Dr. Mongi acting dean in absence of Dr. Jassim

By Deeba Hasan

Dr. Mongi Hamouda, previously the assistant dean and Head of English Department at Bayan College is now entrusted with a new responsibility of the ‘acting dean’. This step is taken by the College Board since Dr. Jassim is on his annual leave. Dr. Mongi has been in the new job for two weeks now.

Dr. Hamouda has been taking care of both internal and external affairs of the college since his appointment as the acting dean. His everyday schedule remains very busy since he has three positions to maintain.

“if the dean and college management has entrusted and trusted me with these different duties, I can only do my best to meet their trust ensure that I stand upto their expectations, this is a challenge and I have accepted to do it for a short while until Dr. Jassim returns.” said Dr. Hamouda

Dr. Hamouda is practically never free, one can always find him talking to guests, visitors, teachers or students in his office and it is very hard to fix a time to meet him. He regularly switches his position in the Dean’s office, located in the media building as well as his own office on the English building.

“My day is much longer than it used to be, I am the first to enter college and the last to leave every day because I have to carry out every task and then leave. I know that with the support of the students and faculty members my task has become easier. Further, the cooperation from Dr. Juma also makes accomplishing my tasks a lot easier.” Dr. Hamouda added.

Bayan students display acting talents in Omani TV series

By Deeba Hasan,

Four talented students from Bayan College have been shooting for a new Omani TV series (Hakaya Ijtimaiya) schedule to be broadcasted on Oman TV throughout the holy month of Ramadan. The four students are Zuwina Al Ghadani, Maha Omar Abdulla, Amira Al Mazrooi and Khulood Al Mamari.

The shooting has been going on for four months now and is expected to get over by the end of July and will be broadcasted during August, when Ramadan falls. The four students feel they are very lucky to work with Dr. Khalid Al Zedjali, the director of the series and a pioneer in filmmaking in the country.

Zuwina Al Ghadani (left) and Maha Omar Abdulla

Out of the four, two students- Zuwina and Maha are not new to acting on screen, they have previously acted for some TV series and documentary films and this series would be another enriching experience for them under Dr. Khalid’s guidance.

Maha expressed her joy by saying, “I am very excited, we have had a good time shooting in different locations, it has been great.” She has also done theatre while in school which gave her a good experience in acting.

The students are called for shooting around four days a week and the shooting takes place in different areas of the country namely- Musandam, Sohar, Sur and Salalah. The students are very happy and proud on getting this wonderful opportunity.

Zuwina says, “Acting in this series will help me improve my acting skills greatly, I love to work with the entire crew, my friends and we go to different locations, that lets us travel around and work as well, its phenomenal.”

"It is a wonderful practical experience for the students, because here they apply their acting knowledge and skills. Because it goes beyond classroom teaching, they learn a lot from the overall experience of working in a team, going for shooting in different locations, keeping up with the schedules and I am sure if they continue doing good work like this, they will surely get more oppurtunities in the future. I am happy with their performance." said Dr. Khalid

All the four students are broadcasting majors and acting enthusiasts.

The 'Facebook' bug

The Internet today has been severely hit by the Facebook bug and so have the internet users. Millions own Facebook accounts which accounts for the 500 million users it has. It is may have fluctuations in the number of users where many are shutting their accounts whereas new users are making their way into the Facebook world every single day.

The 'facebook bug'
Picture source: http://www.blogsdna.com/13829/facebook-bug-update-facebook-disabled-accounts-now-live.htm

The Facebook bug has not only influenced the youth but also the older folks. Many people in their forties, fifties and sixties are opening Facebook accounts and updating them on a regular basis. This also helps them get exposed to a lot of technological factors that they have not been used to; it helps them get well acquainted to the internet.

Today, most office going people have Facebook accounts and the usage levels are quite alarming. On reaching office, even before having their morning tea, people open their Facebook just to check if they have any new notifications or messages. Then they minimize the Facebook window and start their routine office work but make it a point to come back to their Facebook several times before the office hours get over.

Facebook for a lot of the office-goers is a means to reconnect to old friends and keep in touch with colleagues and clients. It also lets them have some fun where they can comment on friends’ posts, chat with them, and upload pictures of recent events.

Statistics reveal interesting figures; Facebook is now used by 1 in every 13 people on earth, with over 250 million of the users (over 50%) log in every day. A lot of the users sit on Facebook for very long hours which strain their eyes and give them headaches.

This rapid rate at which the Facebook bug is spreading is shocking and surprising. Statistics say that Facebook is gaining more popularity among Asian users than ever before. In fact, several European and North American users are shutting down their Facebook accounts because of boredom from using it.

According to Amisha Joshi, a student at CBFS and a regular Facebook user, “I think Facebook is the main source of entertainment these days, its awesome, the world now looks smaller, I can watch videos and see my friends pictures which is brilliant but what I love the most about Facebook is ‘chat’

Not only Amisha but a lot of girls of her age are switching to Facebook as they think, it’s a great source of entertainment without even realizing how much time of theirs it takes and how addictive it can be!

John Stefos, a final year, International Communication undergrad student from American University in Washington D.C. says about Facebook, “Facebook has made the world a smaller place. I have friends through out the Middle East and Europe and keeping in contact with them is very easy using social media tools. I was struck by how remarkable this technology was when one day I was Facebook chatting with my Arabic professor in Egypt when my Italian friend skype called me. Three people, in three different continents, all talking to each other at the same time. If that technology doesn't change the world, I'm not sure what will.”

