Month: August 2014

Posted on by Edsys

What could be worse than not utilizing an opportunity when you actually have it in your hands? That’s what is happening in Dubai right now. The Knowledge and Human Authority (KHDA), governed by the Government of Dubai, has taken the initiatives for improving the performance of private schools in Dubai. As a result of that, KHDA inspects schools and the reports are published on their website on a regular basis. But it’s very disappointing to see that parents don’t even care to go through them.

“Despite more than 200,000 pupils attending private schools in Dubai, only 26,557 people viewed inspection results and reports by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) last year — and many of them weren’t even pupils or parents,” the Gulf News quotes. It shows that parents do not bother to enquire about the quality of schools before admitting their child and those parents, whose children are already in school, do not tend to evaluate the performance of the schools.

The KHDA has been publishing reports since 2009, to help parents in finding the right school for their children and to make the parents, whose children are already in school, aware of the school’s performance. Some parents just read the summarized reports that come in newspapers but do not go online and check the reports in detail. Some parents are just aware of the inspections happening in their kids’ schools, but they are not even aware that the reports are available online.

Hind Al Mulla, who is the Chief of Engagement, KHDA, says that parents should make use of the inspection reports to the fullest for providing better education to their children. “Reports enable parents to make informed decisions about their child’s education and future. Parents are able to contrast and compare the results of different schools, focusing on everything from academia to extra-curricular activities and student life,” Mr. Mulla says.

According to the reports, 154,901 people visited the KHDA website in the year 2012; however, only 6,103 went through the publication section containing KHDA inspection reports and other schools reports. But there was a slight increase in the figures last year. Out of the 337,628 people who visited KHDA website last year, 26,557 went through the online publication section. This shows a steady growth in the number of visitors viewing KHDA publications online.

“We are expecting the number this year to be the highest. We will continue to engage parents through various channels of communication. In addition to online reports, we offer smart services,” Mr. Mulla says. The figures show that in the first two quarters of 2014, the number of people who accessed the KHDA website were 204,139. Out of that, 18,776 people viewed the KHDA inspection reports and the other reports online.

KHDA is a regulatory authority aimed at providing quality education to students of private schools in Dubai and has hence set some guidelines for the schools to follow. They inspect schools on a regular basis and publish their reports online as an effort to improve performances of schools.

Posted on by Edsys

Driverless cars have been a sci-fi lover’s dream for a long time. There is something inherently cool with the idea of travelling in a driverless car. When Google finally made self driving cars a reality, their design was completely different from the kind we see in Hollywood sci-fi movies. Maybe due to this, these cars did not evoke a positive response from the public. However, the Internet giant used the cars for collecting data for its street view maps.

Slowly, more and more people became impressed with Google’s effort. As of April 2014, the team of Google’s self driving cars has covered close to 700,000 autonomous miles (1.1 million km) in open road. Most of this has been in California where Google has created a virtual road map for its cars. Despite that it is an impressive feat.

The Secret of Google’s Self Driving Cars

So, what is the technology that made Google’s autonomous cars possible? The answer is around us. Most of the technology is already in cars that are on the road such as automatic breaking and parallel parking seen in some of the latest model cars. Some cars even have advanced cruise control that helps to keep the car inside the lane mark. The technology behind Google’s self driving cars when viewed individually is more evolutionary than revolutionary.

An assortment of sensors is used to generate a map of the surrounding area and compare it with the map in Google’s database. By doing this, the car is able to understand the original path and identify the new objects (people, other vehicles and more) for easier navigation. The major or most interesting among the eight different sensors used in these self driving cars is named Lidar. It is a rotating sensor placed at the roof top which helps build 3D maps at a distance of 200m continuously by the use of 32/64 lasers. The car also has a set up that monitors other motorists and pedestrians using a standard camera.

GPS in Google Self Driving Car2s

Role of GPS Technology

You might be familiar with GPS technology which helps in geo-location in your smartphone. A more sophisticated version of the same used in Google’s autonomous cars. GPS technology is quite popular as it is used in several applications such as vehicle tracking systems and school bus tracking systems apart from smart devices. In Google’s cars, a GPS aerial is mounted at the rear for location information. But these cars also feature gyroscopes, altimeters and a tachometer in them to avoid even a minute miscalculation of cars’ positions.

Mishaps

Despite the technology involved, there has been couple of accidents that involved the search giant’s driverless cars. The first one occurred back in 2011 near the company’s headquarters in California. Another time, a self driving car from the Google stable was rear ended at a traffic light. But Google clarified that both the cars were being driven manually when the incidents occurred.

Commercialization and recent developments

Google doesn’t have plans to commercialize driverless cars immediately. But there have been some recent developments such as Nevada becoming the first US district to make autonomous cars legal and UK allowing driverless cars in its roads from 2015. These might prompt Google to bring the autonomous cars on the roads faster than expected.

