April 15, 2020
Five online learning competitions were launched in an effort to keep students engaged as schools remain closed
As schools remain closed in Saudi Arabia, The General Department of Education in Riyadh launched a nationwide online learning competition last week. Consisting of five categories the competition is set to end on the 20th April.
The competition forms part of a wider effort to promote distance learning and education during the periods that students remain at home.
The categories as described by Arab News are:
Best short film
Students could produce a two minute movie or animated production which communicates either of the messages below:
- How the Kingdom has developed distance learning measures.
- How the Kingdom is tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.
Online student hackathon 2020
Students should submit proposals on how technology can be used to solve the coronavirus crisis. Possible examples include designing a robot which would help raise the awareness of and how to prevent Covid-19.
Best daily schedule
Students could design a diversified model for daily routines.
A message to the heroes of education
Students could write a letter consisting of no more than 300 words which embraces the heroes of education.
An email address was provided for receiving entries. Cash prizes were also announced as follows:
First Place: SR2,000
Second Place: SR1,500
Third Place: SR1,000
Further details on the competition are available here: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1656751/saudi-arabia
“ These competitions give students the opportunity to showcase their talents, experiences and creativity during this crisis, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which we and the whole world are experiencing. ” Hamad Al-Wahaibi, Director General, Department of Education in Riyadh
Towards the end of March, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also announced that it had successfully transitioned six million students and 1.6 million university students to distance learning. Described as a virtual school, the model includes the use of the Ain channel, YouTube links and the Ain portal.
