ABU DHABI // Abu Dhabi Education Council has teamed up with Google to introduce user-friendly computer programming lessons in classrooms across the emirate.
Computer Science First, or CS First, was launched on Sunday to give 250,000 public and private-school pupils the tools and support to learn the basics of coding through a program called Scratch. The initiative gives students the opportunity to join after-school coding clubs and enter coding competitions.
The two-year project started out as a pilot for 100 pupils from grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 in three public schools. In September, the scheme was expanded to 30,000 pupils in grades 4, 5 and 9 across all public schools.
The goal is to reach every grade in all schools over the next two years, said Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, director general of Adec.
“This will cover one quarter of a million students who will learn and interact with this program in Abu Dhabi with public or private schools,” said Dr Al Khaili.
About 300 teachers have received training to teach Scratch in their ICT classrooms and Google “gurus” have visited schools to introduce the program to students and staff.
Scratch is a free online tool developed by the MIT Media Lab that teaches schoolchildren the foundations of computer programming through a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
It allows users to band together blocks of script or commands to create interactive stories, animations and games.
rpennington@thenational.ae
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Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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