Recently it was confirmed that Google’s self driving cars are designed to exceed the speed limit by almost 10 Kms/hr in order to keep up with other cars if they exceed the speed limit. Thus it’s pretty clear that these cars are very close to being commercialized. Also, Google recently announced plans for 100 self-driving car prototypes

Hurdles faced by Driverless cars

But there are some hurdles that Google and other promoters of the technology need to tackle before full commercialization. One is the legal implications and the other is the general public’s attitude towards cars without drivers.

It might even take a generation before people become comfortable with the idea of travelling in cars that have no drivers. While the time frame is uncertain, most developed nations are sure about one thing – that autonomous vehicles are the future.

Facts about Google’s Self Driving Car Prototypes

  • They run 100% on electricity. Talk about a greener future!
  • When fully charged, these cars will be able to run for 100 miles
  • You can use your smart phone to summon these cars
  • It is not confirmed at the moment, but these cars may not have pedals and steering wheels
  • Google’s Self Driving prototypes use a complex mechanism which uses radars, lasers and sensors other than GPS systems for navigation
  • These cars won’t be manufactured commercially. Google would probably partner with a car manufacturer to bring this technology to the market
  • car crashes are due to driver errors According to experts, driverless cars can reduce the number of accidents that happen on road. Reason? Most reports point out that more than 85% of. So, autonomous cars while unable to completely eliminate crashes; will reduce the rate of accidents drastically.
  • If commercialized, driverless cars will lead to a massive rewriting of traffic rules
Posted on by Edsys

Haven’t you seen some children of a particular age group growing up to be rebels while some children of the same age group are quite and peaceful? If you have ever wondered why there is such a difference in their behaviour or character, the answer is simple. It is the environment in which a child grows up and the things that he/she learns in the process that influences a child’s development. Every parent wishes their children to grow into good individuals and that is exactly the motive of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) as well. EYFS aims at giving children a good beginning socially and academically. It is achieved through play and activities including children-teacher interactions. EYFS framework sets a few guidelines to the providers of children up to the age of five years to ensure that the children are given good care.

How did the idea of EYFS originate?

Now where did the idea of EYFS come from? Let’s have a peek into the history of EYFS, about how it started and why. Early years of a child play an important role in his/her development and what he/she turns out to be in future. Anything that the child learns or encounters during the phase tends to impact his/her development into an adult. In short,early years of childhood influences a child’s intelligence, behaviour and personality as he/she grows up. EYFS implemented the developmental standards of a child keeping all these points in mind. The frame work of Early Years Foundation Stage was first implemented in England in September 2008. However, it was later revised and that version came into effect in September 2012. The revised version was meant to reduce the load of providers in terms of extra paper works and regulations and to save enough time to support in their development. Location of a child can also affect his/her development. In that way, EYFS turns versatile. EYFS, through its guidelines, tend to make sure that wherever the early year providers are, the care and education given to children meets the required standards. EYFS aims at

  • Stable and quality development of children throughout their early years.
  • To provide a strong base for children that would help them as they step into school and as they grow into adults.
  • Providing opportunities to all children to bring out their full potential.

EYFS did not get a warm reception when it was first implemented. It failed to grab much attention then. But, with time, more and more day care centres and nurseries came up, adding to the convenience of working parents. They adopted EYFS framework for better management and development of children.

How does EYFS Framework work?

In all those years when a child is admitted to a daycare or nursery up to when he/she turns five years old, the providers are expected to maintain an EYFS profile. Each child would have separate profiles. These EYFS profiles help in the assessment of how a child has been developing in his/her early years. It would also give an idea about the characteristics of the child and areas the child is good at. The providers would also interact with parents regarding the progress of their child and regarding the extended learning at home.

How does it help?

When you admit your child in school, you would give primary attention to how your child is performing academically. In most cases, parents fail to understand the skills their children possess. Through the EYFS framework, providers take note of development of children stage by stage that it would be easy to assess the activities your child is good at. This can also help in understanding areas of weakness in children. It would provide the parents an opportunity to help their children out, thus bringing out the full potential in a child. The assessment of children is based on three important areas of learning and development

  • Personal, social and emotional development

This area looks at children’s confidence and behaviour and how they interact with others, be it adults or other children.

  • Physical development

This area emphasises physical skills of a child. A child learns how to dress, eat etc. Also, they are taught ways of keeping healthy.

  • Communication and language

This area focuses on children’s speech and language. Also, they are helped to develop skills, which may prove to be helpful in future when they learn to read and write.

Impact of EYFS

When EYFS framework was first implemented, there were many controversies surrounding it. It was termed ‘nappy curriculum’ by media and people believed that it forced children to be ready to go to school, in their early years. People felt that more than helping in the development of children, EYFS framework could actually harm them. There were lots of debates on whether it had to be withdrawn. However, with time, all those controversies died down and the EYFS framework was widely accepted and it proved to be a success. According to the inspections conducted various early year providers in England by Ofsted, a non ministerial government department based on England, there has been a tremendous improvement in results of EYFS profiles since 2008.

EYFS applications to help providers

Now, teachers do not have to struggle any more for creating individual profiles of children. Edsys has introduced a mobile application as well as a desktop application, which serve to be of great use to teachers. They can capture images of children’s activities and save them in the profiles of each child and give grades and add comments along with that. Teachers can also easily share those photographs with parents through chat, Bluetooth etc.

