[Interview] Dr. Tahani Aldosemani (Saudi Arabia)
Vice Dean of Information Technology and Distance Education, Prince
Sattam bin Abdulaziz University
[Introduction] Dr. Tahani Aldosemani is an assistant professor of Educational Technology at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University and currently Vice Dean of Information Technology and Distance Education at the same university. Dr. Tahani has received a number of international awards and recognitions in E-learning and educational research. She was one of the 10 women who obtained a driver’s license when Saudi Arabia issued its first driver's licenses to 10 women for the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia. I met her at an international conference on English education at Kongju National University, where she was invited as one of the keynote speakers. I interviewed her there and also by email. -ED
Q1 I’m so glad to meet you, a world-famous person from Saudi Arabia. Thank you so much for accepting this interview. First, please tell us about yourself.
A1.You are most welcome, Mr. Yu, and thanks for having me and being
interested to know more about Saudi Arabia and Saudi women. I currently work at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, I have a PhD in Educational Technology and my primary concern is E-learning, Instructional Design,
and teaching English as a Second Language.
Q2. I heard you are one of the 10 women who got a driver’s license in Saudi Arabia, where women were banned from driving cars until quite recently.
Please tell me about that, Dr. Aldosemani.
A2. This remarkable change in the lives of women in Saudi Arabia
happened when King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia issued a royal
decree on September 26th, 2017, ordering the end to the ban on women
driving. The whole society celebrated this change and women were able to
drive from June 24th, 2018. Immediately more than 40,000 women applied
for their driver’s license. Since the announcement of the Saudi Vision 2030, their royal highnesses King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown prince
Mohammed bin Salman are supporting women’s empowerment plans and
initiatives in every sector of life. one of the main goals of the Vision is to
increase Saudi women’s participation in the Saudi workforce from 20% to
33% by 2030, and the ease of women mobility will facilitate achieving this
goal. Thus, the Kingdom is planning to create 14 driving schools for women in different regions to help ease the high demand on driving licenses, and
apply all measures that would facilitate women’s driving and transportation experiences.
Q3 Tell me more about women’s general situation in terms of their human
rights. Are they enjoying the same rights as men in Saudi Arabia?
A3. Actually, Saudi women enjoy the same exact rights as men. And, as I
mentioned earlier, one of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030’s goals is to empower women in all fields of our society. Within a span of just two years, the Kingdom, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has
undergone massive changes, resulting in a sharp elevation in women’s status,
level of participation in the workforce and contribution to the national economy.
Women can and do work in nearly all of the same fields as men. Women can attend sport activities, and they can and do serve in different governmental positions.
They also receive equal pay as men for the same job and duties. They also receive supportive treatment considering their role as the family caregiver, such as fully-
paid maternity sick leave and compensation.
Q4 I heard your major is Educational Technology. Why or how did you
choose this as your major, and what is your primary concern as an expert
on Educational Technology?
A4. My previous academic and work background used to be in the English
as a Second Language (ESL) field. And I turned to educational technology to examine the best teaching and learning technology that can support English acquisition. However, I found the educational technology field to be very
important for education in general. So, I started to focus on Educational
Technology in general, and on virtual environments, e-teaching and
learning approaches and techniques.
Q5 I heard you have been interested in empowering women through
e-learning tools and resources. Can you tell us about things like that?
A5. I found that e-learning methods, strategies and tools have many
positive potentials and gains for Saudi females, and could support their
empowerment as women to have access to different content and others’
expertise, without the need to travel and or affect their familial obligations. Among these resources and tools are the Open Educational Resources
(OERs), Massive Open online Courses (MOOCs), digital libraries, Learning
Management Systems (LMS), and Virtual Classrooms. Therefore, I
implemented an initiative to educate female instructors in my university
about aforementioned resources, how to use them effectively, and teach
their students how to use them as learning resources ad tools. I have been
awarded the Black Board Catalyst Award for Leading Change in E-learning
for the success of that initiative.
Q6 We are told we live in the global village. What kind of attitudes do you
think we should have as global villagers or global citizens in this
interconnected world?
A6. The most important attitude that we should adopt as a global villager is to always consider our similarities and differences when we virtually meet
with the other. We should think first about the things we have in common,
rather than how we differ, to create an atmosphere of mutual
understanding and empathy. Then, we should think and talk about our
differences to highlight the uniqueness of our culture and values.
Q7 Finally, what message would you leave for our readers, especially our
young readers?
A7. I would conclude with some brief advice but I see it as invaluable for
our young readers! Always seek the truth by yourself and do not take it
second-hand from media or social media. Be critical and curious and do
your own search about the truth of everything, and personally verify
whatever happens around you.
http://cafe.daum.net/weeklymonday/iSZz
36호 2019년7월15일(인쇄본).pdf