Public Relations & Information DepartmentSultan Qaboos University

Thursday,20 December 2018 Issue #008

A True Champion in Chemistry

Effectiveness of Smart Learning

A Professor to Remember

Focus on Curriculumand Standards

Fake educational certificates are back in the news. A former member in the Saudi ‘Shura’ Council is currently working on a project to expose higher education employees all over the Middle East, who have fake certificates. Through social media, he exposed employees in Oman who have produced fake certificates to their em-ployers. Reports elsewhere say that fake degrees are now a billion-dollar industry and cause real problems to employers and recruiters, as well as potentially dangerous consequences to their cus-tomers. In an article on faking, “The Guardian” says that apart from legitimately graduating from a university, there are only two ways to obtain a degree certificate. “You can buy a real certificate from a fake university, or buy a fake certificate that pretends to be from a real university”.

Fake degree certificates are routinely being used to land jobs in Oman, according to the depart-ment responsible for rooting out the cheats. The Ministry of Higher Education sees so many fake documents and it has even classified the attempts to cheat into four categories and a dedicated department scrutinizes all submissions. The gov-ernment insists that all degrees obtained outside the Sultanate would have to be submitted to the Department of Qualification Equivalency and Recognition so that the authorities could verify credentials. This rule applies to everyone working in Oman who obtained their position because of the qualification, whether expat or Omani.

The production of fraudulent certificates, or fake degrees and diplomas, has been going on since antiquity, but it is only in the last ten to fifteen years that educational fraud or ‘fake qualifica-tions’ have really become a worldwide problem. On 16 January 2018, BBC News reported that “thousands of UK nationals have bought fake degrees from a multi-million pound diploma mill" in an Asian country. According to documents seen by BBC Radio 4's File on Four program, more than 3,000 fake qualifications were sold to UK-based buyers in 2013 and 2014, including master's degrees, doctorates and PhDs.

There are two main reasons for the spread of fake certificates. Firstly, academic qualifications have gained increasing commercial value. Secondly, modern technology and the rise of the internet have undoubtedly contributed to the widespread trend of educational fraud and fake degrees. However, the reality is that a fraudulently ob-tained qualification will only float above a person like a dark cloud for years to come.

Perspective

Transgression

Editorial SupervisionJamal Said Al-Riyami

Editor in ChiefHilal Saif Al-Badi

Senior EditorSanthosh Muthalath Kunhiveettil

EditorsNasebah Said Al MuharramiSara Mohammed Al GhailaniFatema Salim Al Ajmi

Design & LayoutAhlam Shaaban Al-WahaibiNajah Saif Al HarthiIbrahim Mohammed Al Hajri

General ServicesSalim Said Salim Al-Sadairi Khalifa Musabah Al-Salehi

PhotographyCentre for Educational Technology

C 2018 Sultan Qaboos University.

3Spotlight

Studying Limestone Rocks in Jabal Akhdar

Large parts of the Jabal Akhdar area consist of limestone rocks. These latter forms impressive landscapes, cliffs and canyons as for example the so called ‘Grand Canyon of Oman’ near Jabal Shams. Beside the beauty of these rocks on making fantastic landscape, they also have an enormous impor-tance for the economy of the Sultanate. Limestones can act as both source and reservoir rocks for hydrocarbons, such as is the case for oil and gas fields in interior Oman. Limestones from the oil fields in Oman (e.g., Fahud) are most-ly covered by thick young sediments, thus, are accessible for detailed studies by drilled wells, only. However, similar rocks are exposed on the surface in the Jabal Akhdar area, even though they do not contain any hydrocarbons. These deposits formed during the Permian to Cretaceous time (~260 to 90 Ma) and are subdivided into different formations (group of rocks with similar charac-teristics). The Natih Formation, which deposits formed around ~100 to 90 Ma, is one of the most prolific source rock interval and hydrocarbon reservoirs of the country and, thus, is one of the most studied and investigated formation in Oman.

