Burdening children with studies right in their early childhood years is unfair and unnecessary. How would you then introduce a 4-year-old to basic concepts of math, computers, and science? Textbooks are an unheard-of phenomenon in pre-school years and educators heavily rely on hands-on techniques to prepare students for elementary school and beyond.

What is STEM Based Learning?

STEM is a cohesive learning approach that involves the real-world application of concepts taught in school. In this complex world that we live in, it is a necessity for our youth to learn skills such as problem-solving, making correct decisions, and assimilating information that is readily available to them via digital mediums. Therefore, the STEM system rests upon 4 important pillars; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; as the emerging job market is gravitating towards work opportunities in the following fields. Essentially, STEM education gives a good start and direction to students who would later go on to make a successful career for themselves, in any of these upcoming fields

What are STEM Toys?

STEM toys are excellent tools for learning, aside from being fun. They are engaging and exciting, such that students don’t get bored, on the contrary, they find reasons to engage with these tools. ‘Learn while you play’ is essentially the motto!

About Matatalab

With a mission to become the world’s leading education company based on innovative STEM solutions, Matatalab is transforming the way children learn….one child at a time! Their innovative learning solutions are powered by technology and aim to instill confidence amongst children to face the challenges of the changing world around them. Combining the benefits of technology and innovation, their range of coding products is impressive. Matatalab has already created an impressive impact across pre-kindergarten and primary schools in different parts of the world, including Dubai in the Middle East. Here’s what educator’s who implemented Matatalab lessons, have to say about this platform;

Kindergarten

“Matatalab is suitable for use by preschoolers. Matatalab is a learning tool that makes the learning process exciting; Matatalab can be linked to all subject areas of pre – primary education (me and the environment, language and speech, mathematics, art, music) The tool does not require much space to move around so it can be used freely for desktop activities.” — kindergarten teacher

Primary School

“During the pilot I as a teacher experienced cooperation with peers, happy faces, joy of learning new things and happiness when they figured out the solution. It was nice that we were able to boost creativity skills for my students. Robots were easy to use. There were tasks for all kinds of students, for them who just started coding and also for them who were at a more advanced level.” — Grade 1 teacher.

Tale-Bot Pro (Recommended for PreK-K)

Tale-Bot Pro is a simple and easy-to-use robot set for kids between ages 3-5 years. Children learn to code and manipulate the robot to make smart moves. Kids can curate their own storyline where the robot is made to perform different tasks like drawing and dancing. Through play-way children develop their speaking skills by interacting with the teacher and other students in class. One also develops socio-emotional skills, such as empathy and tolerance, by sharing their robot buddy with others in school and playing together in a group.

Matatalab Lite (Recommended for PreK-K)

Kids learn concepts such as sequencing, conditionals, and debugging, by using the Matatalab Lite module. The best part about this is that there is absolutely no screen time involved and hence it’s safe for children to play & code the robot for as long as they wish to. The kit comes with a step-by-step challenge booklet, which offers different gamified tasks, allowing preschoolers to use their imagination and complete the levels until proficiency is achieved.

Pro Set (Recommended for K-Grade 4)

Students can flaunt their Pro level skills with the Matatalab Pro Set. At a young age, children learn to use coding blocks and algorithms to control a robot car, thereby improving their cognitive abilities. Even one’s creative expressions come to the fore, as users can curate beautiful art scenes and play different musical tunes by coding the Pro Set robot. We are sure your little munchkins will fall in love with Matatalab kits and develop a fondness for coding at a young age. It’s time to start your kid’s ‘coding journey’ with Matatalab! To enquire about its availability in UAE and other GCC countries across the Middle East, visit our website

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What is a survey?

A survey is a method of gathering answers or information from a group of people with an aim to understand their opinions and perspectives on the subject for which the survey is being conducted. From a strategic point of view, a survey can reveal important information to businesses, on basis of which one can decide whether or not the customer is satisfied with the product, what is the current market requirement, or are the employees happy with their job role.

What is a survey?

A survey is a method of gathering answers or information from a group of people with an aim to understand their opinions and perspectives on the subject for which the survey is being conducted. From a strategic point of view, a survey can reveal important information to businesses, on basis of which one can decide whether or not the customer is satisfied with the product, what is the current market requirement, or are the employees happy with their job role.

What are the different types of survey methods?

