Technology at Manarat School Riyadh

We wanted to highlight the issue with technology at Manarat Riyadh School because it is so bad and it actually hinders your ability to teach. The ironic thing about it all is that in the Manarat vision statement that is printed and appears on every entry of the school and the walls inside boasts of 'technologically modern' facilities. In this blog we will show just how obsolete the technology equipment is and their contradiction. The following picture shows the very big vision statement of the school that you will see upon entrance:

This is the reality at Manarat: 

This is a CRT monitor - this is the old style glass tube monitor that is now obsolete. But, this is what you will see in the classrooms at Manarat Riyadh School. 

This is another CRT monitor in another classroom: the base computer is open and the computer is used - this is a very serious health and safety hazard that needs to addressed as there are children in the classroom the whole day. All it takes is for a young child to stick his hand into the fan or the power supply inside the PC whilst it's on and you could have serious injuries or death. This is certainly not 'technologically modern' as Manarat School claims on their vision statement that is literally on every piece of letter, wall and entrance of the school. 

The following picture seems to show stock of CRT monitors - these are from early to mid 1990's:

The following is an excerpt of an email sent by a teacher concerned by the serious lack of technology and highlighting the major contradiction of the school vision statement: 

Technologically Friendly Environment:

Mission: "........a stimulating, technologically modern, enjoyable, and secure environment"

1) If we want to achieve our mission of a technologically friendly environment, then we really need to address the technological issues in our building. Firstly, some of the classes I teach in either don't have a computer, or the computer's not working.

2) We have only 1 member of staff who is working tirelessly in other buildings apart from ours. How can we expect him to fix our technological problems within a time efficient manner?

3) I have used 3 USB flash drives since last year, and all have been infected with viruses. Moreover, the internet is very slow. I am therefore discouraged to prepare audio visual resources for my pupils." - end quote. 

Following is some images that highlights the dire technology situation that is far far from the vision of Manarat of the so called 'technologically modern' - the pictures speak for themselves:

Believe it or not this is a smart board!

In this next article we hope to show you some videos that highlight the dire situation of Manarat. Watch this space!