The Natih Formation consist of lime-stone/marly limestone alternations in the lower part and massive pure limestone in the upper part. The deposition of the Natih Formation was in part within a carbonate ramp bordering a mod-erately deeper-water anoxic (very low Oxygen level) intra-shelf basin. The in part oxygen-free conditions allows for a

deposition of organic-rich rocks, which later became source rock for hydrocarbons. Significant heteroge-neity in platform growth associated to complex dia-chronous infill of accommodation and erosional ep-isodes can be found from East to West of northern Oman. Based on subsurface data from wells, the formation has been subdivided into seven members. The adaptation of this subsurface nomenclature into surface lithostratigraphic “members” is extensively used mainly because of the need to study outcrop sections as analogues of the subsurface. However, correlations among subsurface versus surface mem-bers are not quite straight forward. Furthermore, the lithological properties and boundaries of these members can locally be very confusing and a rock outcrop-comprehensive description of them is still lacking thus hampering a precise comparison with well data.

A research project that involves detailed facies, stratigraphic and geochemical analyses, throughout Natih Formation. members to compare the upper and youngest part of the Natih Formation from the western to eastern Jabal Akhdar area with coeval rocks from the subsurface is ongoing at SQU. The obtained ɣ-ray and C-isotopes curves will serve as reference curves for the Natih Fm. in surface sec-tions. This project will show how detailed, outcrop measurements allow for high-resolution correlation with subsurface data. This project was initiated as an ‘SQU Internal Grant Project’ by Dr. Gianluca Frijia who continued it until 2017 and since led by Dr. An-dreas Scharf from the Department of Earth Sciences at SQU.

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Focus on Curriculum, General Education Principles and StandardsTuzlukova, V., Inguva, M. & Sancheti, P.Centre for Preparatory Studies

Curriculum is a complex educa-tional concept that involves the specific learning standards, tasks, and materials used to organize and teach a particular program or course, as well as the totality of students’ experiences of learning and factors of ideological, social and administrative nature that contribute to the planning of teaching and learning. Therefore, the curriculum is central to any teaching and learning context, and needs to be carefully de-signed to ensure maximum op-portunities for students’ growth and development.

Supported by the Sultan Qaboos University Internal Grant, our project titled “General Education for Omani students’ develop-ment: Examination of foundation program contextual factors” ad-dresses the issue of presence and implementation of General Edu-

cation principles and standards intended for empowering our students and developing them as personalities in the founda-tion programs of Oman’s tertiary education institutions. Such focus was initiated by two concerns. First, the need for strengthening curricular coherence and, second, the quality of higher education as expressed by researchers and educators. Broadly speaking, the project focuses on a variety of issues and context-specific internal factors related to General Education teaching, learning and outcomes, that can inform deci-sions and help improve running of the foundation programs in Oman. More specifically, it aims to obtain a comprehensive view about how General Education theories, approaches, models and practices which role is to further elaborate skills, abilities, com-

petencies, and dispositions that compose the learning outcomes are adopted in the context of the foundation programs’ curriculum and its implementation.

The preliminary analysis of the comprehensive curriculum document developed by the Curriculum Unit of the Centre for Preparatory Studies at Sultan Qaboos University shows that the document is truly comprehensive and provides complete guidance to teachers It is comprehensive because it covers all areas of teaching, learning and support services with regard to the English Language, information technolo-gy, mathematics and study skills. Firstly, the document lists the different courses offered at the Centre for Preparatory Studies. Secondly, it includes the learning outcomes that are absolutely necessary and extremely import-

Supported by the SQU Internal Grant, a project addresses the implementation of general education principles and standards for empowering students in the foundation programs of Oman’s tertiary education institutions.

5Scope

ant for each level/course under each skill along with the level descriptors. These level descriptors function as benchmarks for achieving the set outcomes at each level. The document also lists the prerequisites for each level/course, the materials used and the testing matrix for each level. The testing matrix includes both formative and summative assessment procedures, weightage and time slots for various assessments. In addition to the outcomes and assessment matrixes, the document also describes the best practices and supporting methodology to be followed. Further, it includes the administrative procedures and rules for both teachers and students.

