The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Microsoft Gulf, has conducted several training courses for IT managers and educators from various government schools in UAE; a step that forms a part of the efforts exerted by the Ministry and Microsoft to create useful and comprehensive experiences that enhance lifelong learning, focusing on utilizing technology to support learning experiences.
Within the framework of this active partnership, it is expected that according to the plans of the Ministry of Education, the trainers will train 5000 teachers in next April on a series of programs and specialized courses in various fields of education and science.
HE Engineer Abdulrahman Al Hammadi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Supervision and Support Services, said that the training initiative comes within the framework of the agreement between the Ministry of Education and Microsoft to encourage the use of best technical practices in education, enabling the teachers and students to collaborate, build and exchange in entirely new ways.
Al Hammadi said that the implementation of the courses took place in the new Teachers Training Institute in Ajman to utilize the advantages, services and facilities provided by the Institute in terms of the provision of the latest technology and high equipment to receive courses of various kinds and provide an environment conducive to creativity, innovation and learning for trainees.
On her side, Khawla Al Hosani, Director of the Training and Professional Development Department, stressed the importance and necessity of educators' acquiring modern technical skills, in addition to investing in Ministry's cadres to become teachers productive of knowledge using the appropriate technology.
The focus, as per Al Hosani, is on training vice presidents on how to use Office 365 and OneNote and how these applications can change teaching methods by creating innovative learning experiences, in addition to training special education professionals on tools that support teaching this category in the educational situation. Also, teachers of science and mathematics were trained on tools to enhance the teaching process of the subjects. As for the training of trainers, the Ministry of Education plans to use them to train 5,000 teachers in April, pointing out that those enrolled in the above programs have praised Microsoft educational programs that enable the community of educators to learn, share and develop.
She then added that Microsoft Schools Program is an enterprise-wide initiative that aims to improve teaching and learning methods through the use of information technology, focusing on four critical points: leadership, school capacity, teaching and learning and technical capability. At the same time, "MEC" program is a hub that helps teachers to communicate and collaborate through innovative practices, in addition to helping them with personal training and earning badges and certificates.
"Technology cannot replace the key role played by teachers, but it can make teachers perform better," said Ahmed Amin Ashour, Director of Education at Microsoft Gulf. "Hence, it is important that today's technology becomes a key partner that supports teachers' progress to ensure the success of our students. We are so eager to work with the Ministry of Education and provide full support to the teachers and educators in their journey to redefine the best learning methods within and outside the classroom, which would enable them to achieve their vision of achieving sustainable development for the UAE community.
19/03/2017