Special Report: Fourth Annual Conference on E-Learning Excellence in the Middle East: In Search of New Paradigms for Reengineering Education Free

“In Search of New Paradigms for Reengineering Education” was the theme of the fourth annual conference on e-learning excellence in the Middle East that was hosted by Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University (HBMeU) at Atlantis, the Palm Dubai. The HBMeU is the first licensed online institution in the United Arab Emirates, launched in 2009. The university offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in business, education, e-learning, healthcare, and the environment.

The theme of the conference “reflects one fundamental question on the agenda of twenty-first century educators, stakeholders, and governments, facing the exponential increase of demand for access to quality education at reasonable cost” (HBMeU, 2011a, para 2). As a result of the extensive efforts of the organizing committee, there were more than 85 research papers presented at this event and more than 300 regional and international delegates were brought to the event (HBMeU, 2011b). This report will provides an overview of the conference including its venue, structure, and keynote speakers.

The conference was held at the Atlantis, the Palm Dubai. Dubai is an emirate in the United Arab Emirates. It is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. Dubai has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the six emirates, after Abu Dhabi. Today, Dubai has attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events (Wikipedia, 2011a). Atlantis, the Palm is one of the major projects and was built in Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. It is a six star resort and everything in the resort has an underwater theme. It was opened on September 24, 2008. The resort was modeled after the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in Nassau, Bahamas. The resort consists of two towers linked by a bridge, with 1,539 rooms. There are also two monorail stations connecting the resort to the Palm Jumeirah islands (Wikipedia, 2011b).

The main theme of the conference was the search for new paradigms in reengineering education. There were four main subthemes: reengineering learning, teaching, and quality; technologies for learners’ empowerment; change management, leadership, policies, and innovation in education; and networks, partnerships, and exchanges. Each subtheme had several key points (HBMeU, 2011c):

Reengineering learning, teaching, and quality:

• collaborative knowledge building;

• shared meaning-making practices;

• open educational resources;

• pedagogical scenarios for K-12 e-education;

• activity-based classroom management;

• writing to learn (links between language and learning);

• teachers training for twenty-first century quality education

• best practices in Arabization; and

• reusability, standards, and learning objects

Technologies for learners’ empowerment:

• multiusers knowledge-building environments;

• content, community and collaboration management systems;

• Web 2.0 and social computing;

• educational video;

• gaming to learn;

• m-learning;

• collaborative learning environments;

• virtual worlds;

• e-portfolios.

Change management, leadership, policies, and innovation in education

• shared leadership and quality;

• e-learning effectiveness;

• evaluation, certification and quality assurance;

• professional standards for teachers;

• institutional strategies and policies;

• global trends in technology-enhanced learning;

• intellectual property rights and copyright issues; and

• creative commons.

Networks, partnerships, and exchanges

• global trends in e-learning;

• international e-marketplace for higher education.

Four scholars in the field of education were the keynote speakers for the conference: Sir John Daniel, president and chief executive officer, Commonwealth of Learning; Susan C. Aldridge, president, University of Maryland University College; Carmel McNaught, director and professor of learning enhancement, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Denise Kirkpatrick, pro-vice-chancellor learning, teaching, and quality, professor at The Open University, United Kingdom (HBMeU, 2011d).

Daniel addressed the relationship between e-learning and the open educational resources (OER) movement. He requested governments and institutions to make all documents and materials of educational interest available under open education (HBMeU, 2011d). He described open education as breaking an iron triangle: “Open education broke open the iron triangle of access, cost and quality that had constrained education throughout history and had created the insidious assumption, still prevalent today, that in education you cannot have quality without exclusivity” (HBMeU, 2011b, para. 5).

Aldridge, the second keynote speaker, presented learning through technology, from institutional course delivery to collaborative knowledge creation. She examined some of the many ways to incorporate emerging technologies to both expand the learning environment and enhance the learning experience. Aldridge addressed issues related to use of emerging technologies, such as the following:

• creating a common vocabulary: from information technology, to educational technology, to learning technology;

• choosing technologies that empower us to move beyond course-centric learning management systems to embrace the more learner-centric personal learning environment;

• bridging the gap between student and faculty skills and expectations; and

• using the e-learning environment to promote cross-cultural understanding, build leadership skills, and facilitate vibrant communities of practice.

McNaught, the third keynote speaker, proposed enduring themes and new horizons for educational technology to enhance teaching and learning such as

Finally, Kirkpatrick investigated issues of quality in the e-learning environment, to ensure that we can make decisions about the quality of the student learning experience based on the learning environment, learning experience, or quality outcomes (HBMeU, 2011d).

Besides paper presentations, there were workshops and poster presentations related to the theme of the conference. Also corporate showcase and exhibition opportunities were available to enable companies to present recent developments. During the closing ceremony, best paper awards were announced and were published in the university's International e-Journals of Excellence in e-Learning (http://www.hbmeu.ac.ae/en/research/undertaking/ejournals.htm), and all selected papers were published in the conference proceedings.

The conference was a delightful experience, and I have pleasant memories of walking on the long, red carpet to the center door of the registration office, the warm welcome from the conference organization team, the delicious food, and the beautiful resort where you actually feel that you are living underwater.

The conference technical committee and the organization team did a phenomenal job in planning the conference and making this event extremely successful. I am honored to be part of the 2012 conference technical committee and am eager to experience the fifth conference on e-learning excellence in the Middle East with its theme, “sustainable innovation in education.”