Research indicates that General Education focuses on such core areas for its objectives, as effective communication, quantita-tive reasoning and computer literacy. These three areas, in their turn, are constructed on such pillars, as breadth of knowledge, critical thinking, integration of knowledge and social respon-sibilities. The curriculum of the foundation program at Sultan Qaboos University has immense potential for incorporating principles and standards of General Education that refer to the educational foundation of skills, knowledge, habits of mind, and values and are aimed at preparing students for success in their majors and in their personal and professional lives after graduation. In the context of the foundation program at Sultan Qaboos University, these include, but are not limited to incor-porating critical thinking skills in the Comprehensive Curriculum Document and almost all teaching materials, and focusing on the development of critical thinking in students, i.e. thinking that is conscious, voluntary, goal-directed, systematic, analytical, open-minded, truth-seeking, reflective and reasonable. As well as that, the Comprehensive Curriculum Document guides and supports teachers to identify the scope for promoting critical thinking skills of the students. The materials, the suggested methods, the assessment procedures and the facilities provided to enable learning, along with the administrative support, all play an important role in making students better thinkers. Such an endeavor is a significant contribution towards preparing stu-dents for their future studies and becoming sensitized citizens of the country. Also, the faculty at the Centre believe that critical thinking plays an important role in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks, thereby resulting in better learning. Accord-ing to them, developing students’ critical thinking skills is the key consideration for ensuring student success. There is also a clear understanding that critical thinking can help students acquire knowledge, strengthen arguments they make, improve their analysis, and help them assess and reconstruct meaning. This involves mindful communication, problem solving and freedom from bias. In order to hone these skills, a variety of pedagogical approaches and tasks, which are progressive in nature, have been developed for all six levels of the English language courses in the foundation program offered at the Centre, such as, for example, portfolio-based learning and independent research projects. The implementation of these tasks and activities both creates a motivating classroom dynamic, provides additional support for our students’ linguistic, critical thinking and study skills’ needs and places our students in the position of active learners.

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Teachers are the light givers to the society. When the teach-ers render their services with dedication, it is certain that the younger generation would become better human beings. During her tenure at SQU, Dr. Topoyame More-mong taught with passion; loved the students like her own children; did something more than only teaching in the classrooms; and rendered academic and emotional support to the students.

Dr. Topoyame More-mong: A Professor to RememberNidaa Al-BarwaniLecturerCollege of Economics and Political Science

7Vista

There is no doubt how teachers’ job is crucial by nature. They are not just teaching students new information, but influence them directly and indirectly, affect their way of thinking, and ultimately inspire them. There-fore, it is no secret that teachers resemble messengers in the delivery of values as Ahmed Shawqi; a famous Egyptian poet illustrated in his poem: “stand up for teachers and show him/her reverence; as a teacher could have been a messenger”.

For that, countries around the world celebrate teachers’ day in particular in different days. This specific profession is given a special attention worldwide. In Oman, it falls on the 24th February of each year.

One of the considerable role models that students look up to has unfortunately stepped out SQU after lightening up students’ path throughout the past six years. She is called Dr. Topoyame More-mong from Botswana, a former Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at the College of Economics and Political Science (CEPS), who joined SQU in 2012 and left it in 2018. Although Dr. Topoyame is no longer a member of SQU, her stamp is still there in students’ hearts and minds for her infinite love and care that she granted to her students that she treated as her sons and daughters more than just students.

The students’ words about her in the following paragraphs tell a lot about how inspiring she was as a teacher.

“I still believe that her smiles to all of us helped us a lot to keep going when times were hard. She instilled the spirit of love and trust in us. She helped us to develop confidence within ourselves. She is such a caring person who was always there to

assist in our academic journey. All her extraordinary qualities make her different from oth-ers in the college”- (Saleem Al-Hashmi, a student).

