Creative Learning and MOOCs: Harnessing the Technology for a 21st Century Education

Haifa Jamal Al-Lail · Nabil Sultan

tet 2015 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Rreth këtij libri elektronik

This volume brings together a collection of selected (and revised) articles that were presented at the 11th Learning and Technology Conference held by Effat University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in February 2014. The conference is an annual event that explores the latest research and practice in innovative technologies and their impact on education. The contributions to this volume are all authored by practicing academics and research students, with the central theme the realisation that learning and teaching are strongly influenced by technology and innovation. Schools, colleges and academic institutes took the lead in harnessing this technology and created innovative opportunities for learning that did not exist before, one of which being the field of e-Learning. One of the latest innovations in education is the introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which represents an interesting development in the use of technology and innovation by providing opportunities for learning to massive numbers of students (regardless of their location) at almost no cost. This phenomenon is subject to a great deal of analysis in this book, and will provide an interesting read for students, teachers, decision makers and ordinary people. A particular strength of this book is that the contributors are drawn from, and represent, a number of cultural backgrounds, which provides a range of insights that is often missing from other publications on such important subjects.

Rreth autorit

Professor Nabil Sultan is Dean of the College of Business Administration at A’Sharqiyah University, Oman, having previously served as Head of the Division of Management, Business and Enterprise at Suffolk Business School, University Campus Suffolk (UCS), and as Award Director of the International MBA programme at the Business School of Liverpool Hope University. Nabil is an academic with a colourful professional career and an internationally recognised research background. He spent his early working years in the Arab Gulf region and later founded and headed a UK business, before moving to work for the UNDP in Aden and New York and then into academia in the late 1990s. His research is particularly focused on innovation management, information management, knowledge management, cloud computing, leadership, ethics, and the socio-economic developments of the Arabian Peninsula.

Dr Haifa Jamal Al-Lail has been President of Effat University (EU) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia since 1998. She is a native of Saudi Arabia, and received a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Southern California. A winner of the Distinguished Arabian Woman Award in 2005, she is renowned for her expertise in privatization and women empowerment, and has developed and taught undergraduate and graduate courses on topics such as public administration and public policy. Before joining Effat University, Haifa was the first Dean of the Girls’ Campus of King Abdulaziz University, a Visiting Scholar at John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2001, and a participant in the Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration in Bryn Mawr College in 2000.