The state of E-learning initiatives in Saudi Arabia Universities - Essay Example

 The state of E learning initiatives in Saudi Arabia Universities Title The research is aimed at analysing the state and extent of E Learning initiatives in Saudi Arabian universities. This research will encompass an analysis of the available E Learning tools, its proliferation within Saudi Arabian academia, the future E Learning based projects and suggestions to implement its use in the future. In brief, the research will analyse the extent to which E learning tools and paradigms have been adopted by and implemented with the Saudi Arabian higher education environment. Introduction Saudi Arabian universities are poised to embrace a new educational era, one in which technology is utilised as a tool for the maximisation of educational exposure, connectivity and opportunities. This technology, popularly referred to as E Learning, has significantly contributed to the expansion of courses offered and, more importantly, has emerged as an efficient and effective quality education tool for students who want to pursue their education from home. Indeed, the use of the internet as a medium to impart knowledge has experienced unprecedented growth over the past years. The 21st century witnessed acceptance of the internet as the preferred medium of education and instruction in quite a few Western European and United States colleges and universities. Determined not to be left behind, Saudi universities and college took the initiative to implement E Learning technologies. They started off well and a number of colleges put in place courses with credits on the web and students had the facility to get information and also use the services of online tutorials to prepare for the exams. The practice of providing online course information for students has entrenched itself in the educational landscape and indeed, has taken root in countless universities and colleges around the world. Even so, the aforementioned constitutes a minor componential element of E Learning based approach to education. Accordingly, most Saudi colleges took the initiative and put in place the short term plan of posting information online and tying up with International partners and universities in the West to offer their online courses and degrees to the Middle East. The aim was to provide localised service and support to the online programmes. The long term aim was to establish a virtual university which collectively embraces all the colleges in the country and, accordingly, serves the ultimate aim of shared knowledge through online initiatives and efforts. The plan was to pave the way for anyone desirous of pursuing any international degree besides the local one from within the confines of his workplace or home. This research aims to analyse, assess and evaluate the current status of the E Learning initiative. In so doing, it will critically review the aims of the individual universities included in the programme and discuss the extent to which the stated initiative has contributed, or not, to the realisation of their aims. While the research on E learning is still in its infancy, the impact which this educational approach/tool has had on higher education is incontrovertible. E Learning has, to all intents and purposes, assumed a life of its own and is expanding and growing at a pace and rate which exceeds prior expectations. The reason largely lies in the fact that it accommodates the circumstances of learners, allowing them the opportunity to study what they want at their own pace and, most importantly, irrespective of time, place and distance. E learning has revolutionised education, if only because it is fundamentally geared towards the obliteration of the more common of the obstacles towards adult education, time and place. The objective of this research is to gauge the extent to which E Learning initiatives have come to fructify and to the shortcomings in the E learning approach adopted by most universities and colleges in the Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. Existing reports, documents, path studies and government papers on E learning will be utilised for the fulfilment of the mentioned purpose. Added to that, the current state of E learning will be assessed through the critical analysis and study of individual college websites and those websites which make a mention of their courses online. Departmental online presence and availability of online tools to students across the board will be considered. Language skills, which are primarily English, will also be a factor to gauge the proliferation of E Learning courses in the mainstream of the course curriculum. Scope and Definition of the Project Although most data regarding the aims and objectives which were set during the early part of the decade are available through libraries and Governmental websites, the researcher will exert the required effort to gather additional details on the source documents which outlined the framework for implementation of the E learning infrastructure. The project will restrict itself to the analysis of the E Learning Paradigm in general but will afford special emphasis to its current status in Saudi Arabian universities. The project will restrict its scope to understanding what the world has to offer in terms of tools for an efficient and effective E Learning system, and then gauge its acceptance in the Saudi universities. An analysis of the penetration of the system in general will also be undertaken with the help of surveys and data mining tools. The definition of the project clearly confines the analysis to Saudi Arabian universities, but mention of the neighboring academic institutions will also be made. Some private players who provide local E Learning solutions will also find mention in the report as the initiative is not restricted to the governmental action alone. While this study will not discuss E Learning strategies being used elsewhere, but will provide some suggestions to improve the existing infrastructure wherever necessary. Research Context And Literature Review. The current state of research on this topic is both sparse and highly fragmented. This research deficit and the imperatives of addressing it were articulated in the conference held on Distance Learning on 30 Oct 2007 in Detroit, USA. A