha suggested the potential of sharing Arabic work as well, which we are delighted they have now taken up,” said Mr Blower.
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
RESULT
Chelsea 2
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Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
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Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
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A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
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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.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
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