What are Sensory Brain Breaks?

Differentiated learning is a framework for providing effective teaching to all students in a classroom regardless of difference in ability. If you are an educator, future teacher or even a mother then this workshop could be just the thing for you.

Think!

* Are your students struggling to learn?

* Do you want to accelerate learning in your group?

* How do you improve the efficiency of students?

* Do you want to improve cognitive skills in your students?

* Do you want to keep them engaged in learning?

* Keep them “focused” and “on task”?

Learn!

Learn how to identify children who are having difficulty coordinating both sides of their bodies.

Did you know that children having such issues have problems with motor functions such as reading and writing and daily functional tasks such as dressing and tying shoes?

Brain breaks are an effective way for reforming the mental and physical state of the learners in your group, whether they are gifted, average or struggling.

Brain breaks stimulate neurological pathways and help both hemispheres of the brain work together.

So join us today with our expert, Dr. Uzma Raheem on Sensory Brain Breaks. Revive effective teaching through techniques that speed the learning process of your children or students.

Highly recommended for educators, mothers and future teachers.

Professional Training. Limited Places.

Enroll today!

Call or whatsapp us:

056 663 1176

050 055 2385

GROUP DISCOUNT (5+): SR. 850 PER TEACHER REGISTERED

**Make sure your teaching is a memory worth treasuring for children**

We help you make that difference. Talk to us to know more!

E-mail: info@masterenglishtraining.com

 

 

TaskSpotting – Make Money While You Shop!

When the nice people at TaskSpotting contacting us at Jeddah Blog and asked us to take a look at their app, I was quite intrigued. The concept is so simple that I was surprised as to why no-one had come up with it before. Shop, complete missions and earn cash. Read on for details on how to sign up and how it works.

Although new to Saudi, TaskSpotting has been around for over a year, with thousands of app users cashing in and making money while shopping, eating out, and going about their usual errands, basically without having to go out of their way at all.

The concept is simple. Brands place ‘missions’ on the app, which app users can accept and complete. Missions could be as simple as taking a picture of a supermarket shelf or checking the price of an item at a store. Once completed, missions are submitted and approved and the cash appears in your e-wallet! One couple in Dubai made 1000 Dirhams in one weekend through the app.

TaskSpotting has recently launched in Saudi with missions all over Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah. The missions are simple; such as price checks for washing powder take literally 5 minutes per mission, and pay 50SAR each. App users are allowed to complete 10 missions each so they could earn up to 500SAR in a day. Hard to resist!

Download TaskSpotting now and start making money!

Revisiting That Jeddah Podcast: An Interview with Diana, co-host and blogger.

We’ve written about That Jeddah Podcast before – about why they’re awesome and why we ‘like’ them. We ‘like’ them for their randomness, their charming quirkiness and their cast of characters. This time Anousha Vakani speaks to Diana, co-host and blogger, about the inception of the podcast, the process of recording each episode and much more! 

How and when did you start the podcast? Where did you get the inspiration to start a podcast and how did you launch the idea?

I’m a fan of podcasts. I especially like informative ones like Stuff You Should Know and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk, and comedy ones like The Nerdist and (the now-defunct) The Exploding Sandwich.

In 2009, I recorded fake interviews with my friends in Jeddah, and later that year, posted them on my blog as a joke. Early 2010, perhaps also as a joke, Fayiz Melibary set up an iTunes account for a Jeddah Podcast, and this was what “forced” me to just go ahead, make it official and register it in the iTunes podcast directory.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to start a podcast in Saudi Arabia? Is it generally easy or difficult to set up and maintain?

Launching a podcast is extremely easy because of its nature. You record an episode, post it online whenever you like, for free, and subscribers can listen to it whenever and wherever they want.

Whether or not the process of maintaining a podcast is difficult really depends on the producers. I encourage Jeddawis to podcast, it’s an easy enough platform to use if you’re looking to express yourself.

If you can commit to learning how to do it, and you have a general topic you like to discuss with friends, I say go for it. That Jeddah Podcast ultimately wants to be a one-stop-shop place for people to find podcasts that cater to the Jeddah community. Contact us, maybe we can help you.

