The UAE is a progressive country with ambitious goals. It’s unprecedented and rapid economic growth has transformed the small country into a regional economic hub and is considered the gateway to the Arab world. The UAE’s journey towards online learning has been ongoing and there are arguments to suggest that they are paving the way in terms of innovation in the Middle East (Gulf News, 2017). Below the infographic timeline and Twitter feed provide a snapshot of the how online learning is progressing in the UAE.

<div class="canva-embed" data-height-ratio="2.5" data-design-id="DAC2IoCos8w" style="padding:250% 5px 5px 5px;background:rgba(0,0,0,0.03);border-radius:8px;"></div><script async src="https://sdk.canva.com/v1/embed.js"></script><a href="https://www.canva.com/design/DAC2IoCos8w/view?utm_content=DAC2IoCos8w&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=embeds&utm_source=link" target="_blank">Online LearningGCC</a> by <a href="https://www.canva.com/claire.hazenberg?utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=embeds&utm_source=link" target="_blank">Claire Hazenberg</a>
<a class="twitter-moment" href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/994918436944908288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"data-limit="7">UAE Online Learning</a> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The most significant step towards online learning was in 2010 when His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Smart Learning initiative. The program began in 14 public schools and was aimed at providing students with access to online learning programs, schools with HP infrastructure and devices and teacher development opportunities to deliver “Smart Learning” (Galil, 2014).

Smart Learning is an approach that requires educational institutions to continuously develop to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the information technology era (Taleba & Hassanzadehb, 2014). In accordance with the 2021 Vision, all schools and universities should be using Smart Learning approaches such online learning as as a basis for all teaching, learning and research (Vision 2021, n.d.).

[The Business Value Exchange]. (2014, Jul, 15). Dubai’s Smart Learning Program. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ6vJuO-LD8

[SabaConsultants]. (2013, Nov, 25). Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxpgxZYRCS4

As a result of the speed and rise of online learning practices, it is believed there is a misconception that online learning practices, tools and pedagogies can transcend geographical and cultural lines. Goodfellow & Lamy (2009) reinforces this idea by arguing that neither learning technologies or technology based pedagogies are culturally neutral. Moore (2006) extends this idea to suggests that digital learning environments are more susceptible to cultural conflicts compared to traditional educational environments. It is essential when discussing the UAE’s journey to consider how local cultural values and norms impact on the integration and use of online learning. Almutairi (2008) states that students’ cultural background influences their perception and performance in online learning environments. Thus making it imperative for countries such as the UAE, who are striving towards evolving their education systems, to ensure they are using contextualised research to inform policy.

In an effort to contextualise and culturalise online learning in the Middle East region, there has been an increase in studies that have focused on the perspectives of Arab learners and exploring barriers specific to learners in this region. The following articles provide a current and accurate reflection of the types of studies and lines of inquiry being followed in the UAE.

Alkaabi et al. (2016) is a study currently in progress investigating how individual, social and cultural factors influence students ability to adapt to a blended learning environment. The study aims to discover factors that are universal as well as those specific to UAE students, identifying cross-cultural implications.

Khan et al. (2015) explored the barriers and solutions to adopting blended learning practices in low to middle income families in the. Phase One of this study highlighted the need and benefits of blended learning practices and recommended Phase Two of the study investigate using the proposed Triad Stakeholder Model (Community, school and parents) to inform future programming. 

Kemp (2013) explores how university students experience Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) while engaging in blended learning practices. UA is defined as ‘‘the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations’’ (Hofstede,  2010, p. 191).

Alrawi et al. 2012 conducted research on the barriers of LMS adaptation amongst high education academics. The interviews included 31 participants. It was concluded that lack of motivation and induction programs are the main barriers to fruitful extraction of knowledge management in LMS required for the facilitation of student blended learning experiences.

Ati & Guessoum (2010) explored eLearning practices in Higher education. They conducted a case study of the American University of Sharjah who were considered “early adopters” of online learning practices. They identified two emerging themes being a distrust of online examination schemes, and the “Likening of large-scale online dissemination of knowledge to a mass-production assembly line process, where a division of labour between educators and communications specialists replaces the more craft-oriented approach of face-to-face education (pp. 1024).

There are several themes and trends emerging from the UAE online learning literature landscape. Firsty most studies seem to be focusing on a blended learning approach, this is possibly in response to the UAE Vision 2021 to establish Smart Schools that using a smart learning approach. Secondly the research also indicates a strong direction towards higher education, with only recent emerging studies such as Khan et al. (2015) exploring practices in primary and secondary education.

From an analysis of the research outlined above and from other studies within the Middle Eastern region, three barriers to the succesful integration of online learning practices within the UAE havebeen indentified. The impacts of high-context culture communication styles,  Arab student perspectives and developing learning repositories and the need for teacher development. Each of these wil be discussed in detail, highlighting how they impact on the integrating online learning practices in the UAE.

Culture and communication? How does that impact on online learning?
References

Alkaabi, A, S., Albion, P. & Redmond, P (2016) Blended learning in the United Arab Emirates: development of an adaptability model. Asia Pacific Journal of Contemporary Education and Communication Technology, 2 (1). 64-86.

Alrawi, K., Ibrahim, M. and Alrawi, W. (2012). The Interactions Between Knowledge Management and e-Learning: Barriers and Solutions. in 5th Conference on e-Learning Excellence in the Middle East Dubai, UAE. 318-327.

Ati, M. & Guessoum, N. (2010). Chapter 41: E-Learning in the United Arab Emirates, in  E-Learning Practices. pp. 1009-1027) Retrieved from http://www.elearning.ro/resources/Elearning_Practices_Anadolu2010_vol2.pdf

Goodfellow, R., & Lamy, N. (2009). Introduction: a frame for the discussion of learning cultures. In R. Goodfellow & M.-N. Lamy (Eds.), Learning Cultures in Online Education. Continuum Studies in Education. 1–14. London: Continuum Books.

Galil, T. (2014). The Mohammed bin Rashid’s Smart Learning Program (SLP) Initiative in the Ministry of Education and its impact on English language performance in Cycle2 Classes, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The British University in Dubai. (Dissertation). Retrieved from http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/670.

Gulf News. (2017, June, 17). UAE leading Arab world in innovation. Gulf News. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/business/economy/uae-leading-arab-world-in-innovation-1.2045144

Hazenberg, C. (2018). A Brief History of Online Learning UAE. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/clairehazenberg/inf530/digital-essay/the-uae-online-learning/

Hofstede, G. (2010). Cultures and Organizations. McGraw-Hill Publishing.

Kemp, L. (2013). Introducing blended learning: An experience of uncertainty for students in the United Arab Emirates. Research in Learning Technology, 21. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=0E72E26B4A2C18DB448C63B0CB6BD08F?doi=10.1.1.668.8713&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Khan, Z. Reza., Huda, N. & Mulani, V. (2015) Barriers and solutions to adopting blended‐learning in private schools for students from low‐income families. e-Learning Excellence: Innovation Arabia, Hamdan bin Mohammad Rashid Smart University. pp. 472-494.

Moore, M. (2006). Editorial. The American Journal of Distance Education. 20(1), 1-5.

Taleba, Z. & Hassanzadehb, F. (2014). Toward Smart School: A Comparison between Smart School and Traditional School for Mathematics Learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 171 ( 2015 ) 90 – 95. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.093.

Vision. (n.d.). United in Knowledge. Retrieved from https://www.vision2021.ae/en/uae-vision/list/united-in-knowledge