A great teacher does not only seek students’ success, but also gives them the right tool to succeed as Mazin stated “thank you for not just teaching me to pass the test, but teaching me to succeed in life. Not only did you give me the tools I needed to do well in your class, but you also gave me many of the tools I needed to do well in college and beyond. You made me feel like I could succeed, and then you taught me how to suc-ceed”.

The unforgettable teacher is the one whose impact on students is extended life time “I want you to know that you have made a profound impact on my entire life and I could not be more grateful to have known you. Thank you for teaching me” (Mazin Mubarak, a student).

Being close to the students far beyond academia by being there whenever the students needed any help or an ear to listen to was one of Dr. Topoy-ame’s qualities that her appren-tices has appreciated. Samah Al-Aufi, a student mentioned: “Thank you, my dear teach-er, for not only educating me but also being like a family and standing with me through tough times while guiding me to the right path”. There is no doubt how Dr. Topoyame had a strong rapport with her students by which the mutual trust was the key in that relationship.

In the eyes of the students, the best teachers are the ones who believe in the ability of all the students to flourish and the one with the positive attitude. “She is one of the stars shining for her nice smile, way of teach-ing and the stories she used to

tell us that made the students very attentive in her class. She also used to call the students by names like the successful, the manager and the leaders”. (Maha Al-Balushi, a student).

It is worth to mention here as a fact to be said not as a com-pliment that Dr. Topoyame was a unique person for her puri-ty and kindness to every one surrounding her, to not only the students but her colleagues too. “As a colleague, Dr. Topoyame has always been supportive to me; she has been taking care of my career development until the last moment of her stay at SQU. She was always the first person to initiate help, very cooperative and very emphatic. Her pure soul and white heart is shining through” (Nidaa Al-Barwani, a Lecturer).

There is a nice quote by Anne Lamott: “Your inside person doesn’t age. Your inside person is soul, is heart, in the eternal now, the ageless, the old, the young, all the ages you’ve ever been”. Dr. Topoyame does not know a way to old soul; she is always vibrant, get along with any one regardless of the one’s age or background. I personally was amazed with her distinctive ability to click easily with any person she meets and learned a lot from her bright, never aging soul!

They say that your energy speaks before your words do. This statement explains why Dr. Topoyame was a great comfort to refer to all the times. Overall, these kinds of teachers cannot be more than someone who deserves to take hats off. This is Dr. Topoyame More-mong, one of the many memorable teach-ers that SQU embraced once upon time. Dr. Topoyame, thank you very much for everything you have done to us.

8

Iman Al-Kindi & Dr. Zuhoor Al-KhanjariDepartment of Computer ScienceCollege of Science

Effectiveness of Smart Learning

Learning environments have changed significantly in the last 50 years, mostly due to infor-mation and communications technologies. From the intro-duction of cloud computing and the internet, there has been an explosion of innovations in sup-port of learning and teaching. The concept of the smart learn-ing environment (SLE) focuses on adding the adjective ‘smart' to numerous existing phenom-ena, for instance, smartphones, smart TV, smart boards, smart lights and smart cities to rec-ognize a new generation. From this viewpoint smart learning might be seen as learning en-

vironments that are extremely enhanced to encourage better and faster learning. Gwo-Jen Hwang, Executive the Board of International Association of Smart Learning Environments (IASLE), defined smart learning environments as, "technology-supported learn-ing environments that make adaptations and provide appro-priate support anywhere and at any time based on individual learners' needs, which might be determined via analyzing their learning behaviors, performance and the online and real-world contexts in which they are sit-

uated". Smart Learning is NOT a set of software tools. There are software tools ("Smart Tools") that are significant to the operation of Smart Learn-ing, but Smart Learning is about the organization of learning and teaching, enabled by the software. Smart learning is a human-centered and self-di-rected learning method, which connects the smart information communication technology to the learning environment.

Why should we develop SLE? The appropriate response is to promote better and faster learn-ing. Each step forward from

9In focus

current learning environments towards these smarter learning environments is a change that is basic to promote human, eco-nomic and social development. Smart Learning is intelligent and adaptive learning that considers many learning types and capac-ities and empowers learners to foster thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills using various smart devices.

