SQU professor wins award in Bahrain

A Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) professor has won the Arab e-Content Award given by Bahrain, according to a press release from the university Saturday. Dr. Alaa Sadik, Assistant Professor in the Department of Instructional & Learning Technologies of the College of Education at the SQU, has won the award for RealShow project (http://www.alaasadik.net/realshow) in the Inclusion & Participation category. The award recognises the outstanding achievements of content producers, application developers and new media providers who use the internet to create exceptional value for users and are leaders for the region and Arab world. Dr. Sadik said that RealShow is a free software and video sharing network. It was developed to facilitate the process of producing and sharing quality and accessible video content for learners in Oman. "Although producing video tutorials for normal learners is not a new idea, few simple and efficient solutions have been applied to help educators prepare accessible video and flash content, particularly for those who are deaf or tend to be visual," he said. He added that the software provides a simple technique to integrate popular PowerPoint slides, freehand drawings, direct text typing, web page content, and teacher's video view in one single window. "It allows teachers create video content using several translation techniques, including facial expressions, natural gestures, and sign language, which help convey messages," he pointed out. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain, will had over the award to the SQU professor during the Bahrain International e-Government Forum to be held on May 17-18 in Bahrain. The Arab e-Content Award is part of the World Summit Award (WSA), it implements the vision of the World Summit Award and shares the awareness for the need for local digital content. from / Gulf News