Baghdad Blended Learning Platform For Iraqi Higher Education

Abstract

Baghdad wants to remember its beautiful history when it was the capital of knowledge and wisdom and aiming to be an e-learning city in 2022. Iraqi society, despite all the conditions digitally are growing up and continuing their movement towards building knowledge society without any noticed influence from the government. Iraq as a country ranked in the 155 position between the world countries according to the United Nations e-government survey 2018, and also according to the ITE statistical reports 95% of the Iraqi people have cell phones (82% according to the World Bank reports) and more than 70% of these cell phones are smart phones. With 19% internet using growing up percentage between Iraqi population. Such numbers gives us the indication that Iraqi society can be an electronic society. Iraq as a country suffers from many problems and also the universities suffer from the lack of the up to date educational technologies adoption in its learning activities. Blended Learning is the key and the solution. An eLearning Platform was designed according to the Iraqi universities needs and problems. It contains more than 24 web designed e-learning applications towards blended learning adoption and a real electronic universities. The platform was named as Baghdad e-learning platform and tested in for more than three academic years in Iraq and it was designed according the e-education orbital framework which covers the sustainability issues that is required for the future of education in all of the world and it is the main target of the United Nation Development sustainable goals 2030. As a result, it was the first time and trial by any Iraqi higher education institution to adopt blended learning and social learning tools in its daily learning activities. In addition, the designed platform made a huge impact on its limited using but it is planned to expand its using in three universities in the next academic year in Iraq. The Edmodo Company has certified the Informatics Institute of postgraduate studies as a real learning society. Three different MOOC system applications were also designed and executed in the platform with a total number of students of 1400.