News

In October 2021, E-Learning Supervisor, Mohsin Raza Khan, facilitated an e-learning practitioner certification course accessible to all faculty members. The significance of effective instructional design and the creation of enhanced learning environments is recognized across all colleges within the university.

"The two-week practitioner course is a strategic initiative aimed at equipping faculty members with the necessary knowledge and skills to leverage one of education's fastest-growing areas," said Khan. "Around 60 faculty members participated. We focused extensively on utilizing tools to amplify social interaction, often lacking in an online or remote learning environment."

The course's primary objectives centered on improving student learning, engagement, interaction, and the quality of learning. These goals were concretized through the course's foundational principles, which ensured participants would:

• Design content items presenting various learning activities to bolster student learning.
• Administer authentic assessments to evaluate student knowledge in diverse, significant ways.
• Employ Blackboard communication tools to encourage interaction between students and instructors, students and course content, and peer-to-peer communication.
• Utilize Blackboard Collaborate™ tools effectively to boost student engagement by offering means to share and create knowledge.

In March 2021, and again in parallel with the October 2021 e-learning practitioner course, Khan delivered the Applying the QM Rubric workshop (APPQMR). Offered by the Deanship of E-Learning in partnership with Quality Matters (QM), this workshop equipped participants with knowledge about the QM rubric and annotations.

"Dozens of workshop participants successfully completed ten modules, focusing on the importance of having measurable course and module objectives," said Abdullah Zubain, Director of Instructional Design. He added, "The APPQMR course is a prerequisite for those seeking QM peer reviewer certification. I express my gratitude to Mohsin, our women's campus QM coordinator, Safa Al-Shehri, and our training manager, Ali Alaosi."

The Bachelor of Arts in English program continually strives to expand its educational resources to serve a broader community segment and is committed to consistent improvements in all academic programs. E-learning, a pivotal tool for educational development at the university and other educational institutions throughout the Kingdom, remains central to these objectives.