Empowering Graduates for Knowledge Economies in Developing Countries

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Source of Publication

Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST

Publication Date

1-1-2018

Abstract

© 2018, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. Professional, transferable, or 21st century skills such as life-long learning, problem solving and working in a multi-disciplinary team are vitally important for graduates entering knowledge economies. Students in the developing MENA countries have been identified as weak in these skills, which are challenging to both teach and assess. This paper describes the creation and application of the Computing Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an IT specific instrument to assess students’ abilities in the professional skills, administered using a Learning Management System (LMS). As part of this research students were surveyed on their perceptions and the results revealed a positive response regarding the benefits of the CPSA. It is suggested as an effective and applicable blended learning method in developing countries to better enable students to learn and apply 21st century skills. The use of this method in regions with limited IT infrastructure is discussed.

ISBN

9783319678368

ISSN

1867-8211

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Volume

206

First Page

220

Last Page

225

Disciplines

Education

Keywords

Assessment, Learning management system, Learning outcomes, Online discussion, Performance task, Professional skills

Scopus ID

85032700959

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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