number of papers which were presented in April 2008 in the International Conference on Technology Communication and Education, Kuwait schedules from Apr 7 to Apr 9 2008 addressed this problem through contributions to the research literature on E learning in higher education (ITC, 2008). The International Conference on e-Learning, e-Business, Enterprise Information Systems, and e-Government (ICEAE, 2007) also highlighted a number of issues concerning the state of E Learning in the Saudi Arabian academic environment. The papers presented in 2005 in Jordan also highlighted some issues which were required to be addressed to improve the current state of the E Learning initiative (EBEL, 2005). A few studies on individual E Learning packages installed in colleges and departments have been collated and are also available (Reima, 2006). A number of studies are available of other countries which have done a status check on the E Learning initiative in their respective countries too (Hadi et all, 2007), (Moneer et all, 2007), (Hamid, 2006) amd (Yang, 2007). Methodology The present status of the E Learning initiative will be analysed using the following tools and documents:- (a) Current courses being offered by universities via an E learning platform for both content distribution and examination. (b) Tools available to students and Instructors for the conduct of the classes. This will include a detailed analysis of the tools available to the Western Universities and those which are available to, and utilised by Saudi Arabian universities. (c) While most courses are a combination of both an E Learning based approach and the traditional direct classroom approach, emphasis of research here will be on the percentage of courses which have a majority of the former model being used. The extent of usage will also be gauges using a matrix table for each university. (d) Amount of course material available to the students. The details of the students (in terms of numbers) who have actually enrolled for the courses will also throw light on the utility of the course material being provided online. (e) The usage of languages besides English in the material available for students to study form will indicate the user-friendliness of the course material. (f) An analysis of the profile of students who attempted online courseware and those who excelled can also be researched provided such information is made available by the concerned universities. (g) A survey of students and Instructors will be conducted to access the acceptance level of the E Learning paradigm. Both a web based form and physical leaflets will be made to ensure maximum reach and feedback. Numerous details regarding the profiling of the students, their gender, their preferences as also their approach towards the concept can be gauges using the survey forms. The final report will be in the form of a survey report with matrix charts conveying the trends. The method of using surveys to assist the documentary evidences is being used as it is known to provide a concurrence to established facts and also show differences and differentiations to established perceptions. Work Plan The work plan for the project is depicted in the chart below. As is evident, a number of concurrent activities will be done and the final result will depend upon the cumulative effort of the entire process. The literature review will occupy a significant time period as the final form of the report is dependent upon the analysis of the initial draft of the roadmap and the current situation in colleges. Resources The project’s requirements include gathering data from a number of departments and universities and thus entails travelling and permissions to obtain the requisite data sheets. Also, permission to circulate the survey forms in the colleges will be required. There are a few issues regarding the confidentiality of the data being handles as some might impinge upon the privacy of students. Due care will, thus, be meticulously exercised. The collation of the details will require stationary, printing facilities, recording devices to record transcripts and allied instruments. There is a requirement of movement from one college to another and thus transportation will also be required. Financial resources will, of course, be needed to cover the cost of transportation, stationary and survey creation and distribution. Ethics This research does not intend to highlight the achievements of a particular college/department, but is an overall assessment of the present level of the E Learning initiative in the region. The final report, as is the researcher’s aspiration, will constitute an accurate and realistic depiction of the current state of the E Learning process. Confidentiality Confidentiality of all data collated from the survey and other sources will be maintained. The soft and digital copies of the information so collated will not be transferred to any unauthorized person, nor shall it be used for any task for which it is not intended to be used. References (Yang, 2007) The Study and Practice of Web-Based Learning Assessment in Open and Distance Education Yang Xiaotang, China Central Radio & TV University, P. R. China (Hamid, 2006) Investigation on the Infrastructure of Library Services for Distance Education in Payam-e Nour University (P.N.U) in Relation to its Educational Structure Hamid Dalili, Payam-e Nour University, Iran (Hadi et all, 2007) Empowering Asia through General Curriculum Adaptively Based on Cultural Differences in Open and Distance Universities Bibi Zahra Talebi & Hadi Sharif Moghaddam, Payam-e Nour University, Iran (Moneer et all, 2007) Quality Assurance in Distance Higher Education in the Arab Region: A Case Study of Arab Open University Moneer M. Al Otaibi & Abdul Gani, Arab Open University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Reima, 2006) Connecting Students across Universities in Saudi Arabia by Prof. Reima Sado Al-Jarf King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ITC, 2008) http://www.i-tce.org/?TR=Papers on 24 Mar 2008 (ICEAE, 2007) The 2007 International Conference on e-Learning, e-Business, Enterprise Information Systems, and e-Government http://www.world-academy-of-science.org/worldcomp07/ws/EEE07 date 24 Mar 2008 (EBEL, 2005) http://www.ameinfo.com/60834.html Held at Jordan in 2005 Read More