DUBAI November 25, 2012: The United Arab Emirates' 1st Biennial Curriculum Conference and Curriculum Institute opened today with speakers and delegates exploring how the integration of technology, and the proliferation of mobile learning, has changed the way students are being taught in the United Arab Emirates.
The two-day biennial conference, held at the Dubai Men's College, was inaugurated by H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor, Higher Colleges of Technology, who confirmed the importance of the conference, stating that curriculum "defines an academic program ... it reveals the intellectual character of the college and the faculty offering the curriculum".
"A curriculum communicates the regard of its makers toward the past, present, and future. We cannot ignore the imperatives of the present, but we must always remember that they are significant because of the importance of the past and the future. And certainly our curriculums declare our beliefs about the future," H.E. Sheikh Nahayan said.
"We will fulfill our responsibility as educators by holding on to the past and dealing wisely with the relation between what might be basic and core to any version of higher education and the requirements for special disciplinary knowledge. Our vision of both the future and the past resides in our curriculums," he added.
Sheikh Nahayan said he was pleased that delegates "will consider change and assessment along with the many technology-related subjects that distinguish your program for today and tomorrow".
"In the United Arab Emirates, we are focused on the outcomes of education. We aim to prepare our graduates for active participation in the economic, social, and intellectual life of their community; we also realize full well that we are now a part of the global economy. As such, we must help our students develop their skills and abilities consistent with international standards as well as with the requirements of the workplace in the 21st century," Sheikh Nahayan said.
"We are committed to ensuring that our students learn and can do what the country needs and wants. Our students have the benefit of studying curriculums that suit their talents, interests, and aspirations, all in the framework of high educational expectations," he concluded.
Inaugural Conference and Institute delegates included educators and specialists interested in advancing teaching and learning into the 21st century through curriculum development and design that incorporates digital content and technology integration.
Dr. Allan Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education, gave the conference keynote address, and talked about the rapidly changing face of teaching and classrooms. "The spread of social media and technology both in 'brick and mortar' as well as virtual classrooms has changed the way teachers teach, students learn, and how all communicate," Dr. Goodman said.
He added that although "technology provides an array of tools, strategies, and platforms to promote 'good learning'", it was not an end in itself. "Technology does not determine the content; rather it changes the delivery. It exploits the digitized world in which modern day students - digital natives - navigate the majority of their lives and their connections outside of the classroom," he said.
Discussing the effects of mobile technologies, such as Apple iPads, Dr. Goodman said that they "make possible rapid curriculum development as well as assessment. Teachers can better accommodate the variety of ways that students learn, and students can develop ways to know how well they are grasping the building blocks of any particular subject or theory." He noted an interesting phenomenon that may develop with the Federal Mobile Learning Initiative, which HCT is a part of. "It may show that if technology is built into the classroom and academic experience from the outset, students may have a tendency to use it less for frivolous and non-academic purposes."
Importantly, Dr. Goodman said that the use of mobile technologies, and even social networking sites, for learning "can help us be more precise in seeing whether or not a student is actually getting what we are teaching", although he does not see them as substitutes for face-to-face interaction.
"What you are doing here will also have profound effects not only on how we determine what students are learning but also what it means to be a faculty member in terms of the time we should be devoting to student interactions which can form a major part of our overall assessment processes," Dr. Goodman said.
The aims of the Curriculum Conference and Institute are to enable the alignment of tertiary curriculum for programs, courses, and assessments to both nationally and internationally standardized and benchmarked learning outcomes, objectives, and goals. This historic Conference and Institute will establish the UAE as the hub for curriculum expertise in the region, and bring the MENA region to the forefront of pedagogical processes through the use of educational technology.
Incorporated into the conference was the announcement of the winners of the Nikai faculty and student awards for excellence in teaching and studies, in the 2011-2012 academic year. The annual awards are worth a significant cash prize and the winners also receive electronic equipment and a certificate. The awards were presented by H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan and Nikai Group of Companies Chairman Mr. Paras Shahdadpuri.
Day two of the Conference, tomorrow, will see about 600 registrants attend a number of workshops and break-out sessions where they will be able to interact with their peers and experts in the field of curriculum design and alignment. One interesting workshop will feature Maya Tariq Al- Hawary, the deputy director and principal of the DWC High School, who will share with delegates the DWC High School as a case study.
For more details relating to the conference visit http://cc-ci.hct.ac.ae/
About the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT)
Founded in 1988 with four colleges, The Higher Colleges of Technology has grown to be the largest of the higher educational institutions in the UAE, gaining a well-respected reputation for innovative learning. More than 18,000 students attend 17 modern men's and women's campuses in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Fujairah and the western region of Madinat Zayed and Ruwais.
HCT offers a wide range of English-taught programs in Applied Communications, Business, Education, Engineering Technology, Computer & Information Sciences, General Education and Health Sciences. These programs are all relevant to the UAE's fast growing and evolving economic sectors. All programs are designed in consultation with business and industry leaders to ensure that the skills students learn are job-relevant and to high standards. They are constantly monitored to ensure they are at the cutting edge of industry standards and technological change. Visit www.hct.ac.ae
For more information or to arrange interviews contact: Paul Lancaster, HCT Corporate Communications Executive, Office of the Vice Chancellor. Phone: 02 404 8543. Mobile: 050 616 0964 Email: paul.lancaster@hct.ac.ae
© Press Release 2012
