DOHA: A mobile learning application being developed by Qatar University (QU) is expected to change the face of corporate technical training in the country’s oil and gas sector.
The application is designed to help employees familiarise themselves with technical English language terms specific to the energy sector to enhance their professional communication.
The ‘m-learning’ project, which recently received an honourable mention by International e-Learning Association, was awarded a three-year grant under Qatar National Research Fund’s (QNRF) flagship National Priorities Research Programme (NPRP). The research is under way in partnership with Canada’s Athabasca University and is led by Dr Mohamed Ally from the same university.
According to Dr Mohammad Samaka, co-lead researcher for the ‘m-learning’ project, the research, now in its second year, is the first of its kind to be used for professional training in Qatar and possibly the world’s oil and gas sector. There is no history of mobile learning applications utilised to train employees in the work place in Qatar. This project is novel,” said Dr Samaka.
“During our most recent literature review, a hunt for existing applications yielded nothing, indicating that this could be the first mobile learning application under development in the oil and gas industry worldwide.”
Testing of the project was conducted on a pool of around 30 Qatari trainees at five different Qatar Petroleum (QP) sites as a supplementary element to their ongoing corporate training.
“Mobile learning is an evolving style of education delivery and through ‘m-learning’ we are establishing instruction methods to suit professional training at the corporate level,” said Dr Samaka.
“The innovative aspect of this project is the marriage of pedagogy and technology to develop an entire solution for QP’s employee training needs.”
‘m-learning’ uses a blended approach to deliver specialised content on mobile devices with unlimited access to the material, allowing learners to advance at their pace and convenience.
“We are not looking to replace conventional classroom teaching,” explains Dr Samaka.
“‘m-learning’ complements face-to-face teaching by enhancing the educational experience through our developed interactive multimedia content, based on existing course material.”
The QNRF-funded project is aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030; it is a contribution to Qatar’s advancement towards a knowledge-based economy by facilitating learning and knowledge dissemination.
Although ‘m-learning’ is in the fine-tuning stages of further development and testing, Dr Samaka is confident benefits of this tailor-made application could extend beyond the oil and gas industry. “We are testing ‘m-learning’ on QU’s foundation level students learning English.
“I am sure once it is fully developed, ‘m-learning’ can be deployed to other areas of society, at school or university level, due to the nature of its interchangeable and adaptable content,” he added.
The Peninsula
