Learning Arabic Through Virtual Classroom (LAVC) for Year Six Students

Abstract

Arabic education in Malaysian schools has taken a systematic turn to keep up with the need to comprehend the fundamental sources of Islam: the Quran, prophetic sayings, and other Islamic Sciences. Today, the Jawi, Quran, Arabic, and Fardhu Ain (JQAF) Program has substantially contributed to Malaysia's consolidation of Arabic education. From being an optional subject, it was later declared a mandatory subject for all Malaysian students in national primary schools to secondary school. The proposed virtual classroom is aimed at addressing the challenges faced by teachers in teaching the Arabic language as there is no one standardized platform for sharing teaching and learning Arabic materials. As the first step in this study Year Six students from Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato' Yahya Subban, Perak have been selected to participate. The preliminary study highlights the need for a standardized approach to sharing teaching materials, the impact of e-learning, and the dispersed nature of digital teaching materials. The study proposed the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) theory and the Adapted System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) method which consists of six phases which are Planning, Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Reporting. Data requirements involved interviews with eleven teachers and a survey of nineteen students. The virtual classroom was then evaluated through a collaborative effort involving two IT experts, an Arabic specialist, and thirty students. The evaluation results showed that the virtual classroom developed meets the requirements and provides a positive learning experience for students. Overall, the study highlights the importance of using established theories and models in developing educational technology and the positive impact it can have on student learning.