During the past decade, the massive worldwide conversion of learning content from print and other older media on to digital networks has created gatekeepers who limit access to their digital content or require online users to pay for it.
A variety of gatekeepers have made a third choice:
to open their content freely into the Internet.
These are their stories.
August 18, 2006
His Majesty King Abdullah II
King of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
The Official Website of His Majesty King Abdullah II contains a large amount of information about the king, his country and the Islamic history of his royal family.
This website is an open educational resource of exceedingly high quality when looked at as a place for students to learn about a subject about which opinions vary. The authority cannot be questioned for what is found here because the materially is officially created and approved by the government of Jordan. The quality of authors for the material is the best possible because they are chosen by the government.
The website is, obviously, not objective about the content. There is an important learning perspective in working with material that is setting out a point of view with out seeking to balance it with opposite points of view. A student will know that "this is what the King of Jordan" says about the topics in the website he or she is learning from.
The Family Tree and other website subsections on the Hashemites are an excellent place to study Arab history and the development of Islam. In the image at the right, the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, is shown in the box. The present King of Jordan, Abudulla II is the final name at the bottom. The chart thus shows the central understanding of Jordan that its King is of the most vital descendency possible in Islam.
A great deal of history is described in the website, including the sample below. In the new global digital age, history and religion reach into our thoughts more and more through websites like the King of Jordan. The ability to study all points of view by visiting all relevant websites is quite new. It contrasts to 20th century textbooks and related learning materials that sought to present a balanced point of view. Perhaps doing that is impossible for historical subjects when there are veiws that do not agree. It is a higher form of learning for a student to submit to the advocacy of all parties and then make his or her own decison.
An excerpt from the King Abdullah website
Mohammad (PBUS) laid the foundations for a future Islamic society model. Upon succeeding in the Arab peninsula, he carried the banner of Islam internationally. Mu'tah, in the 8th Hijri year, was the first gate he had to go through. Then Yarmouk, in the 13th Hijri, to secure the northern borders. Qadisiyyeh, 15th Hijri, to secure the eastern borders. The State of Islam was thus created, consisting of Bilad al Sham, Arab peninsula, and Iraq. Arabs were united within one structure, with the language and the nationalistic senses bringing them together, based on the righteous Islamic religion. Moslems lived alongside non-Moslems, Ahl al Thima, or whoever wanted to retain their religion.
The Islamic nation was thus created, based on the Quranic verse:
"Mankind! We created You from a single (pair)of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (Not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)"
The Holy Quran,
Surat al Hujarat -13
The Hashemites
The Hashemites
The Dawn of Islam