The International Congress on ICT in Education

ICT in Education Across the Arab Stages: Current Status, Opportunities and

Challenges22nd- 24th of June, 2016 | Qingdao, China

Dr. Narimane Hadj-HamouFounder and CEO, The Center for Learning Innovations and Customized

Knowledge Solutions (CLICKS), Dubai- UAE

BACKGROUND & CONTEXT

The Arab World22 Countries | 12 in Asia & 10 in Africa

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• Many of the Arab states were under colonization until the early sixties. As such education and higher education in Arab region has been impacted.

• As an example there were in 1953 only 14 universities across the Arab Region. Though i t is argued that the o ldest university in the world exist in an Arab Country

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The Arab World

Al-Qarawiyeen University

Founded in 859

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 The University of Bologna was founded in  Europe only in 1088 & 

Oxford in 1096

The Oldest Educational Institution in the World

• In 2010, the Arab region has witnessed the Arab Spring which touched several countries starting from Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen and has impacted education and educational reforms

• Many Arab States are still suffering of conflicts and instability which impacted enrollments rates in education.

The Arab World

Population of the Arab World• The population of the Arab countries has nearly

tripled since 1970, climbing from 128 million to 375 million in 2015. Expected to increase by 65% in 2050.

• The Region is also characterized by large numbers of youth, where 54% of the population are below 25

• The number of children and youth is expected to climb to 217 million by 2050.

• Youth unemployment is among the highest in the world, in 2013 it was of 27.2% in the Middle East and more than 29% in North Africa

• Source: UNDP Report, 2010

The region spends about 3.8% of GDP on education, which compares to developed nations like Japan and Singapore, which spend 3.8% and 3.2% of their GDP, on education.

The region allocates on an average 17.4% of government expenditure toward education compared to the world average of 13.9%.

Allocation for education is high, particularly in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Algeria.

Focus Areas for Arab States

• Improving access to Education• Continuous progress towards

eradicating illiteracy • Eliminating gender disparities • Improving the quality of education • Improving teacher’s qualifications• Addressing the skills’ gap problem• Focus on supporting LLL• Innovation 

DIVERS FOR A BETTER INTEGRATION OF ICT IN EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES

Drivers for ICT in Education in the Arb World

• The emergence of Knowledge-based economy • Demographical growth and the need for more

educational seats • ICT advancements in the Arab Region• Globalization and Internationalization of Education• The need for widening access to education• The focus on LLL• The need to improve learning and provide students with

new sets of skills

PROGRESS IN ICT IN EDUCATION IN THE ARAB WORLD

INTEGRATING ICT IN EDUCATION THROUGH POLICY AND OTHER FORMAL NATIONAL & REGIONAL COMMITMENTS

Education Policy at the International Level

ICT in Education at the International Level

Arab States are influenced by

• The Qingdao Declarat ion be ing the f i rs t g lobal declaration, on ICT in education promoting the use of ICT to achieve Education Targets in New Sustainable Development Goals.

• The Pol icy for in tegrat ing ICT for development formulated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) =Target 8.F

In 2011 UNESCO and TAG.org have cooperated on building capacity in Arab States by strengthening national c a p a b i l i t i e s to de f ine ICT in educat ion indicators for measuring the use and impact of applying ICTs in education, as well as to facilitate the ICT in education policy development.

At the Arab Regional Level

The Dubai Action Plan and the regional initiatives (2015-2017)

• ARB1: Development of broadband access and adoption of broadband

• ARB2: Building confidence and security in the use of telecommunications/ICTs

• ARB3: Use of telecommunications/ICTs for smart and sustainable development and protection of the environment

• ARB4: Smart learning • A R B 5 : E n s u r i n g a c c e s s t o

telecommunications/ICTs, in particular for persons with disabilities

Output of the 2014 World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC)

At the National Level Despite the existence of many national initiatives promoting the use o f ICTs; on ly few Arab s t a t e s h a v e a c t i v e I C T i n Education Pol icy, plans and r e g u l a t o r y f r a m e w o r k s t o monitor progress and assess impact.

Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Palestine are among these countries

At National Level Many initiatives were launched including • Educational reforms to integrate ICT in

education • E-learning projects/ Smart Campuses• ICT Na t i ona l P l ans - p rov i s i o n o f

bandwidth • Curriculum reforms to integrate new set

of skills for 21st Century• ICT competency frameworks for teachers

(lagging behind)• OERs & MOOCs Initiatives

ICT READINESS IN THE ARAB REGION & THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

ICT Growth in the Arab World

The Digital Divide Internet Users per Country

6/30/2016 25

Source: Internet World Stats (December, 2011)

The Digital Divide Broadband Penetration

THE NEED TO MODERNIZE CURRICULUM & SUPPORT INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS

Policymakers acknowledge have realized the for curricula and pedagogical chance, this include:

• The need to formally integrate basic ICT skills in primary and secondary education curricula

• To modernize the curricula to ensure student are equipped with the 21st century skills and competencies

• To enforce the adoption of ICT enabled teaching pedagogies including the use of e-content, e-learning, flipping the classroom, etc.

