EDUCATIONAL DILEMMAS UNCOVERED

I have spent over 15 years in the field of teaching, teacher training and school management. I have been interested in observing and understanding how do educational initiatives make a difference in people's lives. When I decided to do my PhD research, it was clear for me That will study issues related to the impact of education on people's lives, well-being and status. This opened my eyes to the concept of “Empowerment”.  Empowerment, a buzzword that has been used and sometimes overused, especially in the field of international development. But to clear my mind from all the tens of definitio, I decided to stick to the World Bank definition: “the capacity of individuals or groups to make purposeful and effective choices in the interest of pursuing a better life for themselves” (Walton, 2003, p.3). Empowerment is a complex term with endless interpretations, due to its multi-contextual (political, socio-cultural, economic…) and multi-dimensional (individual, community,...

I have just finished this 6-week amazing course on coaching and mentoring of teachers in crisis contexts. It was organized by the Carey Institute for Global Good and led by Amazing Dr Rosemary Arca. I really did enjoy it. The Course e xplores how to coach refugee educators; discusses coaching methods and routines that support faculty including examples of effective lessons, weekly messages and lesson comments; and include discussion on reflective practice and provide strategies to support faculty as they learn and implement the practice to deepen reflection on their work. Learning facilitator: Professor Emerita Rosemary Arca, author of the Coaching Field Guide for the City University of New York (CUNY) Reflective Practice Institute.  The course's learning objectives: The framing questions are: 1. What is reflective coaching and why is it a powerful tool? 2. What expertise leads to successful coaching? 3. How is skill in the craft of coaching developed? ...

التعليم الإلكتروني بدون إنترنت للمجتمعات المهمشة منى يونس عقد في الفترة من الخامس إلى السادس من أكتوبر/تشرين الأول الماضي في العاصمة الأميركية واشنطن مؤتمر التعليم عبر تطبيقات المحمول، والذي استهدف عرض وإبراز  التقنيات والحلول المبتكرة  لتوفير التعليم عبر التقنيات الحديثة، ولا سيما الهاتف المحمول . وبحث المؤتمر مواضيع مثل توفير المحتوى لذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة، محتويات تدريبية وداعمة للمعلمين، والتعليم للاجئين والمجتمعات المهمشة. وفي إطار عرض التقنيات الحديثة لتوفير المحتوى التعليمي  للاجئين والمهمشين  في دول العالم الثالث، تم استعراض عدد من التقنيات الحديثة التي استطاعت أن تتغلب على مشاكل غياب البنية التحتية لخطوط الإنترنت، وارتفاع تكلفة المكالمات الهاتفية والأجهزة الإلكترونية مثل الحاسب اللوحي. وكان من بين الحلول المبتكرة التي تم عرضها "كوليبري"، وهو تطبيق تقني لا يعتمد على توصيل المعلومات أو المحتوى من خلال خطوط الإنترنت الثابتة والمستقرة. ويقول خبراء تكنولوجيا التعليم، إن الحلول المبتكرة لتوفير التعليم عبر التقنيات الحديثة ترتكز على محورين: تق...

My PhD research is a real learning journey. I do enjoy it. However, it is time consuming, exhausting and daunting. I have aside, on another space a JOURNAL where I observe my day to day progress, not only on the research side, but the more general side of reaching towards my FAAAAAAAAAAAR Reaching dream--> to be an expert, a real valuable one, in the area of Education in Emergencies... to add to the field and make a difference. This space here is just a synopsis of what my research will tackle. To give you an overview, very quickly though, it falls in the grey area between three fields of enquiry: EiE /  ICT4E / Tertiary  Education.   I will every now and then publish bits and pieces that will be parts of the research.  I hope everyone reaches here, will enjoy reading it  :)

The below is a quick teaser, overview or let us say ABSTRACT of the work in progress.... still a looooooooooooooong way to go, but I really do hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “Refugee access to higher education is less than 1%” (UNHCR, 2014 ).  “Language and Academic Skills and E-Learning Resources programme (LASER)” is one of those emerging solutions. This EU-funded and British Council implemented programme supports over 3000 displaced Syrian students and disadvantaged youth in Jordan to re-integrate them into the higher education system. This project provides language training, academic readiness skills, coaching and distance education programmes. LASER consists of two key components: 1) face-to-face English and academic skills courses, delivered by experienced British Council trainers over 100 hours; and 2) short online courses (MOOCS AND SPOCS) as well as internationally-accredited online degree courses in partnership with Amity University a...