NEWS
UoB Heads Towards Enhancing the Use of Electronic Educational Tools
60% Of the Exams Were Conducted Using the Exam Monitoring System
UoB Heads Towards Enhancing the Use of Electronic Educational Tools
Dr. Fai Bint Abdullah: Students and Professors Have Adapted to the Requirements of E-Learning
After the adoption of full e-learning to keep distance under the Corona pandemic (Covid-19), the University of Bahrain (UoB) confirmed its keenness to enhance the use of electronic educational tools by professors and students, with the accumulation of their experiences that have grown during the past four semesters.
The Director of the E-Learning Center at the University, Dr. Sheikha Fai bint Abdullah Al Khalifa, announced that about 60% of the final exams for different academic courses were conducted through the Exam Monitoring System (Respondus), to which students and professors adapted well, noting that most of the remaining courses did rely on having theoretical exams, and thus did not need to use the examination control system. Rather, their evaluation methods varied as they relied on applications, projects, or other methods.
As UoB uses the Blackboard Learning Management System, which provides several educational services and tools for students and faculty members, and the University acquired the upgraded version of the system last year.
It is worth mentioning that the University concluded the final exams for the second semester of the academic year 2020/2021 on Tuesday (8 June 2021).
According to Dr. Fai Bint Abdullah, the number of exams done by students through the examination control system in the second semester exceeded 111,000 exams during the ten examination days, which extended from the 29th of May to the 8th of June 2021.
Moreover, she stated that “Students and faculty members are accustomed to using the examination control system, and it is now a seamless process for them, as the E-Learning Center received limited communications compared to previous semesters,” noting that “the weak Internet connection is a challenge for some students.”
Furthermore, the Director of the E-Learning Center indicated that the University will work during the next academic year on expanding the use of educational tools, such as the service to facilitate electronic content access (Ally), and the information analysis tool, which shall help to obtain detailed information on the progress of the educational process, and contribute, in turn, to improving and sustaining it.
Dr. Fai mentioned that among the upcoming projects is the electronic link between the course outputs and the scientific content on the platform, to help professors and students define and understand the course objectives, outputs, and whether its content meets the set goals.
While she stressed that the University is keen to make the most of the e-learning process, which has contributed to accelerating the distance education strategy, developing the skills of professors and students, and promoting self-learning.
Regarding the upgraded Blackboard system, Dr. Fai Bint Abdullah Al Khalifa stated that “The University took the decision to acquire the upgraded version of the program at the right time, as it facilitated the process of taking exams for all students and allowed them to use the latest educational tools.”
