RAK Academy provides 1,500 laptops for pupils to prepare for new era of learning

Parents and pupils say the move will help them adapt to the digital world

RAK Academy fifth grade pupil, Minkang Oh, with his mother Eunjin Shin. Pupils at the school received laptops to help with online and blended learning. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National

RAK Academy fifth grade pupil, Advay Roy Sarkar, with his laptop.

Pupils at RAK Academy maintain social distancing.

RAK Academy has five branches in the emirate.

Grade 8 pupil, Finlay Dickson, uses one of the laptops during a science test.

RAK Academy fifth grade pupil, Advay Roy Sarkar, using one of the laptops with his mother Cheshta Roy Sarkar.

RAK Academy is preparing its pupils for a future of learning inside and outside the classroom.

Parents and pupils at a top UAE school said the provision of 1,500 laptops will help them prepare for a new educational era.

RAK Academy distributed the devices to pupils across its five schools to help them with online and blended learning.

This model was embraced by schools across the country to overcome challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pupils from Grades 2 to 8, or ages from about 7 to 13, received the laptops last week and they will be using them at home and in class. They are powered by Google's Chrome operating system.

"It ... gives them ways of demonstrating their understanding through collaboration, sharing, [and] peer evaluation ... all supported by the expertise of a teacher,” said Graham Beale, RAK Academy’s executive principal, of the move.

Mr Beale said the school would ensure the same filtering and security applied at home.

Eunjin Shin, parent of Minkang Oh, a Grade 5 pupil at RAK Academy's Al Hamra branch, said it was a simple and useful laptop that pupils could use safely.

“It is a good idea to provide the children with safe and simple devices and my son is very happy with it,” said the South Korean resident.

“E-learning is not easy but such initiatives can encourage the children to get engaged more, explore and learn more about the digital world,” she said.

Ms Eunjin said that she might consider adopting blended learning once the daily cases of Covid-19 dropped below 1,000. Cases on Wednesday were 1,400.

Another parent said that introducing technology at school would help prepare children for the future.

“It is good that the school is taking initiatives to lead them in the right direction,” said Cheshta Roy-Sarkar, the mother of Advay, a Grade 5 pupil who is signed up for blended learning at RAK Academy's Khuzam branch.

“My son will use it both at home and in class as he attends blended learning and this will allow him to learn new skills and take responsibility that he has now his own device,” said Ms Roy-Sarkar, 39, from India.

“It is one step more towards preparing them for the future.”

Her son, Advay, said that he is pleased to have a device that he can use not only at home but in class as well.

“The laptop is easy to use and I have all my homework with me anywhere,” he said.

"I am happy to learn new things on it like creating PowerPoint slides."

The majority of private and public schools across the country, meanwhile, reopened in late August for the new academic year.

Some schools offer parents the option to stick with at home learning, while others offer blended models.

It was announced on Wednesday that UAE schools will hold in-person exams next month with Covid-19 safety measures in place.

The Ministry of Education confirmed pupils at public schools and private schools which follow its curriculum will sit first semester tests starting on November 15.