Software:MOOC Arab World

On May November 2013, the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF) of Jordan, established by Queen Rania al Abdallah of Jordan, launched a non-profit massive open online course (MOOC) portal, Edraak, for the promotion of knowledge in the Arab world. Edraak uses the open-source edX platform by edX, which also used by two global MOOC providers: XuetangX in China and the France Université Numérique.

QRF contracted several regional and international scholars from prestigious universities to design and deliver the courses. Courses typically ran between 3 – 8 weeks. Among the pioneers that joined forces with QRF was the American University of Beirut that contributed two courses.

Courses from QRF are offered primarily in Arabic, but translations of courses from prestigious universities like Harvard and MIT are also available. At its launching, Edraak offered 10 courses.

• Intro to Computer Science & Programming
• Electricity & Circuits
• Journey in the Film Industry
• Children’s Mental Health
• Effective Strategies for Job Search
• Shopping Yourself in the Job Market
• A Successful CV
• Confidence Awareness
• Citizenship in the Arab World
• Arabs: Where from and Where to?
• Business Communication
• Innovation in the Government
• Basic Skills for First Aid

Edraak is also seen as an employee training and recruitment platform for companies in the region. The varied nature of the online courses provides companies the opportunity to upgrade employee skills as workplace demands continuously increases. Through removing the language barriers and making knowledge accessible, Edraak may contribute to decreasing Arab's lagging behind the western world in education in knowledge and digital fluency.