Students from kindergarten through to high school in the UAE or anywhere in the world will soon be able to take fun quizzes online through the interactive website of the Ministry of Education and Youth, www.moeya.ae.
This was announced recently by Dr Ahmed Al Sharef, Assistant Undersecretary for Student Activities and Welfare, at the ministry.
"The quiz will be one of the various activities to add an element of interactivity in our website," said Dr Al Sharef. The bilingual site, updated weekly with interactive contents in both Arabic and English, is aimed to become a meeting point of the 1,500 or so public and private schools in the UAE.
"Our aim is to become an authoritative reference with rich, quality content in the different disciplines, including the arts, sports, mathematics and sciences," said Dr Al Sharef.
The site is also aimed to become a communication medium for the students. It gives e-mail accounts to all registered students in the UAE.
The site, sponsored by nameplate companies, including Disney Channel ME, meBank and Spinneys, has coordinator-teachers from schools who provide content updates, done weekly.
"Through this site, we aim to link all of the students together into a single community," said Dr Al Sharef.
The pilot run of the quiz is necessary for the developers to gather the opinion of education experts as to what topics must be covered in the series. Contents for the quizzes will be updated periodically while prizes for winners will be provided by corporate sponsors, he said.
"The quiz is an activity that is both fun and educational. The students will get their scores immediately," he said. The interactive quiz was developed by Zablan Information Systems (ZIS) for the ministry.
Individual participants can join by signing up first with the website, explained Jijie Zablan, chief executive officer of ZIS.
The site also details the extracurricular activities of the students and teachers of the different schools here under the ministry.
The site also has an activities page which will feature all the events supported, organised and directed by the ministry.
A link button will enable students, teachers and school administrators to access a registration form to sign up for events at the different zones or emirates organised by the ministry.
The activities cover include educational tours (video clips, pictures and text), camping, contests, plays, art festivals, talent shows and science fairs. Interscholastic tournaments, their schedules and running scores are also published and updated weekly.
Explaining the activity-oriented website, Zablan said: "The brain has two sides, according to education experts. The left side contributes to the analytical part that includes logic, maths and sciences while the right is concerned with the arts, sports and creativity.
"Many gifted children go unrecognised simply because they are operating with a brain dominance at odds with their parents and teachers. Student activities enhance the brain of every child that contributes to having a balanced outlook in life," she said.
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