The primary point of smart learning is to assist learners to meet the needs of learn and work today. Smart learning rec-ognizes changes in the learning and teaching landscape. The in-vestigation of related ideas has revealed that, with the spread of user-owned smart devices, it is a good time now for us as academics, students to assess our assumptions about learning environments, related technol-ogies and on how we can work with these.SLE not only empowers learners to access ubiquitous resourc-es and interact with learning systems anytime and anywhere but also provides the necessary learning guidance, suggestions or supportive tools to them in the right form, at the right time and in the right place. There are many types of technologies used to support and enhance learning, which includes both hardware and software. Hard-ware includes those tangible objects such as interactive whiteboard, smart table, e-bag, mobile phone, wearable device,

smart device, sensors which using ubiquitous computing, cloud computing, ambient intelligence, IoT technology, etc. Software includes all kinds of learning systems, learning tools, online resources, educa-tional games which using social networking, learning analytics, visualization, virtual reality, etc.A learning environment that supports planning and innova-tive alternatives (for the learner or for the instructor) can be considered smart, especially if and when outcomes are desir-able. A smart learning environ-ment could contain features to foster engagement, effec-tiveness, and efficiency. Such features might include support for (1) collaboration: smart peo-ple often seek the advice and guidance of others, (2) strug-gling learners: smart instructors recognize and assist struggling learners, (3) motivation: smart instructors take the time and make efforts to gain attention and offer feedback to improve confidence and satisfaction.

Overall, smart learning is about learning in the age of personal, flexible and connected smart devices and our gratefulness of how different our world is now; even when compared to ten years ago. The use of the term Smart Learning leads to a ques-tion: if the world has changed drastically, how well are we answering to the chances and challenges that smart provides us? To conclude, smart learning

will challenge the expectations of students and their instructors and this creates a challenge for innovators and those who support innovation. Future learning environments will be inclusive learning spaces and will promote collaborative open networking that harnesses the strengths of peer review, infor-mation sharing, and divergent thinking among a global audi-ence. Such environments will encour-age social networking that takes learning beyond classroom walls. These social networks will be highly mobile, flexible and innovative. In the future, edu-cation will depend less on rigid hierarchical learning processes. Instead, learning will be peer to peer where digitized informa-tion is shared between learners in real time across wireless and mobile global social networks. Teachers will remain in the pe-riphery playing the role of coach and cheerleader.

Future learning environments will be creative, fun and stu-dent-centered spaces. Stu-dent-centric environments coupled with Information Communication Technology tools promote critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. These learning spaces will be both virtual and physical, modeled on learner-centered principles.

10

Prof. Muhammad Salahuddin Khan, a professor in the Department of Chemistry of the College of Science at Sultan Qaboos University, has 40 years of teaching and research expe-rience at four different universities: Sultan Qaboos University (Oman), University of Cam-bridge (UK), University of Bath (UK) and the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh). He acquired incredible knowledge in Chemistry and always had high passion for teaching and learning. Prof. Khan’s primary goal as a faculty was consistent with SQU vision to integrate effective teaching and learning process at all levels of chemistry curriculum. He established clear leaning objectives for all his courses and worked diligently to meet the course objectives. Prof. Khan’s achievements to date testify that he has made some excellent contribution to the academic program at SQU through quality teaching in the Chemistry Department over the past 24 years. He has designed lecture demonstrations, models and teaching aids for effective teaching of General Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry courses at the undergrad-uate and postgraduate levels. Prof. Khan played a leading role to establish MSc Program in Chemistry in 1999 and implemented a new BSc degree in Applied Chemistry during his Headship in 2005. He also established the PhD Program in Chemistry in 2008 during his headship and have been coordinating the program since then. Prof. Khan’s commitment to research has been an important force in shaping the postgraduate programs in Chemistry.In this interview, Prof. Muhammad Salahuddin Khan speaks about his background, his teaching and research over the years.

