Name: Scaling OER Adoption in the Arab Region: The OER SMART Model
Start: 2026-10-09T11:05:00-0400
End: 2026-10-09T11:35:00-0400

All sessions are available online except round tables, special activities, and workshops.

Scaling OER Adoption in the Arab Region: The OER SMART Model

Friday October 9, 2026 11:05am - 11:35am EDT

5 DR3

ID: 32534

The session will present the design, implementation, and impact of the “OER SMART” project that was supported by UNESCO and implemented by Al-Quds Open University from Palestine and Queen Rania Center from Jordan, aimed at promoting OER concepts, reuse, and practices in Palestine and Jordan, with potential for scaled-up impact across the Arab region.The project focused on improving the understanding, capabilities and institutional preparedness for OER implementation within contexts where access to quality has been uneven. The project emphasised a comprehensive needs assessment to identify the requirements of educators and policymakers as well as key stakeholders in higher education. A self-paced, multilingual online training course was designed covering OER concepts and open licensing, quality assurance, planning for pedagogical use, and development of OER policy.The project's integrated model is a key innovation that combines digital learning with capacity building through Training of Trainers (ToT). A training was conducted for forty participants from universities and ministries of education in Palestine, Jordan to act as OER ambassadors to create a multiplier effect and sustain the knowledge. Results from the evaluations revealed that there was an increase of above 20% in the knowledge and skills of the participants, suggesting that the use of structured digital content in conjunction with participatory training was effective. The session will demonstrate the various formats of the OER SMART course including mobile apps, learning objects, web-based and open multimedia resources. These elements demonstrate how open education can be designed to be inclusive, interactive and tailored towards various education settings.The session will importantly reflect on the challenges of implementing OER in developing and fragile contexts, including policy gaps, language barriers and sustainability issues. The presentation will share practical strategies to overcome challenges related to building communities of practice; aligning OER with relevant national education strategies; and enhancing regional collaboration.This session, aligned with the OEGlobal 2026 theme, emphasizes how collaborative and context-sensitive open education practices can serve to defend knowledge as a public good, especially in underrepresented regions. This provides a model that institutions and policy makers can use to upscale the OER initiative, while ensuring quality and impact.

Speakers

Mahmoud Hawamdeh

Project Manager, Al-Quds Open University

Dr. Mahmoud Hawamdeh is an EdTech researcher and educational expert with over 25 years of experience in higher education, particularly in digital pedagogy, policy, and innovation. He is a current project manager for national education reform and a prominent figure at Al-Quds Open... Read More →

Friday October 9, 2026 11:05am - 11:35am EDT
5 DR3 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality Online
Track Innovating Open Content to Democratize Knowledge

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OEGlobal 2026

Mahmoud Hawamdeh

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OEGlobal 2026

Mahmoud Hawamdeh

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