Every survey is unique in its own way and its efficiency will be magnified, only when the correct survey method is used. There are several types of survey methods, and here are just a few for your understanding;

In-person Survey

The in-person or face-to-face survey method isn’t too common these days in the digitally connected world, but survey analysts do believe that it is the most reliable format, as the participant’s expressions and movements are captured, thereby gathering genuine feedback. A representative is sent with a questionnaire to the person’s house and reads out the questions to the participant aloud, thereby seeking answers. This interaction can be captured on video or over voice recording.

Email Surveys:

In an email-survey, the questionnaire link is sent to the participant’s email address and often a deadline is mentioned before which the survey needs to be answered. This is the most convenient of all methods, as one can easily fill the form at their convenient time, from a phone, laptop or iPad device. It’s economical to conduct such surveys, and they can reach a vast target audience, thus proving beneficial. Though it’s immensely effective, there are a few downfalls, as one may unintentionally miss the survey in their ‘inbox’ or find it in the ‘trash’ folder. Also, some participants may be skeptical about the authenticity of the survey and refrain from being a part of it.

Online Surveys

An online survey is like an open-book for anyone to participate. It is mostly advertised via Google Ads or the survey link is published on a website from where you can fill the form. Online surveys are on basic topics like; ‘heath and safety of women’, ‘what do you prefer for breakfast’, ‘is remote working more suitable’ etc. There is no specific demographic target, as such, for this type of survey and even international audiences can herein participate. It can also be undertaken anonymously.

Online Surveys:

An online survey is like an open-book for anyone to participate. It is mostly advertised via Google Ads or the survey link is published on a website from where you can fill the form. Online surveys are on basic topics like; ‘heath and safety of women’, ‘what do you prefer for breakfast’, ‘is remote working more suitable’ etc. There is no specific demographic target, as such, for this type of survey and even international audiences can herein participate. It can also be undertaken anonymously.

Designing A Survey

Curating a survey from scratch isn’t rocket science, as several websites are available, especially online that share a pre-defined template, and all you need to do is fill in the questions. So, whether you are planning to use Google Forms or SurveyMonkey for an in-mail survey or print the same for a face-to-face procedure, following the below steps will make it easier for you to proceed:

#1 Define the Purpose of a Survey

To define the purpose of your survey, simply ask the question what is it that you wish to learn about from the audience. Do you want feedback on a recently launched product? Or do You wish to know how likely your existing customers are to promote your business to their friends & relatives? There should be one clear goal for the survey and the questions must revolve around that topic.

#2 Decide Your Target Audience

Based on the purpose of your survey, who are your targeted audiences? Demographic-wise is there any specific criteria based on; age (20 – 30 years), gender (only females), household income (above 21,500 AED), location (UAE Region), marital status (Single), etc. Do you wish to target new prospective customers or existing ones? How many of the audiences within the targeted demographics do you wish to reach out to? All these are questions that will bring clarity and add a clear purpose to the process of conducting the survey.

#3 Create a List of Questions

The questionnaire should ideally be crisp and precise, as people get irritated if they have to scroll through page after page just to reach the submit button. Say goodbye to lengthy surveys! There are many different types of questions to include in the survey, some open-ended & others close-ended. A good mix of these may break the monotony and also help gain insightful opinions while analyzing the responses. Be very careful while drafting the questions. They shouldn’t be too ambiguous, and the language must be easily comprehensible.

#4 Ask the same Question often

You must have noticed while filling out a survey form, that the same type of question is asked in different ways. One may be an objective type MCQ, while the other may be open-ended. This is only to verify if the participant truly stands by what he is answering, or is he simply filling the questionnaire in a hurry without much consideration.

#5 Check Backend Settings

If a particular question is ‘optional’ the participant should be allowed to skip it without facing problems while submitting the survey. Also, if there are any specific time constraints, a timer should be displayed, so that one knows how fast he needs to pace himself to complete the submission. Don’t forget to freeze the survey, past the deadline.

TechnoQuestionnaire by TechnoKids

Why should our little champions not get a chance to construct their own questionnaire? Computer Period can be made fun by introducing kids to ‘TechnoQuestionnaire’, where they can use their creativity, knowledge & computer skills, to build an online Survey Form. IB schools in Dubai and other GCC regions in the Middle East, have collaborated with TechnoKids and have found it beneficial to introduce age-appropriate digital lessons to their students.

