Promoting e-learning

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will hold its annual conference titled Technology-Enabled Education in Dubai in October. Siham Al Najami reports

A leading educational conference in Dubai is set to tackle the advances of technology in education and the challenges surrounding it.

For the first time, Technology-Enabled Education: A Catalyst for Positive Change - an annual conference held by Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Learning International Networks Consortiums (LINC) - will be held outside the United States.

The conference will begin in Jordan from October 27-30 and continue in Dubai from October 31-November 1. It will to bring together international experts in the field of technology-enabled education and e-learning for emerging regions and under-served communities.

The main issues
The conference will focus on three main issues e-learning, technology-enabled learning as a catalyst for positive change and methods and sources of open education.

The Dubai portion will be held under the patronage of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Free Zone Authority for Technology and Media. Queen Rania Al Abdullah is the official patron of Jordan's portion of the conference.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) held a press briefing about the conference in their premises to highlight their involvement to develop the educational sector in the country.

Dr Abdullah Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of KHDA, said the conference is not merely focusing on resolving problems in education but looking further into advancing the prospects of education in Dubai.

"The corporate world in the UAE is showing interest in e-learning. Universities in the US and Canada are well-advanced in e-learning and used for the purpose of offering remote learning, which is not a big issue for Dubai. Here, it's about when, where and why to use e-learning," he said.

Elements of the online-learning
E-learning has three major factors: the age factor, the subject (content), and the institution offering distance learning explained Dr Al Karam.

KHDA initiated programmes two years ago to train teachers to use technology-based educational materials and method of delivering a subject, he said.

"With this announcement we are working on establishing a wider network in the region, to bring together professionals and experiences," he said.

In a release, Dr Larson said: "there is a belief, including in the Middle East, that e-learning is second class learning. That somehow is not as good as face to face live in-class learning. First, let me say that just as there are good and bad teachers in live classrooms, there are good and bad examples of e-learning.

"Quality control is important in all types of learning, and if there is no quality control, it is likely that the quality will be poor."

The right kind of environment
"Students in e-learning situations must be embedded in a collaborative e-learning environment, with online tutors available and access to other students - so they feel like they are part of a learning community.

"Without this, experience has shown that up to 70 per cent of e-learners can drop out and not finish their course," he added.