Who are your listeners and what feedback do you get from them?

When TJP first started out, I thought it would only attract my friends as listeners, mainly because it features them. In the past couple of years, though, it has attracted the attention of many other English-speaking Saudis and expats within the Kingdom, including other cities like Riyadh and Dammam. We also have listeners from abroad, some of them Saudis who want to get updates about home, some of them non-Saudis who just want to get an idea of what it’s like living in Saudi Arabia.

It’s one of the most awesome things about having a podcast, being able to connect with these people with whom I have something in common – a hometown.

Generally, the feedback is good. We get requests on topics they’d want us to cover, or we get asked questions about places in Jeddah, common practices, recommendations. We’re not “experts” on Jeddah, but it’s nice to be treated like one.

What process do you go through to record one episode?

Outside Saudi Arabia, a podcast is the lowest-maintenance project you can start, but in Jeddah, there are challenges. Some of the things I’ve had to do were: schedule guests and co-hosts to record with me, find a quiet venue to record in, learn some technical things about podcasting (sound editing, feeds, some HTML/CSS), write or brainstorm topics for each episode, and promote the podcast on social media platforms. It takes lots of time and hard work, like most anything, really.

But then also, the beauty of having a podcast is that it doesn’t have to be “conventional radio,” if that makes sense. Every now and then, I’d record a “rogue” unscheduled episode, where I just show up with a mic/recorder at a hangout with friends and record what’s being said. No need for formality.

How do you decide on topics? What topics do you think come up again and again? And what topics do you avoid?

As a general rule, we stay away from the topics of government and religion. We pick topics we know well. When in doubt, I always just think: “would I listen to this episode?” We like sci-fi, pop culture, fitness, the internet, music, the sciences, languages, literature; these things interest us, and we try to stay within the bounds of our interests. Otherwise, they come off as pretentious. Nobody wants that.

We always seem to come back to topics about Jeddah, which is a good thing. There are many episodes about our culture here, what it’s like to live here, what places we go to, what we do at certain social situations.

You were mentioned on BBC a few months ago, what was that like?

That was a nice spike in our traffic. I wish I could say it propelled us to celebrity status.

Do you think you are contributing to some sort of change in Saudi Arabia or in the way the rest of the world might view Saudi and its people? 

That’s huge. The quick answer is “no”. We’re not political. We like information, and we like entertainment, and that’s what we have to offer.

We’re implementing some (good) changes, or additions, to the podcast as we speak. We are going to introduce more team members, more podcasts and more segments. If this contributes some good to the society, hey, how about that.

Shahid Afridi in Jeddah!

Sporting fans will be excited to learn that cricket star Shahid Afridi is currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia to spot talent for the Saudi Cricket Center (SCC). We can reveal that the talent selection will be held in four cities across Saudi Arabia from 15th – 21st January 2013 (Jeddah, Yanbu, Riyadh and Dammam) and the talent hunt in Jeddah will be held on the 16th and 17th of January.

Rohail standing next to cricket superstar Shahid Afridi on his current visit to the Kingdom.

Enthuses Shahid Afridi: “I am very glad I will be able to perform an instrumental role in finding out the best cricket talent from all over the Kingdom”.

Rohail Khan, a senior banker with a keen interest in culture and philanthropy, is supporting the cricket talent promotion in consultation with Shahid Afridi as SCC Advisor. Rohail discloses to Jeddah Blog that other cricketing heroes and socialites will be engaged in the future to promote and develop cricket in Saudi Arabia.

“Developing a strong well-trained “Saudi National Cricket Team” will enhance the Kingdom’s international image and would be beneficial for Saudi and expatriate cricket players and cricket lovers,” asserts Rohail.

How To Register

All cricket players (residents of Saudi Arabia), regardless of age or nationality, from all cricket clubs and leagues (whether affiliated with SCC or not) are equally entitled to participate and compete for the selection. If you are interested in participating in the try-outs then register on this dedicated site.

Jeddah Blog wishes all the best to Rohail and the SCC on this excellent initiative, and will continue to keep you all informed on the progress made by the SCC. Be sure to check back with us regularly for updates.