The Board of Indian Schools in Oman has launched a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) portal to enable its schools to have state-of-the-art Learning Management System and network to share learning resources and develop interactive contents, including videos. This is expected to empower teachers to create virtual classrooms by allowing students to access learning resources and interactive videos 24/7.

The portal, isovle.net, was inaugurated by H.E. Dr. Hamoud bin Khalfan Al Harthy, Undersecretary of Education and Curricula, Ministry of Education. His Excellency congratulated the Board of Directors of Indian Schools for initiating such an innovative and student-centric approach to education.

“The ISO VLE portal will serve as an online platform that will enable teachers and students access to the best of our school resources. With this the Board aims to create learning solutions that exist beyond the confines of the classrooms where the strengths of each school is accessible to all our students throughout the Sultanate. Needless to say, this will also help make best use of global technologies and IT trends”, said Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Indian School Board.

The learning resources and videos of lessons are developed by highly experienced and skilled subject teachers selected from various Indian Schools. A VLE coordinator is appointed for every school to coordinate access to the portal for staff and students. Workshops and hands-on training sessions were organised for the subject coordinators, VLE coordinators, and the Principals of Indian Schools. This is expected to bring about revolutionary changes to the pattern of curriculum transaction currently prevalent in Indian Schools by making it more innovative, student-centric, interactive, and adaptive.

The portal is hosted on a powerful virtual private server that can allow multiple concurrent users. As the portal is fully responsive, it can also be accessed via different devices like smartphones (Android or iPhones), tablets or PCs. Hundreds of videos and learning resources are available for the students’ access from their home.

In its initial phase, the portal caters to the main subjects of Class X and XII; more classes and subjects will be added on in the years to come. The portal will also have a window to promote peer group learning which will empower students to be competent in different subjects.

As the contents are developed by the teachers for the teachers, this portal is expected to help all Indian Schools in Oman to maintain high quality uniform delivery of teaching irrespective of each school’s location or availability of local resources.

The Board of Directors of Indian Schools in Oman, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, organized a mega Cultural Exchange Programme to mark the National Day celebrations of Oman, on Thursday, 06 December 2018 at Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir (Primary School Grounds).

The Cultural Programme, a novel initiative, named ‘Al Ta’ayush Al Silmi – Bonding Beyond Boundaries’ showcased indigenous cultural programme from different communities, by the private and international schools in Oman. Each school presented a programme which was unique to its culture and tradition. In this way, ‘Al Ta’ayush Al Silmi’ displayed a spectrum of cultural diversity; the ultimate objective of the programme was to educate the young minds that they need to stand united to build up a new world where peace and harmony prevails.

His Excellency Dr. Hamoud bin Khalfan Al Harthy, Undersecretary of Education and Curricula, Ministry of Education was the Chief Guest. His Excellency Shri Munu Mahawar, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate and His Excellency Nour Ettean Al Rray, Ambassador of Tunisia to the Sultanate of Oman were the Guests of Honour. Consular Officials from the Embassies of Egypt, Filipino, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were the special guests on the occasion.

In his welcome address, Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors – Indian Schools in Oman said, “In honour of Oman’s 48th National Day, ‘Al Ta’ayush Al Silmi’ is a new initiative by the Indian Schools in Oman, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, to highlight and promote the cultural diversity and fellowship we are so privileged to witness in this nation. By bringing together various schools of different nationalities under one roof, we are hoping to sow the seeds of acceptance and love in our schools and our children. The world ahead needs future generations of youth with a global outlook who are culturally sensitive, aware and accepting and this is what we wish to create.”

Mr. Mahmood Yahya Al Husaini, Director General Assistant for Administration and Financial Affairs, Ministry of Education, gave a presentation on the glimpses of cultural exchange programmes organized by the Ministry in the yesteryears. Dignitaries from the Ministry of Education, Members of the Board of Directors of different international schools were present on the occasion.

Students from Omani, Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan Schools participated in the cultural evening with their rich traditional numbers. The special children of Al Injaz School Muscat won everyone’s hearts with their performance. A digital presentation on the progress Oman has made since 1970 gave insights into the major milestones of achievements of the Sultanate.

Mr. Alkesh Joshi, Indian School Board Member and the President of Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir proposed the vote of thanks. He thanked the Ministry of Education for their support in all endeavours of Indian Schools. He expressed his gratitude to the participating schools of different nationalities for presenting a mosaic of cultural blend which has made the event singularly unique.