Organized by the National Center for E-Learning and Distance Learning, the four-day conference is being held at Al-Faisaliah Hotel under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. The theme of this year's conference is “Unique Learning for the Next Generation.”
Around 109 experts and specialists from 17 countries, including founder of Wikipedia Jim Wales, inventor of the World Wide Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and American Internet entrepreneur and cofounder and promoter of Wikipedia Jimmy Donal Wales, are participating in the event.
Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Ohali, deputy minister of higher education for academic affairs, called for concerted efforts among educational institutions in the public and private sectors to benefit from e-learning and distance learning. “E-learning is a source of vital support to the Kingdom’s educational system,” he added.
“E-learning is considered a major component of an integrated education system in modern societies. It represents an advanced stage in the development of a knowledge-based society. Today, the global trend toward e-learning is associated with rapid and successive developments in the field of technology.”
The areas of discussion covers several main fields, including e-learning principles and applications, international case studies, designing and building e-learning contents, modern technologies and programs, administration and implementation of e-learning, quality in e-learning and distance education, evaluation and electronic measuring, the deputy minister said.
Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Megren, advisor to the Ministry of Higher Education and director of the National Center for E-Learning and Distance Learning, clarified that out of the 415 research papers received by the conference’s scientific committee, only 70 were accepted for presentation.
As a prelude to the conference, the center organized 24 workshops over the last two days prior to the official opening of the event. More than 100 women attended the workshops, which dealt with topics on e-learning and distance education.
National and international experts in the field of e-learning are slated to address a large audience of more than 1,000 delegates, comprising professors, instructors, teachers, students and their parents on various topics involving e-learning and distance education, which is considered the major component for an integrated education system in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Anqari also opened an exhibition on e-learning being held concurrently with the conference. The show comprised 60 exhibitors, including 33 universities, displaying their latest products and services in the field of e-learning and distance education.
