UAE Ministry of Education and IBM Launch KidSmart Programme

Present from the Ministry were Ms. Khawla Mouallah, Assistant Undersecretary for Education Administration, Dr. Fawzeya Badri, Director of the Kindergarten Division, and Mr. Khalifa Bin Faris, head of educational sector in Dubai. Representing IBM were Mr. Brandon Riley, General Manager IBM Central Europe, Middle East, Austria and Switzerland, Mr. Takreem El-Tohamy, General Manager IBM Middle East, Egypt and Pakistan, and Ms. Celia Moore, Manager of Corporate Community Relations, IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as well as other senior executives from the education sector in the UAE.

The global IBM KidSmart programme, which is made up of PC-based tools that encourage collaborative learning using software early years learning tools, is currently being rolled out in areas within Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman.

"This program underscores the important role of information technology in our children's education from an early age. The KidSmart system offers opportunities for computer-based learning and is part of the Ministry's strategy to develop public education in the UAE," said Dr. Hanif Hassan, UAE Minister of Education, as he thanked IBM for its role in supporting the initiative.

The Kidsmart initiative includes the gift by IBM of 50 specially equipped early learning centres designed by IBM in collaboration with children's equipment manufacturer Little Tikes. The units are designed to allow two or more children to work together, sharing learning experiences driven by educational software developed by Riverdeep. The software, which has been translated into Arabic, covers basic skills in maths, science and creative writing and thinking.

Besides the tools, IBM offered training to early years' teachers. The Kindergarten Division, Ministry of Education, is supporting the programme with project management, teacher training and selection of appropriate teaching and management resources as well as working with IBM in selecting Kindergarten schools to participate in the programme.

"The KidSmart programme will play a key role in the development of early learning education and e-learning," said Takreem Al Tohamy, General Manager, IBM Middle East, Egypt and Pakistan. "We are very proud to be working with the Ministry of Education in making a very real contribution to enhancing early years learning for communities where we believe technology can bring very real benefits but where resources remain a key issue."

The Kidsmart programme includes ongoing development and training opportunities for early learning practitioners, including access to the global Kidsmart website which has been developed in partnership with the US Centre for Children and Technology. The site, www.kidsmartearlylearning.org provides ongoing resources and support for teachers and parents using ICT with young children and is multi-lingual.

IBM developed KidSmart in 1999 to extend its partnership programmes in the education sector to cover the critical pre-school years. The KidSmart programme exists in more than 50 countries around the world. The programme was designed specifically to address the digital divide in access to Information Technology.
KidSmart units were contributed to kindergarten schools so that children who do not have access to IT are still able to benefit from enriched teaching and learning.