Microsoft yesterday announced that the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) have rolled out the first stage of an innovative project designed to change education methods at the Abu Dhabi Men's College (ADMC).
The new system, the College Portal System, will offer features including all academic information, individual and group websites, personal file storage of up to two gigabytes per student, personal ePortfolios for each student, email, SMS, calendaring, help desk, mobile learning capabilities and incorporates knowledge management.
The system was built on a combination of Microsoft products with developmental support from Tata Interactive systems.
"These latest technologies allow collaboration and knowledge sharing that will enhance student learning opportunities and the day to day staff administration of the college.
"We evaluated all technologies available before beginning this project and the benefits of using Microsoft's products were clearly illustrated, supported by the company's strong commitment to the educational sector" said Dr Tayeb Kamali, Director of HCT.
"Our college is seen as a regional technology leader, utilising gigabit networking, as well as offering a fully wireless campus, laptops for all and online courses. We are proud to be working with Microsoft to implement our technology requirements, as our partnership allows us to keep pace with rapid changes and upgrades.
"Also, we find that the value of training our students on Microsoft offers them excellent experience when entering the job market."
The portal system includes many features designed by the team from the ADMC, Microsoft and Tata Interactive Systems (TIS).
TIS also brought extensive experience to the team from their involvement in developing the McGraw Hill Learning Network, which with a capacity of over one million users is widely recognised as one of the world's largest learning networks.
Sanjaya Sharama, CEO of TIS, said: "We are very excited to be working with the ADMC and bringing our portal development expertise to this new technology."
The portal will allow users to collaborate online, accessing data through central resources, with a central searchable database.
This move towards a paperless environment will not only facilitate easier access to information that will enable the ADMC students to improve individual performance, but also takes the college one step closer to a true e-learning environment.
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