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My name is Mohammad Zaahid. A passionate educator in the making. This is a picture of me taken by my wifey. I, however, went and toonified it using toonme.com. I love how it makes me look younger. Gotta love all these ICTs!

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I often ask myself how I ended up smack bang in the middle of the desert. Being from Cape Town and having the privilege of swimming in two different oceans often leaves me feeling nostalgic and homesick. Riyadh is landlocked and the closest beach is approximately 4.5 hours drive away. Can't wait for Saudi summer when we head home and tuck into a nice parcel of fish and chips.

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I am what I am because we all are... The loves of my life. In this picture is my wife of nearly a decade and my son who is now nearly nine years of age. We wanted 11 kids and instead got 11 in one little man. You should see how grey I've gone.

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I teach Islamic Studies and Quran for the non-Arabic speakers at Alforsan International School, Riyadh. Islamic Studies and Quran is an identity subject in Saudi Arabia and usually taught in Arabic by an Arab. Due to the increase in the amount of expatriates in Riyadh, they have now made the subject available in English and that is where I step in.

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For ICTS151 I created my very own YouTube channel. I learned how to upload videos, convert my ppts to videos and then some. Please see my Youtube channel at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1z46PP7SmHdSjMDU2P-Maw.

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This ppt was created as one of my ICTS152 assessments. I could choose any subject so naturally I chose math. The ppt had to be CAPS aligned and had to contain a video related to the lesson of my choosing. Of course it was a geometry lesson. I received a full grade! #100%

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One of my favourite movies is 'A Beautiful Mind'. It's a biographical film of John Forbes Nash Jnr. He was a amathematical genius who suffered from schizophrenia. This movie inspired my love for math and ignited the flame to pursue becoming a math educator.

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I am fascinated by all things related to geometry. I love how it is used in architecture and design. Recently I have been fascinated by tessellations and how geometrical transformations are used in tessellation design. Geometry over algebra any day.

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Have you heard of gamification? I gamified the assigned novel for ENFL152 using genialy. It was a long labour of love. I received 86% for this assessment and am very chuffed with the result. You can find my interactive game at the following link:  https://view.genial.ly/6402296759e178001438aaf1/interactive-content-akata-witch.

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This 'gedig' has got to be the most important and dearest assessment I have done to date. I had to write my own poem and reflect on the writing process. I had to consider poetry elements such as rhyming schemes, tone, meter and poetic device to name but a few. What's worse is that it had to be completed in Afrikaans. English is my mother tongue whereas Afrikaans I have rarely spoken in the last three years but this poem about my son and our move to Saudi was and still is the best thing I have produced academically.

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This is another of the ICTs I had to use for an ENFL151 assessment. Although English is my mother tongue, I often struggle with grammar and semantics. I missed most of my high school years as I chose to pursue my religious studies first. This assessment was so annoying. I know there was some grammar point that had be focused on. Bleh! I really should not be teaching English!

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We celebrated Ma’s birthday at the beach before my family and I moved to Saudi Arabia. Mom got a job opportunity in Saudi Arabia. She teaches English and Linguistics at the largest female university in the world. I wish we didn’t have to leave. She’s gets an email saying she’s flying in a few days.…

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I believe a classroom should be a positive, supportive and inclusive space where learners feel valued, respected, and safe.

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This formal assessment task was one of my favourites. I had to design and create a shelter for a domesticated animal. I chose to build a habitat for a hedgehog. Glue guns are helluva fun to work with. I learned about strengthening techniques and geodesic domes. The technological design process was a driving force behind this assessment. I even got my son involved which added so much depth to this assessment. #FinalGrade94%

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We use Classera in Saudi Arabia for grade inputting and communicating assignments with parents and learners. Once the grades are inserted and checked, a downloadable spreadsheet is populated. Grades are released mid-trimester and at the end of each trimester.

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Subject: Math
Theme: Geometry
Topic: Nets and Drawings of 3D figures.
The skills I've learned in ICTS has been immensely useful. For this ICTS assessment, I  had to create a ppt lesson and record myself teaching the lesson. It's weird listening ones own voice. It almost seems unnatural.

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I cannot believe my first year at TOGI has gone by so quickly. I'll be 36 in July. When I initially enrolled and registered, I thought four years is such a long time. It feels as though I told myself this not too long ago yet a year has practically gone by. One down and three more to go!