Photo has been used for illustrative purpose only.

As UAE educational institutions are preparing for the move to online instruction next week under government measures to tackle COVID-19, the American University of Sharjah (AUS) has implemented a range of measures to facilitate remote learning and has been offering online classes since March 8. Despite the challenges involved with the unanticipated move from on-campus classes, faculty and students are using the opportunity to explore new modes of teaching and learning that take advantage of technology to enhance engagement and transform the educational experience.

Despite constraints on travel and face-to-face interaction, AUS’ 5,000 students are continuing their study across the university’s 43 undergraduate and graduate programmes. The entire range of AUS courses are being offered remotely, with subjects as diverse as project management, aerospace engineering, advanced physics, human biology, architecture, and even classes in pottery, drawing, music and theatre all being taught via virtual classrooms. Online applications are allowing the university’s 358 full-time faculty to maintain the delivery of their programmes, with faculty reporting that the new course delivery modes present opportunities. 

 Dr. Sherri Weiler from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Performing Arts Programme.

AUS Chancellor Professor Kevin Mitchell indicated that the university was capable of responding quickly, and be successful, as a result of the extraordinary commitment of talented faculty, the ability of students to take responsibility for independently adapting to new modes of teaching and learning, and the exceptional staff who have supported the rapid transition to remote course delivery.

Chancellor Mitchell stated, “Employers seek out AUS graduates because they are able to navigate complexity, adapt their knowledge and skills to new situations, and to work both independently and collaboratively. These are characteristics fostered throughout the curriculum and through extracurricular experiences at AUS, and the rapid transition to online teaching and learning has been possible because of the university’s ability to adeptly respond to uncertainty and to view the current challenges as learning opportunities for the entire campus community.”

Dr. Salwa Beheiry, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering from the College of Engineering (CEN), said the experience of online teaching has been largely positive.

“I have been teaching a paperless course in Project Planning, Estimation and Cost Control. It was exciting to go into an all-out online mode within three days, which is something some world-renowned universities are still struggling with,” she said.

Dr. Sherri Weiler from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Performing Arts Programme said that individual and group music lessons in both piano and voice are continuing to be delivered remotely via video platforms. To make this work, AUS has issued piano students with roll-up digital piano keyboards that they can use in their virtual learning experience.