Virtual portal to aid children at all learning levels, empower teachers

MUSCAT, Dec 31 - The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) portal launched by the Board of Indian Schools in Oman will help children at all learning levels while enabling schools to have state-of-the-art learning management system.
The portal, isovle.net, was inaugurated by Dr Hamoud bin Khalfan al Harthy, Under-Secretary of Education and Curricula, Ministry of Education.
Speaking to the Observer, Dr Baby Sam Samuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, said this system will also aid network to share learning resources and develop interactive contents, including videos.
“ISO-VLE is an online platform that empowers teachers to take the best aspects of their classroom practice and transfer that onto a home-based teaching and learning environment. All staff and students of Indian Schools of Oman will have 24-hour access to resources and activities, facilitating extended learning experience beyond the traditional classroom,” said Dr Sam.
ISO-VLE is an initiative to create a platform through which information can be readily shared and accessed. The portal, to be managed by the teachers of schools, will be accessible to all students and teachers across the Sultanate.
“ISO-VLE is powered by an array of features that can be customised, allowing teachers to build a virtual classroom based on individual needs,” he added.
“While such a platform offers varied scope of use, our initial focus will be on ensuring the availability of video lessons by subject experts. These video resources will primarily be for Grade X and Grade XII and will enable children to revisit their lessons at their convenience.
In conjunction with the other initiatives, we are launching academic support for children appearing for their board examinations. ISO-VLE will help in ensuring our children have multiple support systems to excel in studies.”
Interactive content like quizzes and assignments can be implemented through the portal. For teachers, there can be ways to create collaborative lesson plans and other teaching aids.
“The immediate benefits are, of course, anytime anywhere accessibility, wider reach and revision of lessons, collaborative working system, best optimal use of each resource, material and effort and the like. With this, we hope to empower our teachers and students alike.
“Teachers will find more ways to reach their students while children will be encouraged to practise taking responsibility for learning,” said Dr Sam.
A VLE coordinator will be appointed for every school to coordinate access to the portal for both staff and students. Workshops and hands-on training sessions were organised for the subject coordinators, VLE coordinators and the principals of Indian Schools.
In its initial phase, the portal caters to the main subjects of classes X and XII. More classes and subjects will be added in the years to come.