Alan S. Weber · Sihem Hamlaoui Editors E-Learning in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region E-Learning in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region Alan S. Weber • Sihem Hamlaoui Editors E-Learning in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region Editors Alan S. Weber Sihem Hamlaoui Premedical Linguistics Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar Premedical Philipps-Universität Marburg Doha, Qatar Marburg, Hessen, Germany ISBN 978-3-319-68998-2 ISBN 978-3-319-68999-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68999-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017960838 © Springer International Publishing AG 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface This volume is the first comprehensive handbook covering the history, development, and current and future practices of e-learning in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. E-learning (electronic learning) is defined herein as learning facili- tated by computers and online networks such as the Internet and intranets and includes mobile technologies, or m-learning, as well. Earlier definitions of e-learning also involved the concepts of computer-assisted learning, computer-based instruction, Web-based training, and computer-based training, generally meaning any form of study using a computer and educational software, not necessarily involving the Internet or intranets. The term “educational technology” is gaining currency as an umbrella term; however, it should be noted that pens, paper, and blackboards are in fact forms of technology (artificial assistance) used in the classroom. Educational technology remains a useful conceptual term, since computers in the classroom have been fetishized as a panacea for all educational problems, and all technology use by educa- tors from simple to complex should first and foremost serve the interests of learning. Some of the current e-learning teaching models – including blended and purely autonomous virtual learning (formerly known as “self-study”) – grew out of dis- tance education, still employed in universities throughout the world. Common modalities for distance education, which continue in some areas of MENA, included mailing paper-based study materials and later video cassettes, CD-ROMS, and DVDs to students, in addition to radio and television broadcasts sponsored by national governments. Assignments and exercises could be mailed back to instruc- tors for correction, and individual tutorial could take place over the telephone (now videoconferencing, online text chat, or email is commonly used), constituting an early form of blended learning. During the transition to modern modalities of online learning – which now represent an actual paradigm shift in pedagogical practice – the Internet or an intranet was often only used as a substitute for snail mail, i.e., for the distribution of learning materials and as a way of organizing classroom activities through a learning management system, also called a virtual learning environment. Interestingly, a common earlier term for LMS was CMS or course management system, demonstrating the evolution of the LMS from a set of tools designed primarily for instructors to manage a course more efficiently (such as attendance v vi Preface rolls, recording exam scores, distributing announcements, etc.) to a system that is integral to the way students learn and retain information. Both functionalities are critical, since a poorly organized and managed course obviously greatly detracts from efficient learning for students. Technology in the classroom, however, must be integrated into learning goals and learning outcomes according to a pedagogical plan for learning, i.e. using the proper virtual tool to achieve the desired educational objective. Learning in most modern electronic pedagogies is designed to be student- centered. Student-centered learning relies on individual ownership of knowledge and peer learning, two areas in which e-learning has made a strong impact due to the array of synchronous and asynchronous communication and collaborative tools now available. The regional designation Middle East and North Africa (MENA) used for this volume is not entirely satisfactory for a variety of reasons, since originally the terms “Middle East” and “Far East” invoked Europe as the reference point for “the cen- ter.” Also, not all organizations use the term MENA consistently, and the member countries of MENA vary according to different definitions. In this handbook, a World Bank definition of the MENA countries was adopted with Djibouti added as an illustrative end point in ICT and e-learning development. Similar definitions of the region include the Arab States’ United Nations Development Programme (cov- ering the Arabic-speaking-majority nations), the Arab League’s 22 member states, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), with 57 members including both the Muslim-majority nations and nations with significant Muslim populations, including Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia and Malaysia which are cultur- ally distinct from the MENA countries. The IMF has adopted the term MENAP (MENA + Afghanistan + Pakistan) in its reports, adding two other Muslim-majority but non-Arab countries. Possibly the most significant defining feature of MENA is historical and politi- cal: except for the southern Arabian Peninsula, Djibouti, and Iran, all MENA coun- tries formed part of the Roman Empire at one point in time, and during the decline of Rome beginning in the fifth century, the Islamic Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates replaced Roman rule in the countries we now designate as MENA. Arab culture and Islamic religion left a lasting impact on the region, even among non-Arab peoples. In the modern period, regional political power was divided between the Ottoman Empire and various European colonial powers, most notably France and England. Also, a large percentage of the MENA region consists of desert or drylands due to the massive Sahara Desert, Arabian Desert, and Iranian deserts which have led to the development of similar patterns of culture and economic and agricultural devel- opment. For example, although Tuareg and Imazighen peoples of North Africa are linguistically and culturally distinct from Arab Bedouins, these peoples share many cultural similarities due to their similar responses to dry conditions, such as nomadic lifestyle and the use of camels. Due to postcolonial politics, internal civil conflicts, and the redrawing of national boundaries by European powers during the post-1918 period, some geographical boundaries and even entire nation states are the subject of serious disputes within Preface vii the modern MENA region. For example, Western Sahara or the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a disputed territory administered by Morocco, with 37 nations endorsing an indigenous government in exile. Palestine, whose borders are coterminous with the State of Israel, is recognized by some nations as a sovereign state, but not by others. Similar regional disputes arise in the use of the term Arabian Gulf (al-khaleej al-arabi) by some of the Arab-speaking nations to describe what has been known historically before the 1960s as the Persian Gulf (originally sinus persica in Latin translations of Ptolemy and Strabo). Many of the borders of the uninhabited desert regions of MENA were not resolved until the twentieth century; the potential for the discovery of oil or water resources, however, led to more pre- cise fixed boundaries after the