Benchmark Education, led by Gihan El-Rashidy, Founder and CEO, and Tatweer Misr led by Dr. Ahmed Shalaby, President and CEO, opened numerous opportunities for educators in order to meet experts in Educational Technology. The main focus was on STEM, STEAM, and STREAM through the Learning Design and Technology-Based Education Conference, to equip teaching professionals with the right tools, advanced technology, improved instructional strategies, and internationally accredited certifications, bringing in well-chosen international experts in the subject matter.
The attendees, prestigious teachers and school leaders from all over Egypt, were allowed to interact with and learn from like-minded individuals exploring the fundamentals of digital technology, robotics, and gamification: for equitable learning practices, strong learning design, and technology skills. Attendees were also given the golden chance to claim their event accreditation CPD hours from the CPD Standards Office.
Gihan El-Rashidy, Founder and CEO of Benchmark Education, said: “Our 55 years of experience in education empowered us to innovate and implement a diversity of school systems, like the IGCSE, American Diploma, and the IB, while acquiring a variety of accreditations such as Middle States Association Accreditation, Cognia (previously known as AdvancED), the IB Diploma Programme, and the University of Cambridge. We were also granted affiliations with leading educational institutions, such as the University of Northern Iowa, MSACESS, Search Associates, UCAS, Edexcel, College Board SAT, and DELF/DALF. Such granted affiliations will enable us to apply and implement more programs in the schools we run by providing development training, and teaching certifications and accreditations.”
Training teachers
She added: “We established Benchmark Academy to comprehensively train teachers, heads of departments, and school leaders adding more creativity to operate and achieve the best results. We do this employing edutech, tools, strategies, and finally internationally accredited certifications from the CPD Standards Office. This conference addresses core needs in school management and this was the perfect environment to pave the road for true “Change-Makers” within our schools.”
Dr. Ahmed Shalaby, President and CEO of Tatweer Misr, said: “At Tatweer Misr, education and entrepreneurship have always been integral to our strategy, as we believe they are a vital catalyst towards a sustainable and comprehensive future. For that reason, early in 2018 we took the decision to make education the essence of our mixed-use project “Bloomfields” in new Cairo, designed to become Egypt’s first ‘College Town’ and dedicated to host an educational zone at its heart with a vision to enhance the educational ecosystem not only in Egypt but also in the Middle East and North Africa.”
Dr. Ahmed Shalaby explained: “accordingly, we partnered with leading local and international educational institutions like Benchmark Education among others who share the same vision and values related to transforming education with the aim of raising the leaders of the future who will push Egypt to development and prosperity.” He added: “Hand-in-hand Tatweer Misr and Benchmark Education will continue to open numerous opportunities to ensure diversity in education with a complete ecosystem: leading the education scene in Egypt, honoring our environmental and social responsibilities towards the community at large, and finally allowing our region access to world-class speakers in this field.”
The event’s significance was solidified by the lineup of international leaders in education who were the actual speakers at the event in the presence of prominent academic professionals enriching the attendees’ experience with activities ranging from various lectures and workshops to panel discussions held by international educational experts.
Effective assessment
Dr. Mark LaCelle-Peterson, President and CEO of AAQEP, certified international instructor, presented a lecture on effective assessment in a digital era. There were enriching sessions that covered several topics such as the impact of gamification learning and students’ perspective on mobile learning presented by Mrs. Joyce Kyles, a well-known speaker and education consultant.
Dr. Hebba El-Sherif presented “creating an inclusive environment via technology and differentiation in the era of technology.” Mr. Erik Endress, CEO and Co-Founder of OnScene Technologies, presented “safety in the digital world.” Dr. Rita Maselli, considered a “people productivity” expert and change agent, presented “investigation of leading in the management and digital transformation.” And finally there were other sessions among which was “STEM/STEAM” presented by Rhonda Goldman, a certified professional and science coach.
Benchmark Education is the number 1 leader in educational management systems, with over 60 years of rich expertise, now bringing the latest educational systems with international trending topics to an annual leading educational conference in the Middle East. This comes in partnership with Tatweer Misr, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NIJT), the CPD Standards Office, Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools, Logiscool, and Explore ELearning. It is also sponsored by Bloomfields.