MUSCAT:

Present at the ceremony were Yahya bin Saud Al Sulaimi, minister of education; ministers, undersecretaries, officials at the ministry, ITA and Microsoft.

The forum was held with the support of the Ministry of Education and ITA.

The event, designed to bring technological tools to a global network of educators to promote the 21st century teaching techniques, was attended by about 95 teachers and 20 policy-makers. This included 15 of the most innovative teachers from Arabic schools in Oman and their peers from around 13 other Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Speaking on the occasion, Saud bin Salim Al Balushi, undersecretary for education planning and human resources development, said: “The existence of interest in the education sector and the development of human resources are the most fundamental pillars of development in the Sultanate as instructions from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said in this area are credible evidence to the attention paid to this vital area”.

Challenges

“The real challenge faced by the schools and teachers is how to integrate this technology in the educational process and teaching practices so as to achieve a constructive and active learning among students and teachers,” he added.

Al Balushi also stressed on the major role played by Microsoft in promoting individuals to realise their social and economic development by providing access to valuable educational experiences through technology.

“The company seeks to provide an interactive environment for teachers and build confidence in the optimal use of technology to scale their educational works with their students. It also attempts to achieve results commensurate with the requirements of the global markets,” he said.

The Innovative Teachers Forums were developed by Microsoft’s Partners in Learning to promote the regional sharing of innovative practices through the integration of technology as an education tool and to create a network of top innovators in the Arab world.

This event includes representatives from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The annual forums recognise and reward teachers who incorporate innovative practices into their teaching programmes and the student-learning environment.

“Microsoft is committed to helping create a global community of educators and a pool of collective knowledge,” said Ali Faramay, vice-president, Microsoft-Middle East and Africa. All teachers taking part in the Innovative Teachers Forum will have access to this network and be able to share ideas and best practice with their peers. The Innovative Teachers Programme has empowered hundreds of educators to transform educational methods in classrooms around the world.”

The 15 teachers who attended the forum were the winners of a competition amongst educators in Oman conducted by the Ministry of Education. They were judged on the basis of e-content projects, which were displayed at the forum. The overall winner will represent Arabia at the Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum to be held in Brazil in November 2009.

Rare opportunity

Sumaiya Al Maqbali, a teacher from the wilayat of Buraimi, who has been working as IT teacher for five years, said: “The forum gives an exceptional opportunity to share experience with other innovative teachers, which will definitely contribute to the development in the learning process.”

Information technology and education are two of Oman’s main focus areas of development and hosting of this forum will serve to enhance the nation’s initiative to encourage the progress of both sectors.

Previous Arab Innovative Teachers Forums were held in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

Khalid Suleiman Al Siyabi, director-general, Ministry of Education, said: “The Omani government is committed to adopting the latest developments in technology and education methods. This forum helps facilitate this agenda and will be of great benefit to teachers by helping foster an environment of innovation”.

“ITA focuses on the promotion of technological innovation and strengthening the ICR sector. The Innovative Teachers Programme enables teachers to gain access to groundbreaking educational practices in an arena where technology merges so effortlessly with education,” said Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA.

Ahmad Al Dandachi, country manager, Microsoft Oman, is in no doubt that Microsoft is committed to enabling teachers and students to access technology. “We should not only talk on how schools, students and teachers can change, but should also work for it. It’s not about stopping at this event but continuing to go beyond.”

Microsoft gave a further boost to the development of technology in education through its recent partnership with Oman’s Ministry of Education in order to collaborate on constant improvement and creative innovation.

Online service

Oman’s deep commitment to its young students has led to the very first collaborative Learning Solution for K-12 students. Normally reserved for university students, this advanced online service seeks to improve the lives of 650,000 K-12 students in Oman, making them the first pre-university students in the world to engage with this type of technology.

Every student in Oman will be able to upload documents and grant collaboration permission to others. Schools in Oman can now give students and educators the ability to organise research and class assignments in a more organised and efficient manner. Students can use this tool to work together with other classmates and enhance their shared learning experience.

By inspiring and learning from each other, educators around the world are transforming the way their students engage with the world and their learning. Today, more than a million innovative teachers from 86 countries share great ideas, best practices, and professional development resources.