By using this module, students not only research and design their own Google Forms but also analyze the responses on Google Spreadsheet, by sorting & formatting data. Learn more about TechnoKids by visiting our website: https://knowledge-hub.com/technokids/

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In today’s fast-faced and technology-driven environment, robots are not a thing of the future anymore. They are part of our present reality and research in social robotics and their application in human-robot interaction is on the rise. The long-term aim of programming robots for social interaction is to apply them in diverse aspects of life such as health, education, entertainment, quality of life and communication. Multiple educational institutions all across GCC, Dubai, UAE and Middle East are using MiRo, the animal-like robot as an educational tool for STEM subjects. The robot is designed to behave in a natural way and students also get a chance to use the MICROCODE programming environment to create their own unique programs and try them live in a full-physics simulation. However, first, it is vital to comprehend which elements are used to program robots for human interaction.

Developing Artificial Senses

A normal animal is able to successfully detect what goes around in the environment, which is why even robots should be able to do the same in order to blend naturally. Most new-generation robots come equipped with artificial sight, touch and hearing. For sight, engineers fit internal digital cameras that not only receive digital images but also identify them with the help of its program that processes all this data. This allows the robot to identify its visual environment and communicate appropriately whenever required. For hearing, they come equipped with integral microphones that receive analogue data, which is then converted to digital files. It is programmed in such a way that the social robot will not only recognise the human voice but also be able to notice the voice pattern etc. Multiple advanced robots also feature touch-sensitive ‘skin’ that detects weight and is sensitive to pressure. This indeed plays a huge role in human interaction.

Programming The Responses

Now that our robot is equipped with its artificial senses, it now requires programs that allow it to detect behaviour and respond in an appropriate manner. This includes mechanical movement like turning and tilting its head, moving its arms and legs, reaching out to touch its companion and much more. Modern robots also include speech and sound; many social robots are used to play audio tracks, music, and make certain sounds.

Things to keep in mind for a successful human-robot interaction

A lot of factors go into ensuring the interaction between a human and a social robot is seamless and meaningful. Some of these factors include the design and styling of the robot’s body and head, the movement of the social robot (which also includes speed and reflexes), the way the voice sounds and how it interacts with its environment. These factors highly depend on what purpose the social robot is designed to serve. For example, a robot designed for children will feature a soft voice with cute childlike features. Sophisticated programming includes a comprehensive amalgamation of all these elements in a way that they feel comfortable to be around and benefit people. While some robots have a humanized design, robots like MiRo are designed like an animal. These social machines have proved to be tremendously helpful in the education industry as it allows students to learn more about robotics, AI coding skills, technology and much more.

While the global trends throw more light upon the importance of Human-Robot Interaction, it is safe to say that programming robots for human interaction are still a long-term challenge. However, the sharp rise in the availability of social robots has struck a positive chord for this industry.

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In this fast-paced digital world, where we most often work with our laptops, iPads, and are glued to our phones, there is very little human interaction that takes place. Conversations are limited to ‘monosyllabic’ expressions, interrupted blatantly by a ‘WhatsApp notification’, diverting your attention back to the handheld device. What are our children going to learn by observing these obsessive tech-addictive traits of adults?

As parents and educators, your most important job is to teach children how to communicate with others and help the child develop good social skills. Being socially accepted by peers in class and within their neighborhood circle, gives the child confidence and boosts his self-esteem. However, true acceptance begins when the child is polite, courteous, and respectful, of everyone he interacts with.

From a young age, children need to be taught ‘golden words’ or ‘magic words’ such as; Thank You, Sorry, May I, Please, Excuse Me, etc. Time and again, emphasize to your kiddo how important it is to be gracious and follow certain rules of etiquette, not only at home but everywhere you go.

Good Manners Include The Following

• Greeting people politely
• Using golden words often
• Not interrupting someone while they are talking
• Knocking the door before entering a room
• Always being punctual and keeping your promises
• Having a presentable appearance and being well-groomed

Practice Manners & Ettiquette

• Use different scenarios and conduct role-play exercises
• Correct your child politely whenever necessary
• Model the right behavior yourself first
• Read appropriate books to them

Story Books on Manners & Etiquette

Children love glancing through books, admiring attractive illustrations, characters, and scenes from the story. A good story book has a moral, is fun to read, and is relatable to students.

Here’s a list of books you can refer to while focusing on teaching toddlers and preschoolers about manners & etiquette:

Excuse Me: A Little Book of Manners by Karen Katz

This is a perfect book for your 2-year-old tiny tots. As you turn the pages, you will come across different day-to-day scenarios that the child faces, and how he needs to appropriately respond to them. When do you say please? When to say sorry? All this is amplified in the book. From breaking toys unintentionally to burping aloud, all these instances are illustrated through pictures and the ‘golden words’ are highlighted in bold.

