Jordan Times
Sunday, August 29, 2004
e-Curriculum to be
introduced in 15 new pilot schools
By Rami Abdelrahman
AMMAN — The first Jordan Education Initiative (JEI) electronic curriculum will
be introduced in 15 new pilot schools as well as in mathematics labs at 30 other
schools from the start of the coming semester, officials said this week.
The e-Mathematics curriculum for grades one to 12
was first introduced on a trial basis in five pilot schools across Amman during
the last semester, and is now being extended to schools with the necessary ICT
infrastructure, explained JEI Programme Manager Andreas Cox.
The e-Mathematics curriculum introduces logic, geometry, algebra, calculus and
data analysis at all stages of the educational process, starting from the first
grade. Students study the new curriculum using state-of-the-art interactive
technological tools, using animation, presentations, video, photo stills and
computer programmes, in a bid to raise their capabilities and improve
efficiency, explained Carmen Abdel Kader, the e-Math project manager at Rubicon,
the Jordanian company behind the development of this curriculum.
“Students will be receiving lessons set by Jordanian teachers under a framework
determined by the Cisco Learning Institute, which combines curricula methods
used in Jordan, the US, the UK, Singapore, Canada, Australia and other
countries,” said Abdel Kader. “This process has required a change in teaching
methods and intensive computer training for teachers,” she added. Helen Parke,
the content development manager at Cisco Learning Institute, which was also in
charge of preparing teachers for the new curriculum, said teachers at first had
reservations about using modern tools.
But said now they are developing creative solutions, suggesting new teaching
modules and enjoying becoming facilitators rather than simply instructors.
“Now teachers find that they are able to explain things in a more comprehensive
manner and that classes have become a lot more interactive. Teachers also
provide feedback on the efficiency of the new system and suggest different
approaches that may help improve the level of the curriculum,” Abdel Kader said.
Teacher Wajeeh Abu Musa, who has 17 years experience teaching mathematics at
public schools and universities, said the new training process is likely to
become the new educational trend among teachers.
“When the International Computer Driving Licence exam was introduced, all
teachers were hesitant to apply. One year later, most teachers are applying for
the licence. Now, teachers will be looking towards learning how to use the tools
of the Jordan Education Initiative as a way to improve their efficiency, and
possibly their salary and promotion opportunities,” said Abu Musa.
“Teachers are usually very conservative and fear change, but now this is
becoming a reality they have to deal with and they are becoming more creative in
the process,” Abu Musa added.
Abu Musa clarified that the challenges facing teachers are mostly related to
minor computer technical problems, but added that with experience, teachers are
learning how to solve such problems.
Abu Musa quit teaching one year ago to help develop the new curriculum. He said
the curriculum templates were changed four times before the teachers found a
satisfactory template. Now he, among other teachers, will start training more
teachers on the new skills and in turn they will teach others.
The JEI is a public-private partnership to examine and explore innovative ideas
for educational reform to meet the needs of a knowledge-based economy, test
alternative models of delivery, create and facilitate a forum for debate on
educational policy development, and take part in international dialogue on key
themes that impact education in the ever-changing global economy, according to
Emile Qubaisi, director of JEI.
Participating companies in the JEI, a World Economic Forum initiative, include
Aramex, Cisco Systems, Corel Corp., Computer Associates, Dell, DHL, Estarta,
Hewlett Packard, France Telecom, IBM, Intel, Intaj, Menhaj, Microsoft, Reuters,
Rubicon, USAID, Sun Microsystems, Syntax and others. Currently more curricula
are under development, or expected to start soon. According to Cox all curricula
are likely to be fully deployed in two years.
— Around 1.56 million students will head to schools today on the first day of
the scholastic year 2004-2005.
— About 141,000 children are registered this year as first graders.
— Almost 18 million copies of textbooks were distributed to schools.
— There are 3,000 computer labs equipped with 65,000 PCs at 2,553 schools around
the Kingdom.
— The Ministry of Education has trained 53,000 teachers on computer driving.
— 2,100 schools are interconnected via a computer network.