Toward Empowering Open and Online Education in the Arab World Through OER and MOOCs

Abstract

Based on the various literature, studies, and surveys that the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) conducted in the Arab region, it was obvious to figure out that there are disparate levels of readiness and preparedness in terms of ICT and its use in education in Arab countries. These differences embrace both strategic and implementation aspects, in relation with technological infrastructures, online learning, and open educational resources (OER). Therefore, there exist different levels of awareness and mastery of using and developing tools, online learning material, and OER, especially, with the lack of an explicit vision or policy to empower and encourage such movement in most Arab countries. Aside from some existing digital educational content repositories mostly not open, through some Arab virtual and/or classic universities or initiatives, there is a real gap in terms of OER development and use in Arab countries, particularly in Arabic Language. In that light, being aware of these challenges, ALECSO organization endeavors to promote the effective use of ICT in education. To this end, the ALECSO ICT Department has proposed an entire framework for smart learning empowerment in the Arab region. This framework is based primarily on three key dimensions, namely, open learning, mobile technology, and cloud computing. Each of this highly topical dimension embraces a number of valuable projects. This chapter gives an overview of ALECSO efforts and ongoing ICT projects and activities within that framework toward promoting and empowering open online learning in Arab countries.