United Arab Emirates

This paper describes the effect of “online science teaching ” in teacher education institutes in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The study was undertaken to understand the mindset and perceptions of educators with respect to online education with a sample comprising of 20 pre-service teachers in the second semester of a one-year post graduate course in education. A quantitative research methodology was adopted to investigate the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of online education. Also, there were interviews conducted and included in the analysis. A major result indicated that participants had a better understanding of course materials through using the online medium. Other results indicated the effectiveness of the online instruction to measure participants ’ expectations regarding the course design, role of the facilitator and interactions between the participants themselves and the instructor or facilitator. Supportive interviews indicated key aspects and also comparing the two modes: online and face-to-face