e-learning in focus at gitex

Experts in e-Learning have called for a change of mindset and greater collaboration among education ministries, school administrators, teachers and parents to speed the development of e-Learning in the GCC and better prepare students for jobs in the knowledge economy.

Speaking at an e-Learning workshop presented by the Egyptian IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) at Gitex 2008, Dr John Zook, an adviser to the UAE Ministry of Education, said: "There needs to be greater partnership between government, schools and parents to understand that the way teachers teach must change.

"Globalisation means that the jobs of tomorrow are in the knowledge economy. To produce students with the right skills we need to change from prescriptive learning of facts to a method of teaching that encourages the understanding of processes and critical thinking skills."

The panel also called for greater government support for faster and cheaper broadband internet access for schools.

"Expecting schools to pay commercial rates for broadband access is a tax on education," said Ahmad Badr, vice president of services at ITWorx.

"Our experience in implementing e-Learning programmes for Kent and Durham county councils in the United Kingdom shows that local and national government support is essential."

The UAE Ministry of Education in partnership with ITWorx has completed the roll-out of its pioneering e-learning platform, in both Arabic and English, to 50 schools in the UAE.

ITWorx, which is the global reference site for training and development of the Microsoft Learning Gateway, has also been commissioned by GEMS to provide an e-Learning platform to its 27 schools, and it is working with Qatar's Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR), to roll out its Knowledge Net portal.

Hussam Megahed, ITIDA board member, commented: "e-Learning is transforming education and we all have a responsibility to ensure that the students of today are equipped with the skills of tomorrow."