R) Eid M. Al-Mohammed, General Manager, Al-Jouf University IT department. Wayne Fullerton, General Manager, Cisco Saudi Arabia. (SG photos by Shahid Ali Khan) Fullerton told Saudi Gazette that the findings were from the global survey commissioned by Cisco Systems International BV. The study was conducted by Clarus Research Group, a Washington DC-based research firm, he said. He said the study was conducted through telephone interviews with 500 education administrators and information technology decision-makers in 14 countries across five continents. The countries surveyed were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Fullerton said the findings revealed that 69 percent of the respondents in the Middle East and Africa countries (MEA) believe that technology will have a role in improving how teachers teach as well as improving student engagement. “Only 40 percent believe that technology will help reduce administrative costs,” he said. The most important thing to educators (69 percent) is increasing efficiency either by introducing new IT systems or upgrading the IT infrastructure, he said. When asked which top technology-related issues some schools, colleges and universities in the MEA face today, respondents cited Internet abuse, helping students and faculty work together, cyber security and reducing administrative expenses. “Some other top issues for MEA also include communicating with parents, communicating with students, and taking advantage of new technology,” he said. Fullerton said increasing efficiency, use of more video and broadcasting data-driven assessments were also highly rated among the educators. He said the survey revealed that educators also see technology as a means to “do more with less” and to become more efficient. The educators were assertive about plans to implement more video and embed the technology and media in the learning process. He said college officials across Saudi Arabia as in other countries want to expand online international education. He said looking ahead five years from now, some 65 percent of the college and university officials surveyed say online international programs are a “major opportunity” for them, as those can result in a greater “virtual” student body and can enrich learning opportunities by diversifying faculty, students and viewpoints. The survey result, he said point to a new “connected learning” networked economy, which calls for technology skills development to increase global competitiveness within education. Technology can address these educators' concerns in many ways, he explained. As regards quality offered by education technology providers such as computer companies, online, wireless and other technology products and services, Fullerton said most of the respondents have expressed interest in thought leadership, innovation and creativity. In a related development, Al-Jouf University announced the implementation of state-of-the-art technology offering the students and teaching professionals a virtual online classroom environment. The initiative is part of King Abdullah's keenness to offer effective e-learning and distance education facilities to students living in remote areas of the country. Eid M. Al-Mohammed, General Director, IT Department, Al-Jouf University, told Saudi Gazette that the basic aim is to deliver world-class online education to Saudi students. “Our goal is to become one of the Kingdom's leading universities delivering world-class education,” said Mohammed after announcing that the university has signed an agreement to deploy Cisco WebEx that combines real-time collaboration with voice over IP technology, “so everyone sees the same thing as they converse”. Founded in 2005, Al-Jouf University, in the north of Saudi Arabia, is a modern institution dedicated to scientific research, and teaching, with 19,000 students at 12 colleges that cover disciplines including medicine, engineering, and IT. The latest technology deployed at Al-Jouf University will offer students, lecturers and staff members with an easy way to exchange ideas and information with anyone, anywhere, he said. “Al-Jouf University is following the precedent set by Harvard University in distance education and e-learning,” he added. He said the WebEx technology has transformed the classes to become more engaging and interactive delivering dynamic e-learning, anywhere in the world. “The solution enables teaching professionals to reach more students in less time as well as save money by adopting a simple, powerful e-learning strategy.” The key elements of the technology are that it also allows students to interact in real time through application sharing, chat, and threaded Q&A sessions. “The technology allows an increased retention of teaching material with tools like breakout sessions, hands-on labs, and integrated tests,” he said. Furthermore, he said class attention and performance can be monitored through a visual attention indicator, as well as instant polls, test, and reports. Digital libraries can be created from on-demand recorded lectures that can be accessed for years to come, he added.
