Schoolchildren have had to resort to online learning in the Covid-19 pandemic but as recovery begins the focus is shifting to incorporating virtual education across teaching in ways that improve the classroom.
India-based educationalist Amreesh Chandra says his biggest concern when the world emerges from the pandemic is “the deficit in knowledge, especially in these ones that are graduating from one life into the other”.
Mr Chandra set up Chandra Edu Links in 2006, which has provided education services around the world. As the pandemic took hold, it launched what is thought to be India’s first live web school.
The Online World School in India was followed by Online Learning World, which aims to complement the education of Indian pupils in the GCC through live, interactive tutoring in the form of after-school lessons.
Mr Chandra said conventional schools modelled on traditional systems failed to adapt to the crisis.
“The most important thing that happened with the pandemic was, no matter how modern a country was or how developed the country was or how underdeveloped a country was, our education system was never structured enough to handle such a pressure point,” he said.
In the first peak of the outbreak, last spring, 188 countries closed their schools, affecting 1.54 billion pupils.
“My worry from the pandemic is how would these students perform when they go into their professional lives,” he said.
There needs to be a properly thought-out plan for how these gaps will be closed, he said.
Mr Chandra believes there should be a hybrid system that incorporates some online learning – but not of the type most children have become accustomed to in the past 10 months.
“We developed a programme where we would replicate what happens offline, online. So we said we’re not going to do any video tutorials. We will not make WhatsApp groups and pass instructions. We will not send worksheets for them to fill out,” Mr Chandra said.
“What we would do is create a conveyer belt of technology that allows a live-streaming of every class that is taught and allows a child to raise his hand or her hand and ask a question as he or she would in an offline class.”
Online Learning World has since created 15 live studios for teaching. The online idea was accelerated by the frustrations of parents who couldn’t justify the school fees they were paying and the angst felt by children whose education was suffering at such a crucial time.
“Not all schools are teaching through a live-streaming facility. If a child has a question, for him to go back to his subject teacher is an ordeal for him. Classroom teaching is based on questions and answers. We wanted to capture that live.”
Online Learning World is one of the very few organisations in the UAE education sector to have received an online education trade licence from Fujairah Free Zone during the pandemic.
Moving forwards, Mr Chandra believes it will take two to three academic terms to make up for the educational losses sustained during the lockdown and says incorporating technology could help offset the negative impact of any future crises that would compel pupils to stay at home.
As he points, uncertainty still reigns over when children will be able to return to the classroom.
The most worrying issue, Mr Chandra says, is that many teachers lack sufficient technology skills and this needs to be addressed.
But he says shifting to a combination of in-class and online learning is a “no-brainer”.
“It has to be blended learning, which means it’s a combination of offline and online. We never know when there could be a sudden pandemic outburst in an institution.”
List of alleged parties
May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members
May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party
Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson
Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party
Dec 14 2020: London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative
Party headquarters
Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
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The specs
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Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
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Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
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Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Lexus LX700h specs
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Price: From Dh590,000
