With the aid of the NATO DEEP eAcademy, the Iraqi eLearning Portal (IeLP) is currently undergoing a makeover to make it more user-friendly and accessible to the Iraqi Armed Forces. Started in 2019, the portal is an example of Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL). Based on NATO JADL it allows courses to be taught wholly, or partially, online helping to improve access to learning leading to an increase in learner engagement and attainment. The NATO Academy has recently begun to support the Portal bringing much-needed energy and zeal to drive forward the project with a quick number of successes. The project currently has four different lines that it is pursuing to deliver a viable product to the Iraqi Armed Forces:
Platform. In recent months the technical aspects underpinning the IeLP platform have gone through some drastic changes. The Portal is now hosted on the NATO eAcademy servers meaning they have the responsibility and necessary access to deal with all technical issues. In addition to this, the IeLP is (finally) being translated into Arabic; it is hoped this will be completed in November. This will be a massive boost to the accessibility for Iraqis and means we can feasibly start to use it across whole institutions for the delivery of learning. Finally, the IeLP will be receiving a facelift to become more engaging with an Iraqi look; it will become an Iraqi Portal supported by NATO rather than a NATO product that Iraqis access.
People. ELearning administrators from Iraqi institutions have been identified and selected to receive specific training in order to allow them to run the Portal themselves. In addition to this an introduction to using the Portal will be translated and loaded onto the IeLP to guide users through its features.
Content. There are three ways in which we are looking to develop content for the IeLP. Firstly is to use the platform for a blended approach to teaching where content such as videos, articles, and presentations will be loaded onto the Portal to support the delivery of classroom-taught lessons. Secondly, we are looking to translate a small number of NATO JADL courses into Arabic, these will be more generic lessons accessible to enhance knowledge in focused areas without classroom or teacher support. Finally, a local NGO and private university, is producing eLearning content within Iraq for the first time. They are developing three, small, standalone lessons made by Iraqis for Iraqis to demonstrate the viability of developing future eLearning content within Iraq.
Advertise. Finally, when the platform is ready and we have administrators trained up, we will look to advertise the Portal across the learning institutions. This will start with the heads of institutions to show them why eLearning is a benefit to their organisations. In concert with this, we will engage teaching staff to gain their support in using the Portal by demonstrating how it can be used to enhance their teaching in a blended style, where it can save them time and effort in delivery and how it can be used to improve student performance