Posted on by Edsys

Private education and learning in Dubai are regulated by Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which may also include the school your child studies in or the school you work in. With KHDA assessing the schools, you can know how good the performance of a particular school is just by looking at their rating.

If you are not familiar with KHDA, here is a glimpse of what KHDA is and the role it plays in improving the performance of private schools in Dubai:

KHDA, which is a part of Government of Dubai, plays a pivotal role in ensuring quality education to private schools in Dubai.  KHDA monitors all institutions under private education sector of Dubai. The main motive of KHDA is to develop the education sector of Dubai to meet international standards, so that students would be well prepared to meet the fast moving world. KHDA has hence set some guidelines for the schools they monitor to follow.

How KHDA Monitors Schools?

KHDA ensures quality education to students using Dubai School Inspections Bureau (DSIB) and Regulations and Compliance Committee (RCC). These are subsidiary bodies of KHDA with specific duties.

DSIB

Dubai School Inspections Bureau (DSIB), is a team of school inspectors who visit the private schools in Dubai frequently to ensure the quality standards are met consistently. DSIB submits ratings of each inspected school, which would then be published in the KHDA website. These reports are usually submitted by DSIB in September.

While assessing the schools in Dubai, DSIB judges them based on a four-point scale. The four levels on the scale are:

  • Outstanding-When the performance of schools is exceptionally well.
  • Good-When the school meets expected educational standards in Dubai.
  • Acceptable-This level of performance of schools is acceptable in Dubai; however, the schools are expected to perform above this level.
  • Unsatisfactory-This is when quality of performance by schools in Dubai are below the expected level. Schools would have to take necessary measures to improvise their standard in terms of performance or practice at this level.

RCC

KHDA’s Regulations and Compliance Committee (RCC) is responsible for inspecting private schools in Dubai to ensure that they follow KHDA guidelines, which are mandatory. That is also an effort to fulfill KHDA’s aim to develop the standards of private schools in Dubai.

Apart from setting standards for improving performance of schools, KHDA has also set guidelines in terms of advertising by schools and for events and field trips conducted by schools. It is necessary for the schools to let KHDA know when they are planning to market or advertise the schools in any media.

KHDA rankings are not based on how much money has been invested by schools.  It is based on the right management and the ways adopted to improve performance and standards of schools.

Now if you are looking forward to improve your schools’ performance, here are some practices of schools that KHDA is looking upon in 2014, to assess the schools:

1. Taking Care Of Special Education Needs

In a school, there may be children with different learning abilities.  In 2014, KHDA plans to focus on schools, which attend to the needs of children who have difficulty in learning, or children who are differently abled or have special talents.  KHDA would look upon:

  • Syllabus modified by school, relevant equally for normal children and children who have difficulty in learning.
  • The schools should support students with special needs or disabilities, preparing them to face the world.

2. School Management System

Many schools with less monetary support may think that it is not possible for them to afford to have a good school management system.  However, having an effective school management system can have its own advantages.  It makes work easier and the employees of the school would be able to save time for other activities, hence increasing the productivity and reducing expenditure.  Better school management can be done by implementing

  • RFID School Bus Tracking System
  • Work Force Management etc.

3. EncouragingArabic & Islamic Education

Since Government of Dubai has taken initiatives to protect the tradition and heritage of the country, KHDA is giving importance on appointing efficient Arabic and Islamic teachers to improve the performance of students in Arabic and Islamic Education in private schools.

4. Appointment of qualified teachers

As an approach in developing the education sector of Dubai, DSIB would be inspecting whether private schools in Dubai are hiring qualified teachers.  DSIB would assess the teachers based on their

  • Knowledge on the subject
  • Ability to promote creative and imaginative skills of students apart from books
  • Approach towards students
  • Teaching methods and ability to plan the next step
  • Ability to encourage self-management in children

5. Students’ Personal & Social Development

KHDA focuses on the development of students on personal and social front. Therefore, in 2014, KHDA would look upon the measures taken by teachers of private schools in Dubai in encouraging

  • Leadership qualities in students
  • Discipline and self-management skills
  • Humanity and love towards humans, animals and environment
  • Positive response towards advices
  • Healthy lifestyle

By other countries taking up stands such as Government of Dubai and KHDA, it is possible to improve their education sector, thereby, creating an efficient work force, adding to the economy of the country.

Is your school finding it difficult to cope up with KHDA standards?

As the inspections happen very frequently, it is important that schools monitor their quality standards throughout the year. This is where Real-time Institution Management System (RIMS) from Edsys provides schools with an advantage. The integrated modules in this system ensure that the school authorities are notified when there is a compromise in the quality standards of a particular school.

But in order to enjoy the benefits of the KHDA Inspection software, a school will have to employ Real-time Institution Management System (RIMS). It is a comprehensive system that makes the overall management of your school easy. There are smart card solutions, GPS Tracking System, Attendance Management, School App and a lot more systems that ensure ease of management as well as student safety.