RIYADH: More women than men are attending the workshops on e-learning that opened Saturday in Riyadh, two days before the official opening of 2nd International Conference on e-Learning and Distance Learning. Dr. Ahmad Turkistani, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the conference, said the Royal Court has approved the proposal to inaugurate Monday the four-day international event under the auspices of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Among the 109 speakers, 38 are leading international experts on e-learning that will present research papers on the occasion that include Jim Wales, founder of Wikipedia, and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of Worldwide Web. Sara Mogbil, public relations specialist and member of the conference's organizing committee, said about 47 Saudi women and 44 men have registered on the first day of the workshop. Mogbil said more are expected to attend Sunday and Monday, the second and final day of the workshops held at two venues in Riyadh. “The women participants, majority of them Saudis, are from all walks of life, including students, teachers and university professors among others,” Mogbil said. The workshop's topics that drew in the Saudi women included “Web designing for effective online courses”, “The power of e-learning for educators”, “Emerging techniques for e-learning” and “British library'. International experts such as Dr. Shirley Waterhouse, senior director of the Office of Academic Excellence and Innovation at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), the world's leading institution of higher education in aviation and aerospace, has convened the workshop on “The power of e-learning for educators”, while Prof. Ron Oliver, pro-vice-chancellor, Teaching and Learning at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, addressed the workshop on “Web designing for effective online courses.” Mona Al-Qahtani, lecturer, Department of English, King Saud University, who is attending as a participant, said she found the workshops educative and organized at a time when the awareness about e-learning is growing among Saudi women. “It is a rare opportunity for us (Saudi women) to an international conference and a series of workshops on e-learning and distance education. I find of particular interest to attend workshop and receive a daylong training by international instructors on e-learning,” said Al-Qahtani, who got her doctor's degree with linguistics as major subject. She said she was glad that “we have something as big as this in Saudi Arabia,” referring to a series of workshops on topics of e-learning and distance education. Al-Qahtani said there has been a growing awareness among the Saudi women, evidenced from the number of participants in the workshops, including students and faculty members. “Saudi women have recognized the significance of e-learning and technological tools that can be introduced at educational institutions both at school and university level,” she said. She said e-learning will have greater impact on overall education system in Saudi Arabia. The Center is also offering the proceedings of the workshop online that could help those Saudi women that could not visit the venue in person, she said. “The quality of workshop is very satisfying and I am very happy to have the opportunity to attend and listen to the international experts on e-learning,” she said. She said the mood among participants was very positive. The trainees were excited and enthusiastic to know more about computer technology, e-learning and distance education, an area of interest comparatively new for Saudi women, she said.
