Edraak announced through a statement that it had partnered with Zain, Orange and Umniah to facilitate students’ access to the platform’s content and learning material.
Following the launch of the Edraak K-12 platform by Her Majesty Queen Rania last week, the partnership with telecommunications companies will allow smartphone users with active mobile lines to browse and download Edraak’s content in Jordan with minimal consumption of Internet bundles, according to the statement.
Edraak said it aims to address the issue of limited Internet availability among students. Surveys conducted by Edraak revealed that most students use mobile phones to browse the Internet, including the Edraak platform. Consequently, students’ use of the Internet is limited to the size of the Internet bundles purchased, the statement pointed out.
Edraak’s content, such as video lectures and interactive questions are available on active mobile lines and use up minimum data, allowing students to benefit from free Arabic learning material.
Zain Jordan’s CEO, Fahad Al Jassim said in the statement, “We are pleased with our collaboration with Edraak, through which we have facilitated our subscribers’ access to the platform’s educational content for free. This step falls in line with our continuous efforts to improve the quality of education in the Kingdom through partnerships with different educational entities that harness various technology tools in education.”
He added that, “We appreciate Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah’s continuous efforts in improving education and her support to students in specific. Such efforts are evident in the various initiatives launched under the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development, as well as in Her Majesty’s regular field visits to inspect the reality of the educational system.”
Orange Jordan's CEO, Terry Marini, said in the statement that the company’s “participation corresponded with its role as a leading national provider of telecommunications services, as well as with its efforts to help bridge the digital divide in the community by providing modern teaching methods based on digital learning”.
He added that Orange Jordan is not only dedicated to realising the Royal Vision, which entails Jordan’s transformation into a knowledge-based society, but also to disseminating the benefits of Internet usage across the Kingdom.
“We are proud to be one of Edraak’s active partners in light of the positive impact it has on our society by providing students with e-learning opportunities in Arabic,” Umniah’s CEO, Ziad Shatara, said in the statement, adding “We believe in the importance of making Arabic educational content available online given its ability to equip students with knowledge to stimulate and inspire excellence and creativity.”
Shireen Yacoub, Edraak’s CEO added that “We hope that these partnerships will serve as a model for the region. The Edraak team will work with telecommunications companies in various Arab countries to expand coverage, and subsequently reach as many school students, teachers and parents as possible so they can make the most of the open educational resources Edraak offers which are aligned with the national curricula and are available in Arabic, free of charge”,
In 2014, Queen Rania launched Edraak as a leading Arabic open online education platform. Edraak aims to revolutionise access and delivery of education in the Arab world by providing high-quality learning opportunities for both adults and school students the statement concluded.
Source: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/edraak-announces-partnership-zain-orange-and-umniah