Workshop on ‘blended learning’ for managers

The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) organised a workshop on blended learning to introduce training managers and HR practitioners from various Qatari organisations to best practices and techniques in the field.The workshop, organised by ictQATAR’s Lifelong Learning Programme, was attended by representatives from several prestigious local public and private organisations including Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Foundation, Qatar University, the Supreme Council of Education, Qatar National Bank, Doha Bank, Hamad Medical Corporation, the Supreme Council of Health, the Primary Health Corporation, Qtel, RasGas, Qatar Steel, Chiyoda Almana, Qatar Museum Authority, Tasweeq, Qatar Airways, the General Secretariat for Development and Planning, Qatar Statistical Authority, Oryx GTL and Bedaya.The workshop was facilitated by Dr Clive Shepherd, one of UK’s foremost experts in workplace learning and development who introduced participants to the blended learning concept, which essentially refers to education being delivered partly in classrooms or workplaces through computer-assisted activities in what is widely referred to as e-learning. “This workshop is the first in a series ictQATAR is offering to raise awareness on best techniques for adopting e-learning within organisations which will open more learning and development opportunities to all employees across all levels,” said Nader Subaih, ictQATAR Lifelong Learning Section manager.  Dr Shepherd provided insights on how to make real blended learning progress at organisations and demonstrated how organisations can decide on the most appropriate mix of strategies, methods and media to take advantage of these opportunities. Each participant received a free softcopy of Clive’s The Blended Learning Cookbook, which includes 30 highly-varied examples of blended solutions in practice.Shepherd has hundreds of published articles to his name. Besides The Blended Learning Cookbook, he has also written The New Learning Architect and Digital Learning Content: A Designer’s Guide. He also designed and delivered the Certificate in Blended Learning for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).