The event, held under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania and organised by the Massachusetts Institute of  Technology (MIT), is entitled "Technology-enabled Education: A Catalyst for Positive Change", and is the fourth annual conference of the Learning International Networks Consortium.

Held for the first time in the Middles East, the conference seeks to make quality education available to all the world's children, regardless of geographic hindrances, by using today's computer and telecommunications technologies, Adnan Badran, the honorary chairman of the organising committee, told reporters on Thursday.

In addition to Queen Rania, several speakers and educators will take part in the event, including HRH Princess Sumaya, who will chair a technical session.

Around 200 Jordanian professors and 100 high school teachers will attend the conference, which will also include speakers from several Middle Eastern countries, as well as China, Kenya and Mexico.

"Participants will also discuss basics of using modern learning techniques and possibilities of applying them in class," said Badran, adding that e-learning enhances university students' ability to study on their own and helps them decide how and what to learn.

"This new approach of education offers people the opportunity to learn by utilising the technology revolution in light of globalisation," he added.

It also encourages instructors to become facilitators rather than information dictators, he added.

MIT Professor Richard Larson said, in today's information-rich world a nation's wealth rests in the knowledge of its citizens.

"Even the oil- and gas-rich Middle East is recognising that the ultimate wealth of a nation is its educated citizens," said Larson.

The event's power-packed agenda will feature two pre-conference workshops, which will focus on hybrid education principles, learning content management systems and e-learning models, according to the organisers.

Some of the other sessions will cover issues pertaining to e-learning, innovative teaching methods, virtual universities and educational initiatives founded in Jordan and the region.

The event is intended to foster intellectual exchanges that will in turn expand and enrich the knowledge and practice of each participant, the conference organisers said.

Following their three-day stay in Jordan, many conference participants will travel to Dubai for a two-day follow-up executive session, held under the patronage of Sheikh Maktoum Ben Mohammad Al Maktoum, chairman of the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority.

Hani Hazaimeh

© Jordan Times 2007

 

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