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Electronic module of enviro-spellathon programme for Abu Dhabi schools

ABU DHABI - The electronic module of the popular enviro-spellathon programme for schoolchildren was unveiled in the capital on Wednesday during a workshop organised by the Environment Agency — Abu Dhabi (EAD) for environment coordinators of the government and private schools in the emirate.

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Developed by the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS), t h e E n v i r o - spellathon is an educational optional learning course for primary and intermediate students and has been running in the emirate’s schools since 2001.

The modules are designed for different age groups. Each passing year, t h e s t u d e n t s l e a r n relevant environmental information pertaining to their age groups.

The programme works at seven levels, targeting students between six and 13 years. Themes, varying with the level, incorporate waste, water and wildlife (of the country, desert, cities and seas).

Students are given two weeks to study the contents at home and at school, after which the coordinator teacher of each school tests them on what they have learned.

At the end, certificates and gifts are awarded to participants depending on their scores. The new interactive module is an electronic one, meant to help increase the outreach of this resource material and also to save paper and carbon emissions.

An updated and more exciting version of Spellathon, the new electronic prog r a m m e h a s b e e n designed to attract young children.

It also hosts a teachers’ resource corner, with plenty of information about the UAE’s environment. In addition, it is expected to facilitate a convenient exchange of r e s o u r c e m a t e r i a l s between schools, the EWS and EAD.

According to Majid Al Mansouri, EAD secretarygeneral, when the programme first started in 2001, not many students in the emirate were aware of the UAE’s flora and fauna or its environmental issues.

“There is now a new, young generation, which is more environmentally savvy because of the firm foundation laid by Enviro-spellathon for the past eight years,” said Al Mansouri.

During the workshop, EAD also revealed other educational projects lined up for schools, including programmes such as Annual Environmental Competition, which will be held this year under the theme “CO2- Kick the Habit”.

Other initiatives are the ecology field trip schedule for schools, Solar Learning and Education Programme, Unesco’s Water Education for the Associated Schools Project Network in the Arab World, teacher training workshops and the Sustainable Schools Initiative, which will begin in schools from January 2009.

silvia@khaleejtimes.com

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