palestinian schools strive to modernize classrooms - the smart board

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)—
When the teacher pointed to the big screen, her first one
The grade classroom came alive.
Click on the link and an animated character pops up on the screen and when it teaches the kids how to read, he sings and dances.
The course of the day is the Arabic letter "Raa" with cartoon pictures of objects containing letters displayed on the screen
Desert, chairs and pomegranates
When the teacher asks the children to come up with other words.
The students sang together with a smile.
Just a few years ago, such a scene was unthinkable in most Palestinian classrooms.
Like the rest of the Arab world, schools in the Palestinian territories traditionally emphasize memory and obedience, not critical thinking and creativity.
Looking at the future, some Palestinian educators now hope that the use of technology and art will create new opportunities in a society that generates a large number of unemployed university graduates.
"Students don't need to memorize things.
They need to understand first, "said Ruba Dibas, principal of the school of Ziad Abu Ein in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"Then they need to express their understanding by writing, speaking, painting, acting.
"Ziad Abu Ein is one of 54" smart teaching schools "launched last year.
This year, the number has tripled.
By 2020, all 1,800 public schools in the West Bank will be part of the project.
The goal, Dibas says, is to eliminate classroom testing.
Students need to enjoy the learning process of absorbing information, she said.
On the most recent day, her school was full of activities. In a fifth-
In the grade classroom, each child has a tablet and the teacher guides them through Arabic lessons with her own tablet. Third-
The grade students went to the smart board and played a game to learn the multiplication table.
In other classes, students draw cartoons to learn the physics of how a plane flies.
An English class did a project about evaporation. Four third-
Recently, grade students learned about themselves.
Respected in a class called "drama learning.
"They performed a short play about a shy girl who discovered her passion for journalism and grew into a successful journalist.
Their teacher, Sawsan Abdat, said the children learned an important lesson that day --
They need to find what they are good.
After initial doubts from parents last year, the number of students enrolled in the school almost doubled.
The number of first-year students has nearly tripled this year to 43.
"I like this school," said Malak Samara, 9. year-
Old students in Grade 4
"We learn and enjoy.
We learn and play.
"These technologies have completely deviated from a system in which generations of students have been forced to memorize information under severe surveillance by authoritarian teachers and temporarily cram for exams, in some cases, if they can't finish their work, it's a stick.
But with the unemployment rate of college graduates reaching 56%, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, officials are aware that something has to change.
Education Minister Sabri Seidam also launched vocational training in grades 7, 8 and 9 last year to meet market demand.
"The society needs singers, carpenters, cleaners, athletes and sergeant," he said . "
"We can't just train engineers and doctors.
"Youth unemployment, especially among college graduates, is a major problem in the Arab world.
It is believed to be the driving force behind the Arab Spring revolution that shook the region in 2011.
Arab governments used to absorb new graduates and work as civil servants, but because of the "youth inflation" in the region, they could no longer afford to do so.
"The opportunities provided by the private sector are limited, resulting in a large number of young graduates from the Middle East and North Africa unemployed.
"The Middle East and North Africa region has no greater challenge than job creation in its efforts to build a future based on inclusive growth," the International Monetary Fund said in a report earlier this year.
It noted that 60% of the population in the region is under 30 years old and the second largest in the world.
Youngest son afterSaharan Africa.
The pressure on the labor market in the region is rising.
Work in the region over the past five years
The age population has increased by 50.
2 million, 27.
6 million people joined the workforce.
However, the number of people employed has increased by only 25.
4 million, "it said.
Other countries in the Middle East are trying to make similar changes.
In Egypt, the largest Arab country, the Ministry of Education will provide students with tablets this year, as well as new courses to improve critical thinking.
The Ministry of Education said it also tried to improve teaching by increasing teachers' training and salaries, building more classrooms and creating more modern classrooms through digital learning facilities.
This year, the government received $0. 5 billion in loans from the World Bank to help fund reforms.
For now, it seems too early to say whether reform can make a difference.
Authoritarian governments in the region may encourage education reform as an economic need, but in the future may hinder efforts to develop a new generation of people who are proficient in critical thinking.
After the Arab Spring, governments in the region have increasingly suppressed people's rhetoric.
Schools in the Arab world also face other obstacles.
A 2015 study in the United StatesN.
UNESCO cultural and educational institutions discussed the problem of long-term insufficient funds, a lack of qualified teachers and an increase in the number of classes in the region.
Syrian schools destroyed by seven
During the Civil War, many schools in neighboring Lebanon were flooded by Syrian refugees. U. S.
Cutting funding to the United StatesN.
The Palestinian refugee agency has endangered the academic year of about 500,000 students, most of whom are in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Half of Israel
The century occupation of the West Bank was accompanied by a decade
The prolonged blockade of Gaza continues to kill the Palestinian economy.
"The education situation in the Arab world is very bad.
Teachers' salaries are very low, classes are crowded and schools lack the necessary infrastructure, "said Saeda Affouneh, director of e-commerce.
Al Learning Center-
University of Naj in the West Bank.
She praised the changes in Palestinian schools.
"But the new system is facing real challenges in Palestinian schools," she warned . ".
"They need to train teachers and provide the right resources.
AP reporter Sam Magdi and Philip Isa of Beirut contributed to the report.