One of the most important tasks still to be performed in order to optimize learning outcomes is to make all curricula available online. Several years ago the Massachusetts institute of Technology began to put their most important courses online for free. At the time this caused several raised eyebrows in the academic world which was used to the idea that “knowledge is power”. In retrospect, this was a brilliant move because the most important thing that a training or educational institution can provide is not content but inspiration to accept the challenge of learning independently. This idea is of particular importance to the Saudi learning landscape where the pre-university education system has traditionally put emphasis on the rote learning of facts rather than encouraging self-reliance in learning.
How has T&CD fared in this shift? The results are mixed. One group, the job skills e-dev group in Ras Tanura has produced results far beyond what could be expected for its relatively small size. This has been in large part due to the group leader who has now left the company. Furthermore the Ras Tanura job skills e-dev group has not co-ordinated its efforts with that of the Dhahran-based Academic Curriculum Development Group the consequence of which is that the two groups that should be spearheading the drive to the new learning culture are going in their own separate directions rather than pooling resources. It is strongly recommended that cohesion and co-operation between these two crucial groups be increased.
Four years ago, the T&CD general manager, asked for all curriculum to be put online “within a year”. This has not happened and an investigation needs to launched into why.
