Umm Al-Qura University
As a follow-up by Dr. Abdul Khaliq Dawlah, Dean of the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education, a training course on the E-Learning Portal was organized on Wednesday 23rd Safar 1438H (23rd November 2016). The course comprised four main topics: a presentation on the training plan of the Deanship, e-learning basics, curricula management and content building. Dr. Al-As’ad Qasim Al-Samirani took over the presentation of topics 1, 2 and 4, while Dr. Osama Boraiki Al-Jarari presented topic 3.
The event was attended by Dr. Khalid Al-Mutairi, Vice Dean of e-Learning and Distance Education, along with a group of the Deanship’s staff. Moreover, it witnessed a distinguished participation which was evident in the large number of attendees from the various colleges and institutes of Umm Al-Qura University (UQU).
The course was inaugurated by an introduction about the significance of e-learning, the Deanship’s training plan and the details of the Certified Trainer Program. The first topic of the course was then tackled; it revolved around the basics of e-learning and the introduction to the “Learning” portal allowed by UQU for the students as well as staff members. Besides, the basics of e-learning involved an explanation of the various available tools and the contents of the system’s main page such as news, settings, calendar, blog and e-mail. It also encompassed how to access the educational content and use the folders of submissions, discussions and marks.
With regards to curricula management, a detailed explanation of how to publish news through the portal, open discussions with students and set assignments for them in the submissions folder was given.
With reference to the third topic of the course, which was about the e-learning environment and content building, the focus was on how to set the e-curricula content for the students. A simplified explanation of the subject uploading mechanism, the way to split subjects into lectures or according to teaching weeks, as well as the connection of every part of the subject to the previously-explained activities like discussions and submissions folder was also provided.
At the end of the event, Dr. Khalid Al-Mutairi gave a speech in which he extended deep thanks to the attendees. He asserted that the Deanship’s program would basically meet the staff members’ expectations. In addition, he required that the participants would fill in the questionnaire which was prepared for such purpose. He also accentuated that the Deanship would take over the organization of advanced training courses on educational video production and e-curricula designing.
On the other hand, Dr. Abdul Khaliq Dawlah expressed his pleasure with the level of attendance and large participation. He also extended his sincere thanks and gratitude to the President of Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Dr. Bakri Bin M'atooq Assas, and to Prof. Abdulaziz bin Rashad Ali Sorouji, UQU Vice-President for Educational Affairs for their continuous support for the Deanship’s initiatives.
