A book signing event for "Convert Problems into Opportunities" by Mr. Mohammed Shalabi was held in "More then a Cafe`" on March 18, 2012. The author gave a lecture and talked about the concepts of the book with approximately 25 readers who were present at the event.
The final certificate ceremony for the English Language Teachers’ Methodology program given to 75 of Al Jubail Royal Commission’s elementary, intermediate and high school teachers, held October 1st – 19th, brought to a close three weeks of Continuing Professional Development by Obeikan Education’s Facilitator, Pat McLaughlin.
This successful professional development program was held during the first three weeks of October and focused on English Language Teaching Methodology for three separate groups of male elementary, intermediate and secondary school teachers selected from the 21 schools managed by the Royal Commission in Al Jubail. Each week’s program was formally opened by the Head of the Training Section for the Royal Commission, Mr. Saad Al Shahrani. Each group was given 20 hours of Professional Development, with each week concluding with a small certificate ceremony.
The program, held at the Royal Commission’s Training Center located on the Jubail Technical Institute campus, covered:
§ The Jubail Approach to Teaching, and Learning
§ The Skills Re-visited
§ Lesson preparation
§ Teaching and Assessment: The Jubail Approach to Assessment
§ The Teaching of Vocabulary
§ The Teaching of Grammar
§ Motivation.
The highlight of the course was the preparation by the participants and the facilitator of a draft Charter for English Language Teaching and Learning at Al Jubail Elementary, Intermediate and Secondary Schools and a draft Charter for English Language Assessment at Al Jubail Elementary, Intermediate and Secondary Schools for presentation to the Al Jubail Schools’ Education Department.
Pat McLaughlin, a Professional Development Manager at Obeikan Education and the Facilitator of this program, said, “It is intended that the Charter will underpin, update and upgrade the teaching and learning of English in Al Jubail schools.” He went on to say that the charter will also, “help determine a more relevant and up-to-date syllabus that reflects the teaching of English in the 21st century, and help develop a more enlightened approach to the assessment of English in Al Jubail schools.”
Certificates were given to the course participants on the final day of each week’s course during a small ceremony attended by Saied Al Kaffhan (Director of Education Services, Al Jubail Royal Commission), Saad Al Shahrani (Training Section Head, Al Jubail Royal Commission), Pat McLaughlin (Professional Development Manager and Program Facilitator, Obeikan Education) and Warren Ritson (Business Development Manager, Obeikan Education).
Math & Science revised books for the new school year
September 2011
We are proud to release this year’s (1432-1433) revised edition of the core subjects of mathematics and sciences for grades: 1st, 4th, and 7th. Several modifications and development have been carried. One of the highlighted additions is the teachers’ supplementary material which is enriched with diversified educational content.
In addition, we have distributed the experimental editions for grades: 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 11th. Feedback was received after conducting trials in the academic year of (1431-1432) the basic materials for the classes include the books, student and teacher activity books. This year (1432-1433) is the final experimentation year for 12th grade. The testing of the basic material will be implemented in the next academic year (1433-1434), in all public schools.
Obeikan Education Offered Expert Educational Solutions at International Conference in Riyadh
19-22 March 2011
Obeikan Education and its partners participated in an international public education forum March 19-22 in Riyadh, delivering expert presentations and guidance on a variety of technology and curricular solutions, including its K-12 math and science project, children’s audio books, a curriculum system for kindergarten, and an interactive whiteboard.
Organized by the Ministry of Education, the four-day forum attracted more than 10,000 attendees and brought together leading experts in education from around the world.
Obeikan's global partners – Cambridge University Press, Teaching Strategies International, and SMART – set up separate booths to provide maximum exposure to Obeikan’s unique blend of expertise to fulfill a spectrum of educational initiatives now being undertaken by the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Obeikan, a silver sponsor of the conference, showcased its math and science project, displaying a video on a SMART board to explain the process of developing curricula, in a special area designated for the Saudi education ministry. Obeikan’s math and science books, which feature manipulative objects for math games, word problems, and logic puzzles, have been adopted throughout the Middle East. Obeikan Education is distributing its math and science curriculum through a relationship it has established with the Saudi Ministry of Education and the education ministry in Bahrain through an alliance with McGraw Hill Education.
Teaching Strategies International displayed its knowledge-building resources for kindergarten teachers, teaching guides, and several children’s books, which are part of a system called The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool. Teaching Strategies also showcased another system to assess the learning and development of children from birth through kindergarten. Teaching Strategies was the only exhibitor to focus exclusively on the preschool market at the conference.
Another hit with the attendees was the Wonder Tales Box, a digital photo frame device that includes 10 audio and video stories for children, and the e-learning Twig video, which [I don’t know what Twig is, a portal? But it should be described.
SMART attended 2nd International Conference of E-Learning and distance Education in Riyadh
21st February 2011
Obeikan - the authorized distributor in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for SMART Technologies, the global leader in interactive whiteboards - will be attending the Second International Conference of E-Learning and Distance Education (eLi 2011) in Riyadh from 21 - 24 February 2011, where they will showcase the wide range of education products SMART offers.
Under the patronage of his Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the Governor of Riyadh region, eLi 2011 follows on from the highly successful inaugural conference last year. Supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and the National Centre for E-Learning and Distance Education, the three-day conference offers a platform to promote and strengthen co-operation between all education-focused stakeholders by bringing together academics, experts and leaders in e-learning with a view to achieving the developmental aims set out by the Ministry of Higher Education.
“Since our appointment in September 2009, we have been working as the authorised distributor in Saudi Arabia for SMART Technologies, enabling us to bring to the Kingdom the company’s pioneering education solutions” said David Pottinger Managing Director, Obeikan Education. “Given the importance of e-learning to a modern and integrated education system, we have witnessed both rapid and successive developments in the field of this particular technology. For over 20 years, SMART has pioneered interactive and collaborative technologies, creating innovative solutions to assist educators in improving student learning outcomes. eLi 2011 offers us the perfect opportunity to demonstrate some of these solutions to key stakeholders from the Kingdom.”
SMART has a diverse range of education solutions to support all learning styles and learning environments. The technology is fully scalable and interoperable delivering robust solutions to guarantee a rich classroom experience; including the SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard, the SMART Table™ interactive learning center for younger K-3 learners, SMART Slate™ wireless slate, SMART Response™ interactive response systems for performance assessment, SMART Audio™ classroom amplification system and the SMART Document Camera™ to capture physical content in 2D and 3D.