OPENING UP AND SHARING QUALITY DIGITAL CONTENT

Arabic Digital Content

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MOOCs and OERs Initiatives in Arab States

Open Book project: an initiative of the U.S. Department o f S ta te in par tnersh ip w i th the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization and leading education innovators to expand access to free, high-quality education materials in Arabic, with a focus on science and technology.

The launch of Edraak as a p l a t f o r m f o r M O O C s supporting the large Arab speaking community was an initiative of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development and is powered by the American-based Open edXplatform

Platforms supporting Arabic Content

NEW MODELS OF LEARNING

• Several initiatives including the launch of smart schools, online universities, etc. were launched in a number of Arab states

• New Models (eLearning, hybrid learning, etc.) have emerged for the provision formal and informal Learning opportunities and which have potent ial to support widening access and reducing cost.

However, there are still many issues surrounding the recognition of such qualifications by regulatory bodies as well as the need to improve the social perception on the value of such type of learning.

At the Regional Level

The Arab League countries adopted Arab Regional Initiative on Smart Learning at the ITU's World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2014.

The ITU Arab Regional Office, Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and Intel have joined forces to provide leadership to help Arab countries to develop national strategies on smart learning and to ensure that such national initiatives progress smoothly and leverage the strengths of each other to better contribute to the implementation of a larger strategy that meets the goals and aspirations of each of these countries in smart learning

CAPACITY BUILDING

• Teacher training is a critical component if investments in ICTs are to be maximized. In the Arab States how teachers are prepared varies significantly from one country to another- Palestine has one of the largest share of teachers trained to teach subjects using ICT.

Jordan has provided a substantial level of professional development and training through the promulgation of National Teacher Professional Standards (2006) emphasizing: i) the importance of ICT in teaching careers: ii) the teaching-learning processes: and iii) the integration of ICT in curriculum content.

• Clear national frameworks/ standards need to be in place to support teachers’ training.

• At institutional level incentives and support infrastructure have to be adopted

• Building Capacity to support the adoption of ICT in Education among leadership teams and the society as a whole are also pivotal to maximizing the benefits of ICT

ENSURING QUALITY & ASSESSING IMPACT

CHALLENGES & BARRIERS IMPEDING THE INTEGRATION OF ICT IN EDUCATION

Government Level

ü Absence of clear government vision and plan for ICT in education

ü Insufficient Funding ü National Infrastructureü Policy issues ü Lack of Quality content

in Arabic ü Need for clear standards

and data to assess impact of ICT in education

ü Absence of National frameworks for teachers’ preparation

ü Social and Cultural Factors

Institutional Level

ü Clarity of vision and strategy

ü Infrastructure and access- facilities available

ü Limited budgets ü No or limited

professional development opportunities for teachers

ü Absence of technical support for teachers and learners

ü The need of strong leadership support

Teacher Level

ü Resistance to change/ teacher’s attitude

ü Lack of knowledge and skills on ICT pedagogical integration

ü Access to ‘relevant to context ‘ quality resources

ü Lack of time ü ICT access

THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE ARAB STATES

Proposed Strategies : The Way Forward

• Setting a common vision for ICT in Education at all levels in the Arab region with the aim of promoting an improving the integration of ICT in Education and supporting the attainment of a wider recognition of new forms of technology enhanced education in the Arab region in the coming years

• Formulating/ Strengthening national strategies for the adoption, integration and assessment of ICT in Edcuation at all levels.

• Creating supporting network of regional policy makers to assist Arab Ministries of Education and ICT in national policy formulation, contextualization and implementation

• Establishing a framework to improve teacher’s / faculty literacy on the use of ICT in Education (as well as establishing incentives)

• Developing guidelines regarding the inclusion of ICT in curriculum – considering outcomes

• Developing Standards for overseeing the quality of technology enhanced education programs at all levels

• Improving social awareness about the potential of new forms of technology enhanced education

• Developing and providing access to quality content - cost-effective . The need to share content between countries (e.g. via regional open educational resources platforms)

Proposed Strategies : The Way Forward

n.hadjhamou@cli-cks.com