Issue 49: Education is Transforming in the UAE
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re thinking about the challenges of learning from home – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Education is Transforming in the UAE
As the coronavirus continues to roil the global economy, school closures are beginning to bite closer to home. The closures have already affected more than 300 million children worldwide and that number will almost certainly grow as the virus spreads. School closures began this week in the UAE. Part of the struggle for parents and educators is uncertainty over when things will return to normal. Yet, there is some positive news. School closures are putting a spotlight on education technology and its ability to replace the physical classroom.
Shock test: Less than a decade ago, educational technology was still scoffed at in many circles. But this is changing and the global reaction to the coronavirus is proof of how advanced the sector has become. From the popular video conferencing platform Zoom to programs like Seesaw, the way we learn and interact is already augmented by technology. But can technology replace the classroom? The answer is not yet, but brace for rapid changes.
Changing habits: With any new technology, broad implementation does not entirely hinge on code or hardware. This is especially true for educational technology and distance learning. One obvious challenge is how to deal with time at home and the lack of the social ecosystems classrooms create. In order for technology to truly augment (and even replace) the classroom, the sector needs to be used in real-life scenarios. The school closures facing the UAE and the world are those scenarios and we’re about to see the real strength of this sector.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.”
Yuval Noah Harari, author
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
The rise of the super app: Given all the time we’re spending on apps during these turbulent times, we were recently reminded of this piece from the Xische Reports archive. Last year, Facebook announced a radical business pivot. The social media giant plans to funnel its businesses into one super application that would be various parts social media platform, payments service, and messaging application. At first glance it’s revolutionary, but on closer inspection it’s not all that new. China’s WeChat has been operating a similar model for years with incredible success. The super application, Facebook just made clear, is the future.
In a special two-part series, we investigated the rise of the super application and the challenges unified platforms present to users and regulators. The second part of the series is a deep dive into how governments are addressing the regulatory hurdles posed by this new breed of internet business. Super apps are here to stay and it’s time to get smart about how they will change the internet.
A MESSAGE FROM SpidersSilk
Practical cybersecurity: In today’s online world, cybersecurity is a critical line of defence for any business. Enter SpidersSilk, a Dubai-based cybersecurity firm specializing in simulating the most advanced cyber offences on your technology so you can build your best security defenses. Mitigating risk and protecting digital infrastructure can be achieved through the most advanced adversarial simulations and advisory services.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
Online education: Building on our ideas about educational technology, Xische’s director of strategy, Mary Ames, published a piece in The National exploring the issue in more depth. “We are in a pivotal moment for educational technology,” wrote Ames. “The lessons learned from this experience with the coronavirus will influence the next generation of platforms and devices that will ultimately transform the classroom as we know it. The next couple of months could change the nature of education forever and we all have a part to play in this transformation.”
The Simpsons, in code: It can be difficult to understand code, the language that forms the infrastructure of the internet. For one programmer (with a bit of time on his hands), code has become something more than a computer language. Freelance web developer Chris Pattle recreated the characters of “The Simpsons” in pure code. According to Vice News, “the drawings are constructed from pure code and rendered everytime you load your browser. Different browsers (particularly old versions) render the code in different and surprising ways. Smith has created several pieces of digital art with CSS.” You have to see it to believe it.