During a panel discussion hosted by the Ramadan Council of the Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Awareness and Care Association, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, officials and academics expected from a distance under the title "Challenges of distance education and its repercussions on the family and children during the (Corona) crisis", After the pandemic has passed, the form of education in the UAE will change, to become a hybrid education, with varying proportions of the traditional style, and the virtual pattern remotely according to the rate of recovery from the crisis, suggesting that during the next academic year, its percentage ranges between 70% for traditional education versus 30% for distance education .
Lubna Ali Al Shamsi, Acting Executive Director of the School Operations Sector in the Ministry of Education, revealed that there are six challenges that have faced distance education, and that the Ministry has overcome, and reached flexible and effective solutions to this type of education, through smart platforms that attract different parties of the system, including parents themselves.
In detail, Dahi Khalfan said, he noticed a clear rapprochement between parents and their children and school administrations, pointing out that the families of students are now aware of the burden that the teacher bears, unlike the previous years when they were completely absent from their children's academic journey, pointing out that many parents in The former did not know in any class or educational stage that their children were studying, but in light of the transformation of the state to distance education as a precautionary measure from the “Corona” pandemic, they became more interested in their children, followers of their affairs and communicated with school administrations and this is a matter of gratification, despite the epidemic .
He added that the achievement that was achieved with the completion of the distance education system in the state, and its effective functioning is mainly due to the strong infrastructure established by the state, without which the children's campus would not have this opportunity now, as happens in many countries.
For her part, Lubna Al Shamsi said that the smart education system in the country went through several stages, beginning in 2012 when the Mohammed bin Rashid project for smart education was launched in 50 schools for the seventh grade, to become available to everyone in 2017 and the smart education system later expanded to include home students, then Tamkeen was launched last year for students who are unable to attend school, and finally this year, the smart education environment has been mainstreamed.
She added that education in the Emirati smart school is divided into two types, the first is direct smart education, which requires the presence of both sides of the educational process, from a teacher and a student, and the second is smart self-education that does not require the presence of the teacher, but allows the student to learn through smart technologies.
She pointed out that the smart education system faced six challenges in the beginning, namely increasing the burden on digital servers, which requires continuous development and maintenance, the harmonization of curricula for all seminars, the availability of a qualified teacher to implement smart education efficiently, and the existence of an appropriate evaluation plan for all materials to suit the education plan Smart, providing appropriate textbooks and educational resources for students, as well as having the necessary technologies and maintaining them when needed.
Al Shamsi explained that the Ministry took into account the well-being of students in the Emirati school despite the pandemic, by delivering textbooks to them taking into account following the best guidelines for health and safety, providing remote technical support, and ensuring that every student gets their own device for smart learning, while providing maintenance A quick.
She stated that the most prominent goals that the Ministry is currently seeking to achieve, with regard to students, are the need to attend regularly and safe use of the Internet, and active participation in lessons through direct and indirect smart education platforms. It also aims to encourage parents and involve them in the educational process, diversify teaching and evaluation methods, and speed System response and continuous development.
For her part, the Acting Dean of the College of Education at the Emirates University, Dr. Najwa Al Hosani, said that there are psychological pressures that students certainly face under the current circumstances, such as the 12th grade students who dream about graduating and celebrating the completion of this stage of their lives, traveling and moving to the university they dream of, Emphasizing that the parents are going through a difficult stage, of course, and they must face the pressures and absorb them in order not to pass on to the children. While the headmaster of Salma Al-Ansariya School, Badriya Al-Yasi, mentioned that previously she had 500 students coming to the school but now has 500 schools in every home, noting the cooperation of parents and their eagerness to follow their children and encourage them to learn and attend until they no longer have one absence. For his part, the head of the curricula department at the College of Education at the Emirates University, Dr. Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, said that education after "Corona" will differ radically, there will be no comprehensive curricula, but rather smart curricula that interact with developments, and the transition will take place from the evaluation stage applied in the traditional system, To the evaluation system, i.e. correcting the course of students, there will not be a failed student, because each of them will have an opportunity to develop himself according to his capabilities and talents.
Future technologies
The President of Hamdan Bin Mohamed Smart University, Dr. Mansour Al-Awar, said that the university was a pioneer in the application of smart education for 18 years, stressing that it is a difficult but enjoyable journey.
He added that «the current crisis revealed the importance of smart education, and the provision of large sums of money in petrol stations and reduce crowds and accidents, and the preservation of the environment, as well as other technical advantages».
To that, the director of the Center for Future Studies at Dubai University, Dr. Saeed Khalfan Al Dhaheri, said that the current experience needs to be evaluated at the national level and involve the competent authorities to develop the distance education system and take into account future technologies, so that the matter does not turn into a mere transfer of the traditional curriculum from the book to PC.