A True Champion in Chemistry Research and Teaching

11Face to Face

Could you summarize your research interests?

My research interests are in the areas of Conjugated Organic, Organometallic and Coordi-nation Polymer Chemistry. The multi-disciplinary research focusses on the design, synthe-sis, characterization, structure/property relationships and opto-electronic applications of a wide variety of new materials. The materials can harvest solar energy to generate electricity and are suitable for solar cell, light emitting diode and other opto-electronic applications. High quality solar energy re-search is of strategic impor-tance to Oman. My research is dedicated to promote solar energy research at SQU and help develop alternative energy resources to benefit the sustain-able energy industry in Oman. My research has generated over 120 publications in high impact international journals, 5 book chapters, 4 conference proceed-ings and 90 presentations in major international conferences promoting SQU’s standing in research internationally. Your main research interest is the development of organic and organometallic materials for semiconductor applications, especially photovoltaic devices.

Could you summarize your work in this field over the last 6 to 7 years during which you received research grants from TRC and HM Trust Fund?

Donor-Acceptor type Poly-yne materials synthesized in our laboratory have been success-fully used as active layers in the fabrication of single layer solar cell at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge while Fullerene-linked Platinum(II) poly-yne has shown promise

as solar cell in the Laboratory of Macromolecular Materials, Bayreuth University, Germany. Copper(I) complexes have tested positive in Dye Sensitized solar cells (DSSC) fabricated at the Hong Kong Polytechnic Uni-versity Laboratory. So far, our materials have shown moderate power conversion efficiency. We are working toward improving performance efficiency of the materials to achieve the thresh hold required for commercial application of the polymer solar cells. To start with I initiated poly-yne research at the Uni-versity of Cambridge in 1990 as an academic exercise. At SQU, I turned my attention to application-oriented synthesis of new materials. Now my focus is on intellectual property aimed at making the materials commercially viable. With this end in view, we have conduct-ed the most comprehensive literature review in the field to better understand optimization of the parameters for improving performance efficiency of the materials. Our review article has been recently published in Chemical Reviews, the most au-thoritative review journal in the world of Chemical & Physical Sciences. Alongside the synthe-sis and photovoltaic measure-ments, we need to investigate the shelf life of the materials and see how their performance vary against time. The study will require further inter-labora-tory collaborations before our materials become economically viable.

Could you give an overview of the new Organometallic Research Laboratory at SQU set up with financial support from the University of Cam-bridge, your alma mater?

I championed institutional research capacity building right

from the beginning of my career at SQU by setting up a new Organometallic Chemis-try Research Laboratory with a £25,000 start-up support via inter-institutional transfer of my research grant held at the University of Cambridge, UK. Over the years, I have equipped the lab with state-of-the art facilities with many internal, external and strategic grants. These include the £200,000 Engineering and Physical Sci-ence Research Council (EPSRC, UK) grant (1998-2000) held jointly with the University of Cambridge; The £36,020 UK Prime Minister’s Grant (PMI-2, 2010-2013) held jointly with the University of Bath; RO 234,400 The Research Council (TRC) Grant (2014-2018); and, RO 85,000 HM’s Strategic Grant (2016-2019).

With huge support from these external grants coupled with several smaller SQU internal grants, I equipped the Orga-nometallic Chemistry Research Laboratory with state-of-the art facilities for the synthesis and characterization of conjugated organic and organometallic polymers. The laboratory is now equipped with dedicated solvent stills, Schlenk line, high vacuum pump, FT-IR, spectro-electro-chemistry apparatus and other modern facilities for organome-tallic chemistry research. This laboratory provides research opportunities and training to B.Sc., M.Sc. & Ph.D. students, Post-doctoral scholars, techni-cians and young faculty mem-bers in organometallic polymer chemistry resulting in a credible Polymer Research Group at SQU that is well recognized by the international Materials Chemis-try community. My SQU-based research has resulted in 80 high impact journal publications and 70 conference presentations.