eLearning and Distance Education at Arab Universities

This study aimed to identify the extent to which Arab universities are keeping pace with modern technological developments in terms of the availability of e-Learning Management Systems and distance education, the extent of their use, and in which courses they are used. The author accessed the websites of 517 Arab universities and institutions on the Internet. The results showed that only 15% of Arab universities have e-learning management systems, including open universities, virtual universities, some universities of science and technology in Arab countries, and universities in the Gulf states, with the exception of religious universities. The number of e-courses offered is relatively small. Since the use of Learning Management Systems will lead to a quantitative and qualitative shift in education, and failure of Arab universities to use them will lead to their technological and scientific backwardness, the current study gave a number of recommendations for activating e-courses and distance education at Arab universities in a simplified, fast and inexpensive way.