World Class Technology Innovation Reaches the United Arab Emirates Educational System
By Joyce Pittman
SIGDE Co-Chair
Professor of Educational Technology, Abu Dhabi University
Information and Communication Technologies are bridging the digital equity gaps in the Middle East, especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is one of the most wired Arab countries in the world. When I first arrived in the Emirates in August 2006, I quickly learned that this was a society rich in culture, diversity, resources, and innovation; bustling with growth and development in every direction. It is a nation that has undergone many changes since 1971, when the Emirates were born. Homes, schools, and communities are beginning to be connected through highly sophisticated networks. These networks are changing the lifestyle and education of all individuals, especially learners and teachers in government, schools, private schools, and institutions of higher education. UAE leadership in both education and government works in partnership with schools and businesses to offer some of the most innovative technology programs in the world in order to prepare a new generation of knowledge workers. Students in remote desert areas are now able to connect to state-of-the art educational systems using web-based systems that expand their access to world-class education using innovative partnering strategies. Although the number of schools and classrooms are small in comparison to other educational systems, the leadership has decided that the UAE will develop a world-class educational system for over 737 schools.
One project that will impact the country's educational system is the research, design, and implementation of a comprehensive information technology program, which will serve as the cornerstone of the country’s plan to build a learner-centered educational system. The Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT) was selected by the UAE's Ministry of Education (MOE) to develop this project. CELT is part of a larger team led by Dr. Ali Rashid Alnoaimi and Dr. Vince Ferradino to restructure the entire educational system from the Ministry of Education to the classroom level and beyond. The overall goal of the project is to help the Ministry maximize its information technology resources in order to transform learning environments, improve student achievement, and meet the country’s strategic economic goals. In working with the MOE/CELT partnership I see learners and teachers motivated to support this new direction.
Through close collaboration with the Ministry, CELT has sent educational researchers on-site to visit schools and gather valuable information that helps formulate an "information technology blueprint" report. This report details the use of technology in support of all aspects of the UAE educational system including incorporating ISTE-NET standards. CELT uses its proprietary planning model, which is validated by the U.S. Department of Education, to gather and analyze data unique to educational organizations within the UAE. As the primary technology advisor to the project, CELT is providing the Ministry with a field team of educational technology experts, including Dr. John Phillipo, CEO of CELT, Dr. Dale Mann of Interactive, Inc. of New York City, Dr. Joyce Pittman, Board member of the International Society of Technology in Education, and Laurie Keating, an ISTE affiliate president.
As a professor of Educational Technology within an Emirates university, I have the opportunity to plan, develop and implement new instructional technology designs for web-based learning in open source environments, interactive videoconferencing, and provide faculty development in teacher education to ensure future Emirates teachers are prepared for these new teaching and learning environments. These are exciting times in the UAE with multi-user virtual environments and voice over Internet (VOIP) connecting distance learning opportunities, project-based learning in schools and more. The overall environment provides signposts that read "Education is Wealth” clearly conveying that this middle eastern education system is reaching out to the world with no intentions of being left behind in the new digital age.
As a member of the ISTE Board and the CELT project team, I am honored to be a technology partner/advisor in this widespread effort and look forward to helping them achieve their vision to create a world-class, learner-centered educational system by restructuring the entire education and information technology enterprise concurrently. Helping educational organizations improve student achievement, enhance staff productivity, and increase accountability has always been a priority in ISTE’s mission. I am pleased that such partnerships with the western world continue to grow and impact teaching and learning on a global scale in new learning places like the Emirates. We are learning many lessons from each other in this innovative technology partnership. In the end, the winners are the learners, parents, citizens, business, and education communities in the UAE and around the world as more access to the richness of this part of the world is unveiled through the development and implementation of high quality educational systems.
For more information about this initiative contact:
Dr. Joyce Pittman, Professor of Educational Technology
Abu Dhabi University
Joyce.pittman@adu.ac.ae or
jpittman@celtcorp.com
For information about CELT contact:
199 Forest Street, Marlborough, MA 01752
508-624-4474, ext. 1209
fax: 508-624-6565
Contact: Priscilla Ramsay
e-mail: pramsay@celtcorp.com
|
