The participation of IT Department in Education, Engineering Education and Instruction Technology Conference - Qatar University 

The Information Technology Department of the University of Technology and Applied Science-Ibri participated in the Education, Engineering Education and Instruction Technology Conference, Qatar University, 20-23 February 2021. The conference included about 75 papers on different themes.

The Information Technology Department participated in two papers. Ms Nasim Al Balushi (Lecturer) presented her paper on “Using Online Assessments to Simulate Online Learning and The Achievement of Course Outcomes”. The abstract of her paper is in the history of development economics, where education has been thought of as a key factor in the basis of development. Extensive research has shown the importance of an effective assessment to achieve the outcomes of the course and assess the students based on the outcomes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most academic institutions use online learning, thus there is a need for an effective mechanism of assessments to ensure the understanding of the students for the materials as the online teaching method is a new strategy for some institutions, and previously the assessments were conducted in the campus. Through some effective online assessment methodologies, academic institutions can qualify graduates to meet the needs of the labour market. 

Dr Qais Al Janabi (Lecturer) and Dr Amal Al Abri (Head of IT) presented a paper titled “Toward an Adaptive MOOC Based on Omani Learners Learning Preferences”. The abstract of the presented paper is Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and the concept is a significant recent development in distance learning and online course delivery. These provide distance learners with access to a vast amount of knowledge in an almost free and open environment. MOOCs are becoming a hot research topic recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a great deal of online and asynchronous learning. Therefore, MOOCs’ concepts and methods have been intensively investigated, and it has become a trending research area aiming for radical changes to suit students of different levels of education. Despite the fast-growing and noble reputation gained in a short time and MOOCs attracting an enormous number of users, some limitations still need to be considered and managed to enhance such an open model of learning. In this study, MOOCs’ major issues will be highlighted based on reviewing some of the published related works.