Smart devices to transform Middle East schooling

Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammad, this week launched a smart learning initiative which saw 13,000 students across the emirates receive iPads to enhance their classroom experience, as part of the current trend by Middle East governments to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with other subjects in school curricula.

"Optimum use of technology in our universities and colleges will bring about a qualitative leap in knowledge, enhancing the capabilities of our sons and daughters to address future challenges," he explained, wielding one of the iPads provided to UAE students at the Abu Dhabi's Men's College.

"It will help them start a new career path in science and technology and open up new avenues for innovation and excellence and allow them contribute to building a knowledge-based community."

The new smart learning initiative is set to transform classrooms as well as integrate teachers, students, parents and administrators into a single e-platform. The Dhs1bn 'Mohammad Bin Rashid Smart Learning Initiative' is part of the UAE Vision 2021 and is to be introduced in four stages spanning five years.

Endorsed by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), the UAE capital is now hosting BETT Middle East annually; a regional event as part of the world's leading education sector exhibition and conference.

At the last instalment, over 100 exhibitors showcased e-learning solutions to power the smart school era. Brocade's regional manager, Sufian Dweik, says that the proliferation of modern smart devices shows that the education sector is primed and ready for change.

"The old 'one size fits all' classroom paradigm of a teacher lecturing to a classroom full of students cannot hope to compete with the ways that today's digital natives learn on their own," he said. "Schools at all levels are racing to capture the interest and imagination of students by bringing the innovations of e-learning technologies and applications into the classroom and the curriculum."

"The educational technology revolution is providing a three pronged answer to this question. The first is making sure that students have access to the wealth of information available on demand via the Internet. The second is challenging them with a wide array of innovative new e-learning applications. Last, but definitely not least, is reaching them through the high-speed communications networks that connect students both in and out of the classroom."

Single-person technologies may also quickly mount costs, so we can expect to see technologies catered for whole classrooms and/or multiple users, though huge numbers of students are already adopting the latest smartphones and tablets. It is up to schools and universities to capitalise on the opportunities presented by these technologies.