Abu Dhabi: With tablets and e-learning now a regular feature in UAE classrooms, universities took the opportunity to showcase high tech learning applications during the last day of the Najah exhibition in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Thousands flocked to the educational show on its closing day.
Ayla Aviation Academy, a Jordan-based flight training organisation, and the UAE University (UAEU), in collaboration with Zayed University and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), used the three-day expo to drive its e-learning expansion throughout the UAE.
“The iPad has played a significant role in creating new study avenues in the Middle East educational institutes.
“The selection of applications available and the number of things students can do is really abundant on the mobile device,” Khurram Saeed, director of Najah exhibition, said.
“With sales of the iPad continuing to grow in this region, similar programmes are being rolled out at 62 colleges globally to create new ways of using tablets in class and around campus,” Saeed added.
Attracting thousands of prospective students throughout the three days at the event, Najah has provided an ideal platform for Alya Aviation to showcase PadPilot to those interested in a career in the aviation industry.
The PadPilot learning system is an all-inclusive mobile app designed to support flight training organisations deliver the Airline Transport Pilot License Course (ATPL), the highest level of aircraft pilot rating.
The application allows students to complete course information, replacing 15 text books.
“The technology used in the PadPilot is perfectly suited for educating pilots of the future,” Captain Marwan Atalla, CEP of Alya Aviation Academy, said.
“The course material is written by pilots and applied to the aviation industry today, using stunningly enhanced graphics and video animations,” Atalla added.
UAE-based universities have also made significant strides to adopt tablet based mobile learning systems at the three-day education and training fair held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).
The UAEU showcased its reading app, available on the iPad, to allow students to download course material, eliminating the need for paper handout slides and text books while also aiding them to manage their studies more efficiently.
“E-learning is superior to the traditional style of a book and paper, making it more engaging and easier for students,” Ahmad Naji Mohammad, university registrar and acting dean of enrolment at UAE University, said.
“Our mobile learning system is a nationwide initiative where UAEU is working together with Zayed University and the HCT to expand this learning system to other higher educational institutes and schools to encourage learning beyond the traditional classroom setting,” he added.
