GESS Al Nadi Holds Workshops on Online Learning and Digital Education

Gulf Educational Supplies and Solutions, the premiere educational exhibition in the Arab world, successfully hosted a series of workshops on online learning and digital education for its Al Nadi members.

In partnership with British Council, GESS gathered several experts who presented some of the latest trends on digital learning. The event was attended by over 65 Al Nadi members, which included teachers and administrators as well key decision makers of educational institutions throughout the Gulf Region.

Among the featured speakers included Suzanne Mordue, e-Learning Consultant/Global Teacher Development Team, British Council, Istanbul, Turkey who spoke about The Digital World of Learning and Development. She presented a comprehensive look at the effect of technology on learning and learners themselves. The presented likewise incorporated tips and activities for teachers on how they can best integrate technology into the classroom set up.

Learning a new language can be daunting, but one digital app makes it fun. Making Arabic language learning exciting and enjoyable in the classroom was the subject of a presentation conducted by Maria Menezes, of Something Fishy About Arabic, where she discussed a stimulating Arabic language learning app for Apple iOS devices, designed to make learning exciting, involving, experiential and fun.

Tablets have become a ubiquitous device, even inside the classroom. As a result, there has been a number of tablet-based learning platforms develop to harness the device’s potential in helping students learning effectively.  Steven Bambury and Luke Rees of iPad Educators conducted a session on Redefining Tasks Using iPads. During their session, Bambury and Rees showed project-based, child-led and enquiry-type tasks that can be facilitated through fundamental apps like iMovie, Book Creator, Stage, Explain Everything, and Nearpod thus making learning an engaging experience for learners.

Arab e-learning Academy’s Sharifa Hajjat then shared Top 10 Tips for Effective e-Learning Design which provided valuable insights for school administrators on how they can best develop and execute e-learning initiatives in their classrooms.

Finally, MindHyve’s Shawn Frank, Creative Director and Co-Founder and Ronak Dave, Technical Director and Co-Founder, demonstrated their latest apps which could be useful in helping kids improve their semantic skills and hygiene habits. One of the apps - Matchalon - helps kids gain semantic skills through a fun game-like environment; the other – Groomar - is targeted towards kids with special needs, to teach them the importance of attaining grooming skills, in a fun and interactive format.

Through the Al Nadi Club, which currently boasts more than 700 of the top decision makers in the education sector in the Middle East, GESS brings together the Gulf's leading educational stakeholders to find out the latest trends in education as well as enhance networking and business opportunities.