Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
The university, represented by the Deanship of E-learning and Distance Learning, concluded its special program today, Sunday, to orient faculty members and students on using the “Blackboard” learning management system for the current academic semester. The program included several specialized training courses, presented by qualified trainers for such programs, distributed over 7 days from the 21st to the 28th of Muharram 1443 AH.
The Deanship, through this program, has been keen to offer a selected group of preparatory courses that meet the needs of faculty and students, and help them carry out their basic tasks related to teaching and learning. In addition, it keeps pace with the university's current stage aspirations in terms of expanding the use of e-learning in all its programs and applications to develop the educational process and address its challenges.
From his side, Dr. Saad Al-Dosari, Dean of E-learning and Distance Education at the university, explained that the orientation program included four diverse training programs, each covering one of the essential aspects of academic work in the current semester. He stated that a program was presented to orient faculty members on the basic skills of teaching through the E-learning Management System (Blackboard) in Arabic, and in English for non-Arabic speaking members. He indicated that the program contained nine diverse training courses that address the various tasks and skills required at this stage, including: virtual classrooms, teaching with fully online courses, assessments and question banks, online course reports, as well as grade center tools in online courses, and other courses that contribute to increasing teaching effectiveness.
Dr. Al-Dossary added: "A program was presented to prepare students for studying via the e-learning management system (Blackboard); it included all the skills a student needs during their studies on this system, such as: logging into the system, accessing courses, participating in virtual classrooms, submitting assignments, participating in discussions, taking electronic exams, and contacting technical support, in addition to other skills that help increase interaction and refine skills during remote learning. He pointed out that the Deanship offered students sixteen training courses in both morning and evening sessions during this period to meet the needs of all students.".
Dr. Al-Dosari explained that the Deanship also offered a program to prepare faculty members nominated to teach in “Distance Learning Diplomas” via the e-learning management system. The program included training on all the necessary skills through a specialized program that lasted three days from 21-23 Muharram 1443 AH. In addition, there was a program to prepare students in Distance Learning Diplomas for studying via the “Blackboard” system, which covered the various skills needed to enable students to learn and study smoothly and easily in the distance learning process through special courses over 4 days from 27-30 Muharram 1443 AH.
Al-Dosari affirmed that this program has significantly contributed to enhancing the educational process and reducing obstacles, especially at the beginning of the academic year. It has been well-received by the participating professors and students. He emphasized that the Deanship is always keen on providing training programs that keep pace with contemporary changes, aiming for continuous development and updating of the skills of faculty members and students in using and employing the latest educational programs, applications, and teaching and learning systems. This is in order for e-learning at Qassim University to reach contemporary global levels, thereby achieving the university's educational objectives of providing modern learning based on the latest global educational systems and technologies.
