Building a connected society Information and Communication Technology has become one of the core foundations of sustainable social and economic development and has far reaching benefits for a country, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairman ictQatar has said, pointing out that, As Qatar's policy making and regulatory body for ICT, ictQatar's role is to create an advanced IT community that will connect possibilities, enrich knowledge and inspire progress.
A vital component of these plans is the ictQatar's e-education programme. Recently the first phase of the eSchoolbag project, one of the components of the e-education programme, was piloted at Al Wakra Independent School for Girls. 200 students received Tablet PCs to be used inside the classrooms where they can learn independently at a more creative level to gain an understanding of the subject and to continue interacting with their respective teachers from home. This component of the e-education programme is just the beginning of more innovative projects that ictQatar is planning in the near future. Dr Mohamed Al Ansari, the e-learning Manager of ictQatar, is a man with a mission. He has set punishing deadlines for himself and hopes to enable the entire population students, teachers and the community at large to realise their potential through ICT technologies, improve the learning experience and contribute to the development of ICT in the educational sector of Qatar. Qatar Today speaks to Al Ansari to learn more about his plans for e-education. Q. What is ictQatar's E-education strategy?
A. ictQatar's e-Education strategy is a technology- based framework that supports and accelerates the achievement of the objectives of Qatari Education Initiative through the use of information and communications technology. The strategy envisions that every learner in the Qatari schools will be able to use technology confidently and creatively as a means to develop skills, construct knowledge and plan for self-development.The e-Education strategy covers five areas of improvements:
Infrastructure requirement: Infrastructure related programmes aim to providing connectivity, computers and other smart devices to be used in the teaching process.
Learning and management systems: These systems support the teaching, learning and management processes; including Learning Management System, School Management System, and Content Management System. Learning and Instructional Resources: e-Content, where digital forms of content are used to provide human-computer interactive (HCI) materials as alternative resources that activate learner and support self-learning, promote higher order cognitive skills (eg problem solving, critical thinking), provide opportunities to contextualize learning to facilitate knowledge transfer, and provide a source of updated and interrelated information (eg encyclopaedias, e-library) Professional Development: Teachers will need extensive professional development programs to adopt ICT innovative pedagogical approach, which is the use of ICT to support constructive approach to facilitate students learning process (eg collaborative technologies, simulation, construction tools, etc). They need to adapt to the real meaning of e-learning, where ICT mediates the process of learning and exchange of ideas in a way that allows learners and teachers to interconnect in a non-linear manner. This non-linearity supports moving away from a traditional way of delivering instruction to a more interactive learning environment.
Leadership and planning: School leadership involvement is the key to the success of any school endeavour. Educational leaders should view ICT as an essential transformative tool for education and training. Planning is important to gain and maintain focus, make right decisions for investment, monitor progress (with indicators), and achieve goals. Q. In what way does the e-education strategy support the national education initiative?
A. The e-education supports the National Education Reform and Curriculum Standards and affords alearner-centred environment, where students engage in active exploratory, inquiry-based learning and where they exercise and apply creativity, analytical skills, critical thinking, and informed decision making (something beyond recall, recognition, and reproduction of information). It has access to instructional and learning resources with high quality and relevant materials (e-content, e-library, online encyclopaedias, websites, etc.) There is more of parental involvement through this initiative and there is also an increase of communication between parents and schools.
This concept anchors learning in a real-world context, where students have opportunities to experiment ideas and understanding and also apply these in actual situations, solve authentic problems, and conduct analysis of live data. There will also be an appreciation of diversity and internationalism through partnering with international schools (e.g., Global Gateway) and also through access to updated information. There will be individualized instruction, where teachers give appropriate attention to students' individual needs.
Q. So is ictQATAR looking to bridge the digital divide in
education sector?
A. That's right; we want to be a leading nation in educational excellence through technology. But let me elaborate a little bit on the digital divide concept. From our perspective, dDigital divide is more than the question of ICT access and e-literacy. Digital divide addresses the ability to use ICT to access, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize, information to construct understanding and functional knowledge. It has the ability to utilise ICT to pool knowledge and collective wisdom. It also addresses the ability to develop localised quality content and production while making use of local expertise and overcomes cultural inhibitors.
|q| What are the objectives of ICT for learners?|a| The objectives can be summarized as the 21 century skills, which states that in order to be able to function effectively in the global market and society, students should be equipped with the following skills: Digital Age Literacy for a basic, scientific and technological literacy, a visual and information literacy and a cultural literacy and global awareness. They should also have inventive thinking, which is adaptability for managing complexity a level of curiosity, creativity, and risk taking and a sound reasoning power. This should be teamed with effective communication and interpersonal skills. There should also be high productivity for prioritizing, planning, and managing for results.