May I Please Have a Cookie? by Jennifer E. Morris

This book is for Level 1 Scholastic Reader and is a beautiful story between Alfie & his mom. Like every kid, Alfie has a sweet tooth and he loves his mom’s cookies. The aroma of the new batch of delicious cookies is tempting Alfie to get his hands on them as soon as he can. He tries different stunts to sneak into the kitchen and snatch a cookie. Dressing up as a cookie inspector and spying on the cookie jar, are only a few attempts he fails at. His mommy, finally explains to Alfie – that if he wants to eat a cookie, he just needs to ask politely for it. Alfie uses the magic words ‘Please may I have a cookie’ and his wishes are willingly granted.

Manners by Aliki

Manners, is a must-have on your bookshelf. Curated by the award-winning author – Aliki, Manner uses child-friendly cartoons to teach politeness, courtesy, and appropriate behavior to children. There are a few role-play exercises illustrated in the book, to help you get started. Short stories and funny characters, teach us the importance of ‘keeping other’s needs before your own’ and how you must put this to practice.

Curious George Says Thank You by Emily Flaschner Meyer

This book is about George who loves to receive ‘thank you’ cards in mail from his friend Betsy. He wants to return the favor and spread goodness by sending ‘thank you’ cards to all his friends in return, including Betsy. George starts to prepare a list of the people he wants to thank and then tracks down their addresses to whom the card needs to be delivered. Children are encouraged to use the perforated ‘thank you’ cards from the book and send it to someone they have on their mind.

So, get your hands on the above story book copies from a local library in Dubai, source it through Amazon, or simply subscribe to Reading Eggs – an e-library for children 2 – 13 years of age. It’s rather easy to download Reading Eggs on your devices and search for age-appropriate books by famous authors. Around 20 million users around the world trust the Reading Eggs platform, including parents in UAE & other GCC countries, across the Middle East. 

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The Internet ‘knows it all’! There is an ocean of information available on the net going beyond definitions and paragraphs in the school textbooks. When students are encouraged to research online, they have a better opportunity to delve deeper into the Scientific ‘topics’ and gain confidence. Nowadays, most schools across the world, including Dubai in the Middle East and GCC nations, allow children to use laptops during break-out sessions so that they can refer to the net for learning purposes.

A proper Google search can clarify doubts that the learner might have while studying about say; ‘Newton’s Laws of Motion’ or ‘atomic physics’. One even feels more prepared to attempt collating a research paper for submission to school and answer lengthy subjective exam questions effortlessly.

However, there is no formal training available on how ‘research’ needs to be conducted on Google. There isn’t a step-wise guide that tells you what to do next! Unfortunately, the student usually resorts to using a trial and error method to get to the core of finding a satisfactory conclusion to their doubts.

Through this blog, we aim to highlight simple methods that will ease your burden as a prudent researcher and save oodles of time on deciding which web pages to refer to and which ones to ignore.

Using Google Scholar

Google Scholar functions pretty much like the normal search engine, except that Google Scholar helps in searching special ‘Scholarly Literature’ from the web. By using just one platform you can search across many different articles, books, theses, and even review popular opinions by academic scholars. Students can look up for ‘up to date’ content, without worrying about its authenticity and can trust it to be relevant in the current scenario.

Keep it Simple

A lengthy search phrase will only create more confusion. Using numerous ‘and’ and ‘or’ in the sentence while trying to link up too many topics under one search query, will leave you with a dissatisfied search. Be crisp and clear with what you want to learn about and try to type it in 4 – 5 words max. Example: Anatomy of Human Heart.

Search effectively

Keying in the appropriate ‘term’ leads you exactly to what you want to learn about so that you can proceed with the findings. Follow these simple steps to refine your searches:

Use Quotes

When you look for a phrase or a term, put it in quotes – “Properties of Matter.” This will help the search engine find the query exactly as you typed it.

Use Hyphens

When there are words that may have multiple meanings such as; ‘bark’, then you need to let Google know which ‘bark’ you are NOT looking for by placing a ‘hyphen’ before the word. For example: (bark -dog) is understood that you are NOT referring to a dog’s bark in the statement, but instead you want to know more about the bark of a tree.

The wildcard search

If you are unsure about the exact words to use for the search, Google gives you an option to put the guesswork in asterisk. Example: organisms are made up of *matter* – here the student is unsure what an organism is made of, so he adds a generic word *matter*. Google will find results: Organisms are made up of cells – which is the correct phrase.

