Initiative comes in line with the UAE Ministry of Education's emphasis on integrating technology and education
In a bid to enhance the effectiveness of Arabic language teaching, GEMS Wellington Primary School has introduced an innovative teaching methodology that allows Year 3 Non-Arabic speaking children to use information and communications technology (ICT) equipment as learning tools. The initiative comes in line with the UAE Ministry of Education's emphasis on integrating technology with education and to complement the efforts to boost the efficiency of Arabic language training.
Four groups from Year 3 recently made a presentation about their learning experience. The presentation included learning the body parts in Arabic using different ICT equipment such as Nintendo DS, laptops, mobile phones, MP4 player and digital cameras. The learning experience was very successful and the school will soon apply the same learning approach to other classes.
Gihan Ahmed Mansoor, Arabic language teacher at GEMS Wellington Primary School, said: "At GEMS Wellington Primary School, we are continuously exploring the development of teaching methods across the curriculum. Within the teaching of Arabic language, we want to make our teaching methods appealing to children and fun at the same time, therefore we adopted the idea of this project under the supervision of Stephen Cox, Director of Strategic Professional and Development at GEMS Education."
"Learning Arabic language using the latest ICT tools has revolutionised the teaching and learning practices. It has generated tremendous interest among non-Arabic speaking children. We encourage our students to leverage the advantages of technology because it is important, both as a teaching tool and as an increasingly important part in their lives," Mansoor added.
Cox commented: "The UAE Ministry of Education has, in many occasions, emphasised on the importance of using technology as an innovative learning tool, as it has proved its effectiveness in enhancing the students' interaction in classes. Through its Professional Development Programmes, GEMS is at the forefront of cutting edge innovation and learning strategies for the continued development of the Arabic teaching."
"The students bought in their own technologies from home, collaborated and developed a digital story board which they shared. This 21st century approach to learning reiterates our commitment to creating a unique technology-rich and forward thinking learning environment," Cox added.
Sahel Bahman, a year- three student said: "This is a wonderful learning experience. We prepared on the laptop pictures about parts of the body using Word Paint. Other groups of students took pictures using their mobile phones and sent them via Bluetooth to the laptop. We also composed songs about the body and recorded them using our mobiles. Now the Arabic lesson is one of our favorite subjects."
Maheen Shariff, a year-three student said: "I learned the body parts in Arabic using my Nintendo DS. I did this by drawing them on the DS then capturing them using a camera. After that I sent them to the laptop using the Bluetooth. I can now learn Arabic and technology at the same and I am really enjoying it!"
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About GEMS Education:
GEMS manages a growing network of nearly 100 high quality international schools around the world. GEMS network of schools provide a unique brand of holistic education to 100,000 students from over 124 countries, employing over 6,200 education professionals, specialists and staff from over 50 nationalities. Supported by a network of eminent international advisors in the field of education, GEMS global network of multi-skilled specialists and in-house experts provide invaluable support and guidance in all areas related to schools, delivering world class standards of education. 'GEMS Education' offers total school management solutions. From project inception and planning to ongoing operations of schools, GEMS offers a total solutions approach to the management of new school projects and existing schools.
For more information, please contact:
Hiba Al Hafidh
Sara Hamam
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
PO Box 28063
Dubai
UAE
Tel: (+971 4) 334 4550
Email: h.alhafidh@asdaa.com
Email: s.hamam@asdaa.com
© Press Release 2009
