Dr Al-Houli proposes ‘e-learning’ in Kuwait
Based on ‘stop school and continue learning principle’
KUWAIT CITY, March 24: Former Cultural Attaché in Washington, lecturer in the College of Basic Education (Curricula and Teaching Methods) and advisor in the Office of the Undersecretary of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Dr Abeer Al-Houli has prepared a proposal on “e-learning in Kuwait,” reports Al-Anba daily.
Indicating the proposal is based on the ‘stop school and continue learning principle;’ Al-Houli explained to the daily that her vision on e-learning in terms of virtual attendance, extent of its application and conditions for success through a set of questions that must be answered in order to launch e-learning as a substitute in the event of suspending classes for any reason or in emergency and crisis situations.
She also praised the efforts exerted to combat corona and efforts of the people of Kuwait in addressing this pandemic and protecting society from it.
The proposal comes in recognition of the importance of the educational process and the necessity of orderliness in various circumstances, considering the developments and challenges that the world is witnessing today due to the threat of traditional or biological wars which kill people and societies.
In addition, the proposal comes under exceptional circumstances as the world is experiencing the corona pandemic. It is in view of efforts exerted by authorities responsible for education in terms of finding practical alternatives other than stopping education as an easy and immediate decision, away from calculating the long-term negative effects on generations that may have occurred if the educational process was directly delayed.
On the requirements for this kind of learning, Al-Houli disclosed the first step is to establish the infrastructure of the basic network of communications located in the places of transmission and reception; while providing the necessary technical support to overcome technical challenges and ensure the readiness of electronic devices and systems as well as the mechanism of data storage.
Secondly, it is necessary to work on training human resources, including teachers, technicians
Dr Al-Houli
and managers in the systems of elearning projects. Learners must be trained and sensitized to the importance of e-learning for the continuity of learning and to establish their conviction on the importance of time and the necessity to continue their educational achievement to ensure best results, and to be more cooperative in receiving information and follow up.
Qualified
Al-Houli explained that after providing the qualified educational staff, the focus should be on the learners. Each of them is given a ‘User Name’ and ‘password;’ through which they can enter the school or ministry website to follow the personal profile, default attendance of lessons, carry out daily duties, work on joint projects, see the questions and answers, taking short and long exams, and converse with the teachers, she added.
She pointed out that this system should also allow learners to follow the announcements of the Ministry of Education or the school, assessments, final results, and other services that the program provides for them.
On the part of parents, Al-Houli stressed the significant role of parents and guardians in motivating their children; as they are also given a password to monitor their children during their virtual learning. This is in addition to emphasizing the presence of an integrated evaluation at the beginning of the next academic year to measure the extent of children’s learning using e-learning during the school suspension period. This is after they are made aware of the importance of e-learning and its benefits to their children, she clarified.
However, Al-Houli acknowledged the difficulty of the e-learning system; as it is based on converting the paper-based curricula into digital. At this point, the role of Ministry of Education officials comes into play in terms choosing the four most important subjects for e-learning. The role of technical guidance is highlighted in selecting the most important lessons and instructing teachers to prepare lesson plans and support them with resources; as well preparing question banks to prepare learners for tests, setting test questions, and then holding conducting a test for each subject for all learners on the same day and time.
Curriculum
Nonetheless, Al-Houli presented three elements in providing the curriculum and developing skills and concepts anywhere; away from school in the shortest time and effort in the event of providing and adopting the foundations of success.
One of these elements is the ‘Learning Management System’, which allows virtual communication between the parties of the educational process (the director, teacher, learner and parent).
The second element is illustrated lessons, which are done through the nomination of distinguished teachers in the production of illustrated lessons, with an explanation and clarification of the steps to access the videos for the lessons depicted on the Ministry of Education website in a simple and easy way for learners.
The third element is that of electronic devices, which are given to learners, such as the iPad. These devices must contain special programs and tools to achieve the e-learning goals, provided that they include the site of the Ministry of Education so the learner can study the lessons and carry out digital duties, tests and evaluation; in addition to developing a set of reliable digital sources that encourage interaction and selflearning, which contains many interactive educational activities and