Special Olympics robotics competition offers pupils social lifeline in time of remote learning


Anam Rizvi
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A Special Olympics UAE robotics competition offered children a crucial social lifeline during months of remote learning.

The education initiative challenged pupils with and without intellectual disabilities to work together to programme a robot.

The opportunity for collaboration and camaraderie proved just as important as learning new skills.

The Unified Robotics 2021 Competition, organised by Special Olympics UAE, featured 375 pupils from 44 schools in a series of virtual challenges.

These meetings helped pupil's wellbeing. They missed parties and the social aspect of school

This year, many pupils had to swap in-person meetings for online sessions with their teams where they coded and played games together.

For Adam Al Tanani, 10, a British pupil in Abu Dhabi, online meetings with his four-member team to code and programme a robot's movements were the highlight of his week.

Adam, a Year 6 pupil at The British School Al Khubairat, is on the autism spectrum and spent much of 2020 studying remotely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Getting to know new people was the best part [of this competition]," Adam said.

“I loved meeting and interacting with my team members and enjoyed the process of preparing for the competition.”

The team got together at a cafe in Abu Dhabi to prepare ahead of the final challenge.

"On the final day of the contest, we had to code through challenges that were very hard, but we did it,” he said.

The Unified Robotics competition is the largest such event for neurodiverse pupils in the UAE.

Children in the 8-11 age group competed on March 13 with secondary school-age pupils going head to head on March 20.

An online awards ceremony will be held on April 17 where category winners will be announced.

Deborah Specter, a parent-chairwoman of the Special Olympics UAE, and mother of a child on the autism spectrum, said her son had “thoroughly enjoyed” being part of the programme.

"This provided him with a platform to engage and socially interact with his classmates" said Ms Specter, whose son Joshua, a Year 6 pupil at Repton School Abu Dhabi, participated in the competition.

Joshua had weekly online meetings with his team where they coded together.

"He utterly loved this and his face was always beaming with happiness when he recounted the time spent," said Ms Specter, who is from the UK.

Ms Specter said that some children on the autism spectrum showed a great aptitude for Stem subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and could make valuable contributions.

L to R - Ella, Adam, Matty and Keva. Courtesy Special Olympics UAE
L to R - Ella, Adam, Matty and Keva. Courtesy Special Olympics UAE

A 2013 study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital found children with autism and average IQs had superior maths skills compared with pupils with similar IQs who did not have autism.

Richard Mackay, homeroom teacher and information technology coach at Mubarak bin Mohammed Charter School in Abu Dhabi, said their team used 15 minutes in every session to play virtual bingo and Simon Says.

The four-member team, aged between 8 and 11, met online every week and enjoyed coding together while sharing their interest in the UAE's Mars mission.

"We had conversations with them on why they wanted to become coders, or what they liked eating or what made them laugh," Mr Mackay said.

"I believe teams that play together stay together, and the growth in the team has been phenomenal."

The pupils wrote codes to make a robot move backwards, forwards and turn, but for the teacher the greatest achievement was the friendships that were forged.

In the absence of birthday parties and social gatherings, the weekly meetings gave pupils something to look forward to.

"These meetings helped pupil's wellbeing. They missed parties and the social aspect of school," Mr Mackay said.

Lisa Watson, head of inclusion at Repton Abu Dhabi said the Covid-19 pandemic had caused some restrictions to learning.

"We did a lot of sessions over Zoom until we got back to face-to-face learning," Ms Watson said.

"The pupils loved this as it helped them to collaborate with their peers and it was good for them to get some social interaction."

How to help

Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.

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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani:  The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

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Toss: India, opted to field

Australia 158-4 (17 ov)

Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24

India 169-7 (17 ov)

Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22

Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results

6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)

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10pm Handicap Dh160,000 1,600m Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

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Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

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Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

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Rating: 4/5

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

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Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

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Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

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By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

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In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. 

 

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