The ‘Facebook age’, as it is called by a few experts has giving a completely new dimension to the world today and the rate at which its spreading is superb, no one wants to be away from all the fun that others get to have on Facebook, this is why they have their own Facebook accounts.

Facebook caters to a bundle of needs; some use it for email, some to chat, some for videos and photos, some to connect with friends and colleagues. However, there is more to it, many also use it to escape from depression.

A home maker who wishes to be anonymous says, “Since I have started to use Facebook, my depression levels have come down, I spent my time chatting with friends and finding old ones, it’s great I think, I am so happy to see a lot of my old friends and colleagues on Facebook.”

Facebook has a lot of positives and negatives to offer – we can stay connected with friends, chat, upload and watch videos and pictures but to what extent, is the actual question, we can do all of these and keep a healthy Facebook relationship but it the bug does not have to enter our lives and get us addicted. The rest is for us to decide! 

Fascinating facts on Facebook:

-         Over 48% of Facebook users are between the 18-34 ages.

-         Many of them check their accounts the minute they wake up

-         About 28% check it on their smart phones before getting out of their beds.

-         The 35+ demographics now represent more than 30% of the entire userbase.

-         The 18-24 (college) demographic grew the fastest at 74% in one year

-         There are 206.2 million internet users in the US that means 71.2% of the US web audience is on Facebook.

-         About 70% of the Facebook userbase resides outside the US

-         48% of young Americans say that they find about news from Facebook

-         A record-breaking 750 million photos were uploaded to Facebook over New Year’s weekend.

Bayan College-a place for dreams to bloom

In the current scenario, education holds paramount prominence. Uneducated people are considered futile. This is why a majority of the countries are putting a greater emphasis on educating the youth who will later be the future of their country.

The Omani government too has been taking measures to augment the quality of education. The good news is that the government in this area has excelled to a great extent. Numerous grants and scholarships by them are evident of the fact.

Students in an interactive session at Bayan college
-Photo by: Faisal Al Amri

Today Omani youths supplemented by a variety of educational programs in the country are taking a deeper interest in almost all fields of education be they science, commerce or arts related subjects.

Take, for example, the field of mass communication. It is beginning to take root in Oman’s educational sector. It includes areas like broadcasting, journalism, advertising and public relations.

About a decade ago Omanis were not very keen to go in for media studies but in recent times the sudden urge among students to take up media studies is quite encouraging and at times inexplicable.

New Media College takes birth

Furthermore, Omani boys as well as girls are showing a greater interest in this field. That explains why we have a college in Muscat only for English and Media studies named Bayan College. In an interview with a few students of this college about their interest in Media studies, we found interesting responses.

Bayan students launch their bi-monthly newspaper, 'Bayan Post'
-Photo by: Bayan Post staff

“What I believe is that earlier, even though the people were interested in going for media studies, they were not fully supported by their families and things at that time were very traditional. Moreover, then the technology was not so developed to provide enough for the various media studies. However, now things are different; the people are coming out and exploring new things, technology has improved and the best thing is that the students are getting moral support from their families for the media studies. I think more and more Omanis should come forward and take up various professions in the field of media’’ says Salma Rashid Al Rashidy, who recently graduated in Broadcasting major from this college.

Students of the college working in the computer lab
-Photo by Deeba Hasan

Zuweina Al Jabri, a broadcasting major student says of the college, "I think more than having the GER (General Education  Requirement) courses at college, we need to have professional courses related to our major. We need experts and specialised people to teach us our courses which will help us gain more knowledge on the field of our major." 


Another student, Dhahi Al Mamari whose major is English Literature said “I opted for this major because I think I want to teach in the future. I want to impart whatever I have been taught, to the next generation so that they emerge as qualified professionals. It is my dream to graduate with distinction from Bayan and contribute to the success of my Nation."


Dhahi further says, "I feel that parents need to guide the students and converse with them in english at home, so they get used to the language. This is specially advisable for those students who want to go into Media or english majors."

 Students of Al Bayan College hold that “if Omani people become good media persons they can better project the challenges and achievements of the Omani people as they are born, and brought up in the same culture. They know all about their country”.

At Bayan, some students are working with different media organizations. Since they do not have a high degree or a diploma, they feel that if they get a good qualification in media, their future career prospects will be brighter.

One such student is Bader Al Kiyumi who has been at Bayan since four years and is still enjoying his time here, only thing is that sometimes he feels pressurized when he has to meet the deadlines both at college and at his work. He works for Oman daily Observer, an english daily in Oman. When asked about balancing both college and work he says, “it gets very hard for me sometimes, coming from work to college and then going back, at times I work till late night at office because during the day I am at college, I also do office work during the weekends, it's not easy to manage."

Bayan students organise poetry competition at Crowne Plaza hotel
-Photo by: Bayan college student

Some people think mass media related subjects do not have as much importance as those of science or finance. However, this is not true. Mass communication is very much required today as it assumes great importance and helps project the challenges and achievements of people. Not only that but it also updates people about various issues concerning themselves and keeps them informed about happenings in their city, country and the world. Thus, not only for Oman but for each and every country mass communication is inevitable.

Dr. Jassim, dean of the college lecturing students in a class
-Photo by: Deeba Hasan

As Oman advances with its economic diversification programs, the importance of mass communication is increasing. