(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Microsoft Jordan on Wednesday announced the winners of the third annual local Partners in Learning (PiL) Forum, conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI).
The PiL initiative recognises innovative teachers who creatively and effectively use technology in their curriculum to help improve the way students learn, according to a joint statement from Microsoft and the JEI.
The first-place winners of the local PiL Forum, who will go on to participate in the Regional PiL Forum in Morocco in September, are Tahani Yagi and Maisaa Ajarmeh from Um Habiba School for their "Take My Hand and Fly with Me" project.
In the project, seventh and eighth graders are receiving training using technology in order to become mentors to first graders who experience difficulty in subjects such as mathematics and science.
"It is hard to describe how happy and proud Maisaa and I are to have won this competition, especially after all the hard work and commitment we put into our project, which aims to contribute to building our country and helping a large number of Jordanians," Yagi was quoted in the statement as saying.
Among the other winning teachers, who will also attend the regional forum, are Rania and Ghadeer Obeidat from Hatem Secondary School, Howaida Sharab and Israa Al Zitawi from Ain Jalout School, Amal Odat and Ruqaia Jouraishi from the Queen Rania Al Abdullah School, and Mariam Hanaqtah from the Princess Rahma Bint Al Hassan School.
Rania and Ghadeer Obeidat created a project called "Glitter of Hope", which aims at increasing students' awareness of breast cancer and self-examination. The students partnered with the King Hussein Cancer Centre to transform their school into a cancer testing facility and hold campaigns every three months.
Sharab's and Zitawi's project, "Yummy Yummy", aimed at increasing students' awareness on the disadvantages of consuming noodles and provided them with a recipe for a more nutritious alternative. Through the project, students learned how to prepare the healthier recipe using local ingredients and spices provided to them by the school.
Odat and Jouraishi's "Reach out to life" project focused on raising awareness on children's rights. The project included producing a play in cooperation with the Children's Museum as well as a documentary that promotes and highlights the rights of children.
Hanaqtah developed a project called "Our Health is in Our Dishes", which aimed at raising awareness among students on obesity and healthy dieting through interactive activities such as a puppet shows, plays, storytelling and healthy cooking lessons.
All the local winners will compete with winners from other countries in the region and will have the opportunity to participate in the Worldwide Partners in Learning Forum, which will be held in Greece in November.