Use CRAAP Test

CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. It helps the student gain more confidence in the ‘search links’ by checking their authenticity. By applying CRAAP you can find out if the information published is up-to-date, related to the topic, and if it’s been written by a knowledgeable person.

Currency

• When was the information created?
• Is it up-to-date?
• Has the content been revised?

Relevance

• Did the search query give you the exact information you were looking for?
• Is the source credible?

Authority

• What is the credibility of the author or creator?
• Where does the author belong to? Is he from the US, UAE, or some other region?
• Are the organizational references correctly given to the author?
• Is the author qualified enough to write an article on this topic?

The above tips will come handy when the student needs to present a project in class, submit a whitepaper or just prepare for an upcoming exam. It’s always good to have extra knowledge, rather than stick to the verses of a textbook.

For a subject like Science, while students indeed have fun performing experiments on physics & biology, using Carolina’s lab kits in school, they can back this up by referencing authentic scholarly articles & thesis by renowned Science experts and researchers to immerse wholeheartedly into detailed understanding.

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Pressure from school and high expectations from parents, can add to the exam stress most students have to undergo. Generally, students aren’t very fond on studies, and avoid doing homework or revising concepts taught in class until the very last minute. The built-up overburdened study stress affects the student’s state of mind, especially before an important board examination.

Here are some tips and routine to follow before an Exam

Make a Study Schedule

Enlist all the subjects and the chapters that are to be included in the upcoming examination. Prepare a timetable for each day and try to balance out topics. For example; don’t attempt to study or revise all difficult topics in one day. Pair one easy social science topic with another difficult problem-solving sum from trigonometry.

Allocate Time for Revision

Revision is the key! The more a student practices, the easier it gets to attempt the exam paper. There are multiple mock tests available, so its wise to undertake these mock papers, so that the examinee knows exactly how much time to allocate to each section of the answer paper and is well-prepared to attempt any type of question that comes their way.

Use Unique Study Methods

If you are learning about a topic that has many stages; say for example; the lifecycle of a butterfly, use flashcards and draw each stage on a separate flashcard. Write the explanation at the back of the flashcard, and this is how students are most likely to remember the step-wise patterns. You could also try to concise the main pointers and make keywords; like VIBGYOR is the abbreviation that helps one remember the 7 colors of a rainbow. Watching videos and reading novels to get a better understanding of the concept, also works well.

Make Study Notes

Research shows that when you write down points, you are likely to remember the facts for a longer period. Especially in the age of digital information, where most students are glued to laptops and notepads, usage of pen & paper has become rare. However, writing on paper not only helps retain information, but also improves the student’s handwriting, thereby preparing to create a better impression for the examiner.

Minimize Distractions

Ban the usage of smartphones, so that one doesn’t spend too much time browsing through social media platforms, which is a complete waste of time. Also do not touch that TV remote, until exams are over. Pack those video games and place it on the topmost shelf of your cupboard! Utilize time to meaningfully study, by avoiding any sort of unwanted distraction.

Practice Yoga & Meditation

Even a 45-minute routine of yoga & meditation goes a long way in helping students re-focus. Yoga helps improve concentration and meditation calms the mind. Especially for students who are hyper and have low concentration levels, yoga & meditation helps manifold. Simply sit in one place with your legs crossed and observe your breath.

Get Enough Sleep

A good night’s sleep is essential, if you don’t want to pass out during an exam. A sound sleep is a must to help the brain retain information and get the clarity & focus required on exam day.

Eat Healthy & Stay Hydrated

Eating a well-balanced meal that includes proteins, fibers, and carbohydrates, helps the body and mind stay active through the day. Especially when you are dedicating extra effort to work your memory overtime just before an exam, one needs good nutrition to stay physically strong and mentally alter.

Markezy is a powerful, innovative digital platform that enhances the education experience by bringing valuable technology for student assessments. The tools help not only in evaluating but also in analyzing how students perform. Markezy allows students, parents, and educators to notice knowledge gaps, provide quick feedback and achieve the best outcome. Markezy is integrated in schools across Dubai in the Middle East.

You can now utilize the latest technology to streamline and improve your grading system too. Thanks to Markezy! It also offers you the flexibility to accommodate a range of teaching and learning styles. To learn more about Markezy’s availability in GCC or UAE regions, visit our website: https://knowledge-hub.com/markezy/

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