Two-Pages Resume

Dr. Abdurrahman Ghaleb Almekhlafi started his professional career working as a research assistant at Technology-Based Learning and Research (TBLR) at Arizona State University in 1995 by the time he finished his MA in Teaching English as a Second Language; he also started his Ph.D. program at the same Institution.

In 1999, Dr. Almekhlafi received his Ph.D. in Curriclum and Instruction/Educational Media and Computers, and was hired for a Post Doctorate position at TBLR and a Post Hoc Faculty Member at the Technology Department at the College of Education, Arizona State University. Prior to this, Dr. Almekhlafi received a Postgraduate Diploma in English Language Studies from Sanaa University in 1993, and a B.A. in English in 1989. The following few paragraphs summarize Dr. Almekhlafi’ s expertise in teaching, scholarship, and service.

Regarding teaching, before moving onto UAE University in the academic year of 2000, Dr. Almekhlafi was working at ASU as a research assistant and then as a post doc, where he taught various graduate and undergraduate technology courses. Since his arrival to the United Arab Emirates, he has been teaching different courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels; many of which focus on technology. Additionally, Dr. Almekhlafi taught a number of seminars for the MA students and has been involved in the development of course syllabi/curricula for graduate and undergraduate programs.

In his teaching, Dr. Almekhlafi has been focusing on integrating up-to-date technology into teaching and learning. Thus, he has been involved in different technology-related projects initiated by the United Arab Emirates University including the Laptop Project, the iPad Project, the Mobile-Learning Project, the Smart-Learning Course Transformation Project, and finally the Blended Learning Project. Consequently, Dr. Almekhlafi has been involved in developing many courses related to such projects. Recently, Dr. Almekhlafi has transformed two courses into Smart Learning and participated in transforming a third one. Similarly, he is involved in the implementation of Blended Learning courses proposed by the College of Education as part of a larger University initiative.

Pertaining to scholarship activities, Dr. Almekhlafi has been conducting research focusing on topics in education, particularly technology integration in teaching and learning such as: integrating technology into teaching k-12 curriculum, gender differences in using technology, eLearning in k-12 and higher education, computer-assisted language learning, interactive multimedia, ebooks in the classroom, digital collaboration tools for learning, and technology for special needs students.

Dr. Almekhlafi has published numerous articles, alone or coauthored with others, at different refereed international journals such as: (1) Interactive Technology and Smart Education, (2) International Journal of Research Studies in Educational Technology, (3) Journal of Education and Social Sciences, (4) Journal of International Special Needs Education, (5) International Journal of Business and Social Science, (6) International Journal for Research in Education, (7) Educational Technology & Society, (8) International Journal for Research in Education, (9) Journal of Interactive Learning Research, and (10) International Journal of Instructional Media.

The latest published manuscripts (2017) are (1) English Language Teachers’ Perceptions of Using ICT in Teaching in Cycle 3 in the United Arab Emirates, (2) Male and female language teachers' technology integration differences in elementary schools in the United Arab Emirates, and (3) United Arab Emirates University Students’ Attitudes towards Students with Disabilities.

Dr. Almekhlafi has been serving as a reviewer or an editorial board member for a number of regional and international journals. Recently, he has been serving as the editor-in-chief for the International Journal for Research in Education. In addition, he has served as a supervisor or a member for MA theses at the College of Education, and has served as an external examiner for a number of Ph.D. dissertations inside and outside of the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, he has presented at numerous local, regional, and international conferences held at various countries such as UAE, USA, Spain, Austria, China, Malaysia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Singapore, and South Korea.

Regarding services, Dr. Almekhlafi has been involved in various Department-College-University level committees; many of which were related to accreditation through NCATE, CAEP, and other accreditation bodies since the academic year 2000-2001. Moreover, he has been involved immensely in training k-12 school teachers, and university faculty members in integrating technology in their teaching.

Dr. Almekhlafi has conducted numerous on and off-campus workshops to a wide variety of audiences including students, teachers, university faculty members, and other educators such as school principals and supervisors. The focus of most of these training workshops was on eLearning management systems, flipped classroom technologies, creating online exams, mobile and smart learning, cloud computing application in education, collaboration tools, and pedagogy. Within the College of Education, he has conducted a number of workshops for faculty members and for students as well on technology integration topics such as the development of eportfolios.

As part of his love and enthusiasm for training, he has joined a certification program (ILLAFTrain, Dubai-UAE) and was awarded a Certified Professional Trainer diploma in 2017. Thus, beside UAE faculty members, he has trained many faculty members on technology integration outside UAE University such as Sanaa University, Hodeida University, and Sharjah University. In addition, Dr. Almekhlafi is the owner and executive manager of Global Tadreeb for Educational Services and Consultations (http://globaltadreeb.com). Global Tadreeb aims at helping teachers, university faculty members, and other educators gain the necessary skills and knowledge they need to help them do well in their fields.

On the leadership level, Dr. Almekhlafi has assumed some administrative affairs during his career such as chairing committees, coordinating courses, coordinating programs (e.g. coordinating Elementary Education, and Early Childhood Programs at different points of time at the College of Education, UAE University). In addition, he served as the coordinator of the Assessment Unit at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the United Arab Emirates University for one whole year.

To conclude, Dr. Almekhlafi can be referred to as: (1) a lecturer of graduate and undergraduate courses, (2) a Certified Professional Trainer of k-12 teachers and university faculty members, (3) a researcher, and (4) an educational consultant severing different educational institutions inside and outside the United Arab Emirates.