Queen Rania discusses ICT role in education

Her Majesty Queen Rania on Tuesday highlighted the need to have educational systems that are aligned with the job market in the region. “The number one issue for Jordan and for every Arab country is employment and education of our youth,” Queen Rania said at a meeting with representatives of international technology companies on the sidelines of the Arab Education Summit, which concludes on Wednesday. “It is so timely for this conference to take place now to shift people’s attention towards what is really important,” she added at the meeting, which included representatives of Intel, Microsoft, HP, Oracle, Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer and Samsung as well as education solutions provider JP-IK. Discussions covered current partnerships and possible future commitments to a number of Her Majesty's educational initiatives, including the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI), Madrasati and the Queen Rania Teachers Academy (QRTA), according to a statement from Queen Rania's office. “It is so interesting to see that you come together around the issue of education,” the Queen told the executives. “I thank you so much for the promises and the contributions that you make and I really look forward to us exploring areas of collaboration and coming up with ideas that first of all make a huge difference in Jordan, present a case that is measurable for the rest of the world and then replicating it for other countries in the region,” she added. During the meeting, a representative from Intel outlined an "Intel Teach" programme that ensures the use of ICT in classrooms and in creating lesson plans. The representative announced that Intel will also partner with JEI to launch a national one-to-one initiative whereby they would start by providing 10 schools with computers, tablets and other technology. HP's representative highlighted a new collaboration with JEI to establish an HP “innovation lighthouse” as part of an exclusive group of four global education reform projects. The project is expected to be announced during a UN General Assembly meeting this September, the statement said. The JP-Inspiring company will partner with JEI to create a reference classroom model in one of the JEI discovery schools, according to the statement. For this project, JP plans to build a classroom and equip it with the necessary technology, in addition to providing computers for IT labs in various JEI schools. A representative from Oracle announced 10 internships offered to select JEI schools whereby students undertake a two-month practical training programme on using Oracle products. Oracle, the statement said, will also assist JEI and the Education Ministry in an impact assessment study designed to address critical objectives and challenges in the next phase of education initiatives in Jordan. Microsoft announced that it will also be partnering with JEI and Madrasati by furnishing 68 Madrasati schools with multi-point server technology to support 100 labs. Also on Wednesday, the Queen attended part of a summit session on "Teacher Training and Curriculum Development", which discussed the most important skills teachers should obtain. Around 300 participants are attending the summit from across the region, the statement said. From The Jordan Times