UAE-based Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) has joined hands with the Unesco Institute for Information Technologies in Education (Unesco IITE), has launched the electronic crash course ‘Be an Online Tutor in 24 Hours.’
Thid comes in line with the UAE’s efforts to impart to the world its leading experiences in upgrading the capabilities of teaching professionals in less than 24 hours to enable them to provide quality education, said a statement from HBMSU.
It will be available in five international languages - English, Russian, French, Spanish and Arabic, it added.
The cooperation looks towards enabling the teaching and training of academic professionals in the language of their own countries to efficiently help make a seamless shift in the distance learning model of teaching with full efficiency.
‘Be an Online Tutor in 24 Hours’ course is a one-of-a-kind initiative for both the Arab region and the rest of the world.
The recent HBMSU online course was launched in a response to the urgent need to employ mechanisms using smart technology to provide education for all, especially in lieu of the current global crisis caused by the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), said the University in a statement.
In recognition to its positive contributions to harnessing and adopting technology to serve education for all, UNESCO IITE has announced HBMSU as a new member of its global communications platform for its initiative, the ‘Combating COVID-19: Together We are On the Move.’
It joins global organizations such as Google, Facebook, Shanghai Open University, The Commonwealth of Learning and other major institutions in the fields of education, information and communication technology.
The launch of the training course in the Russian, French and Spanish languages was held through a teleconference held in the presence of UAE Minister of Education Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi; Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security in Dubai, Chairman of the Board of Governors of HBMSU and Chancellor and Dr Mansoor Al Awar besides officials of UNESCO IITE.
These included Director Professor Tao Zhan and board members Dr. Fengchun Miao, Chief of Unit for Unesco ICT in Education (Unesco HQ); Dr Venkataraman Balaji, VP Commonwealth of Learning - representing Prof Asha Kanwar, President and CEO of Commonwealth of Learning; representatives from Unesco Associated Schools Project Unit (ASPnet) from Unesco HQ.
Al Hammadi said the UAE had become a leading contributor to the growth and development of education, not only at the local level, but also at regional and international arena, given its pioneering educational institutions which possess strong academic, technological and teaching resources and capabilities.
This the result of the unwavering support of the nation’s leaders in education as the path to hone human resources and enable them to lead a knowledge-based nation towards progress even at the global sphere.
The minister commended the University for its high standards of education, its role in promoting smart learning, and the strategic technological and educational resources that it has employed to increase the capability of the education sector and deliver positive outcomes to the sector as a whole.
Prof Zhan said:"We are pleased to inform you that the Russian version of the HBMSU e-learning crash course ‘Be an Online Tutor in 24 Hours’ has been produced in partnership with HBMSU within the UNESCO IITE initiative ‘Combating COVID-19: Together We are On the Move."
"The course allows Russian-speaking teachers to master the most helpful technologies and tools to support distance teaching and learning in the digital age. The course was designed to respond to the rapid shifts in the educational technologies and should contribute to the development of online learning. It was also urged by the outbreak of COVID-19 and quarantine measures and can be used in other emergency situations," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