Q. What is the collaboration between you and the Supreme Council of Education?
A. Of course the e-Education strategy is adopted and endorsed by ictQATAR and Sec Adel Al Sayed of the Evaluation Institute and Sabah Al Haidoos of the Education Institute are totally supportive in this endeavour. We recently signed an agreement that delineates roles and responsibilities when it comes to implementing this strategy. SEC is handling part of the strategy, such as schools infrastructure and IT supplies as well as School Management System. We are handling another number of projects such as e-Schoolbag and Knowledge Net. As we progress forward, more mutual projects will be undertaken, such as ICT Curriculum and e-Library system. Q. What is the nature of ICT Qatar's collaboration with Singapore?
A. Singapore is the leading country in the world in the area of ICT. They have very successful e-education programs. ictQATAR entered into a strategic partnership with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) to introduce a number of innovative projects in Qatari schools and provide local educators with the opportunity to gain knowledge of Singapore's leading experience in ICT development. One of these projects is e-Schoolbag. Leading educational technologists from Singapore will oversee the implementation of an e-Schoolbag in Qatari schools and provide the necessary training for teachers in technical and pedagogical skills. eSchoolbag is an innovative technological tool that takes students learning to new horizons of collaboration, research, and interaction. It provides learning methodologies that support the objectives of Qatar's national curriculum standards in math, science, and English. The eSchoolbag package will provide each student with a Tablet PC that allows for digital inking technology i.e. note-taking, sharing and editing information electronically. The package will also include e-contents on science, math, and English which will be used by teachers as ready-to-use materials mapped to the Qatari curriculum standards and allow them to customize and add their own materials to fit their studentsneeds. Q. Tell us about Knowledge Network programme? What does it entail?
A. Knowledge Net is about the introduction of Learning Management System (LMS) as platform for communication and content management between students and teachers at one level, and parents and teachers at another. This system allows tracking students records and progress, administering online tests, and facilitating students discussions over the topic at question. The system also allows the integration of e-Content materials. In spring 2006 ictQATAR piloted Knowledge Net in grades seven and ten in eight Independent Schools. Feasibility and impact study was conducted by Qatar University. ictQATAR is planning to implement the solution in grades seven through twelve in twelve Independent Schools this academic year 2006/2007.
Q. What are the other programmes on the anvil?
A. In addition to K-12 Program, e-Education strategy has an زInnovation and Capability Building Programme.This programme focuses on developing human capital across all demographic groups in order to reach the highest level to harness the power and opportunities of ICT. The ultimate aim is to increase the supply of an ICT-skilled workforce. Today, 23 percent of the population of Qatar aged over 15 is ICT literate. The e-literacy rate is expected to continue growing at a moderate rate in the coming years. ictQATAR has launch e-literacy and awareness initiatives to fuel the momentum that drove ICT literacy increases since 1996, year of the introduction of the Internet to Qatar. Q. How will this be possible?
A. ictQATAR will promote ICT Knowledgeable citizen through raising awareness, promoting access, providing training and support. We have two major initiatives to meet this objective:ICDL for government staff: This is a certification for basic computer and ICT concepts and skills. It targets all Qatari working force, all government employees, and teachers. This year it targets 2000 government staff. We have a partnership with ICDL GCC Foundation to facilitate this endeavour and quality assures the quality of training and products.e-Citizen Project: this is a specifically developed program (Builds on e-Citizen program of European Computer Driving License Foundation) to bridge the digital divide by giving citizens the necessary skills to participate online across a broad range of environments such as using Qatari e-Gov service, searching for information, buying products and services (e-Banking, e-Ticketing, etc.), accessing life-enhancing aspects of the Information Society. This programme targets all citizens, regardless of age, gender, or economic activity. The programme is in progress in partnership with ICDL-GCC Foundation
There is more of parental involvement through this (e-education) initiative and there is also an increase of communication between parents and schools Dr Mohamed Al Ansari, e-learning Manager of ictQatar
A Knowledge Network training session in progress
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