first petroleum deposits were discovered in Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. Except for Israel (a mixture of Jewish sects and Palestinian Muslim and Christian Arabs) and Lebanon (with a substantial Christian population), all MENA countries are Muslim-majority nations, and this fact adds another unifying characteristic to the region. According to the Pew Research Center, 93% of the 341 million inhabit- ants of MENA profess Islam. However, regional variations of Islamic practice cre- ate diversity in MENA, with Sunnis, Salafists, Deobandis, Shias, Ibadhis, Sufis, Ismailis, Alawites, etc. all adhering to slightly varying beliefs and customs. Despite its flaws, MENA, therefore, remains a useful concept due to the histori- cal, cultural, and geographical similarities of these nations, and the designation is used widely in academia, media, and government. Plan of the Book Individual e-learning experts from each MENA country were asked to assess e-learning activity in their country with respect to education, business, and govern- ment. In each country study, e-learning is contextualized within the nation’s general history, educational system, ICT ecosystem, e-readiness, and national development plans. Each country study discusses the historical development of e-learning, the scope and aims of e-learning within the country, current practices including pro- grams, regulation, and accreditation, and future prospects for online learning in the country. The chapters are followed by a comprehensive bibliography of major research studies on the topic from the last 15 years – very little literature on e- learning in the region exists before the year 2000. Common patterns that readers will note concerning e-learning development in MENA are that many member states have centralized governments with little regional governance, along with centralized ministries or councils of education which dictate policy and curricula for national e-learning implementation plans. Most MENA nations have developed nationwide plans of varying degrees of effec- tiveness for incorporating ICT into all facets of life, including electronic banking, public e-services (e-government) through comprehensive government portals, edu- cation, and the promotion of the use of the Internet in business. viii Preface E-learning has witnessed explosive growth in the last two decades in MENA. The World Economic Forum in 2017 argued that further investments in ICT training will spur economic development in the region, diversify the economies, and provide critical services for other industries: “to harness the sector’s full potential, and ensure the market’s future skills needs are met, governments across the MENA region should encourage vocational training within the ICT sector itself, and pro- vide support and recognition to specialized capacity-building and certification pro- grammes, such as micro-credentials, addressing the needs of individuals, institutions and industry.” E-learning is particularly well suited for delivering ICT courses online – with occasional blended learning meetings with mentors via videoconfer- encing. E-learning can aid in the training of national workforces without the neces- sity of building new universities and technical colleges and hiring expatriate educators or the costly option of sending students abroad for their education (a currently common solution at the PhD level). Sending students abroad can contrib- ute to brain drain since PhD candidates develop professional and social networks in their host countries while obtaining their degrees and often accept job offers via these networks outside their home country. E-learning, in the form of informal and lifelong learning, can also keep the unemployed “youth bulge” common in many MENA countries engaged in useful activities. One barrier to e-learning development region-wide is the widespread shortage of trained ICT professionals who can set up, customize, and maintain platforms and learning management systems. Education systems will need to adapt to provide more of the basic digital literacy skills which are now required to function in a mod- ern, globalized world. Internet banking, communication through social media apps, contactless payment, and the use of government e-portals for services are now ubiq- uitous in the developed world and require at least a minimal knowledge of comput- ers and the Internet. Although countries like Egypt, Israel, and Turkey are now exporters of ICT services and products, few other MENA countries are able to meet full capacity in this sector with locally trained technicians. Additionally, teacher training programs need to include an online learning com- ponent since e-learning methods will undoubtedly eventually merge with normative teaching praxis and become an expected mode of best-practices learning. Even if institutions cannot afford ICT support for in-house e-learning systems and hardware for students, low-cost Internet-enabled phones or tablets can access the wealth of free and low-cost educational materials now on the Internet which only require an Internet browser and connection. Thus cloud computing (remote server) solutions should become increasingly attractive as an educational option for developing coun- tries. Sites such as Wikipedia, Khan Academy, iTunes U, and MOOCs on platforms such as Coursera, edX, and Udemy should not be ignored by educators in both developed and developing nations. Doha, Qatar Alan S. Weber Acknowledgments Ali Sharaf Al Musawi of Sultan Qaboos University assisted with locating suitable chapter experts. Ross MacDonald and Carol Ann Nonino of the Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar DeLib Library located difficult-to-access articles, books, and con- ference procedia from the Cornell University library system. Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (ictQATAR) provided access to reports, white papers, and statistics on e-learning in the region. Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development in Doha, Qatar, as well as Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar provided financial support through various funding mechanisms during the preparation of this volume. The coeditor Sihem Hamloui diligently assisted with translation, chapter writing, and locating authors. Melissa James and Brinda Megasyamalan of Springer were always available for advice and support while compiling and editing the final manuscript. Finally, I would like to thank the chapter authors who were a pleasure to work with and who patiently revised and corrected their work to high standards of scholarship. ix Contents 1 Algeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Mahieddine Djoudi 2 Bahrain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Nina Abdul Razzak 3 Djibouti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Adem Salhi and Sihem Hamlaoui 4 Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Mahmoud M. El-Khouly 5 Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Kourosh Fathi Vajargah and Esmaeil Jafari 6 Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Ahmed Sameer Alnuaimi 7 Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Yoav Yair 8 Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Mofeed Abumosa and Sawsan Mashal 9 Kuwait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Salah Al-Sharhan 10 Lebanon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Fawzi Baroud 11 Libya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Aisha Ammar Almansuri 12 Morocco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Rachida Ajhoun and Najima Daoudi xi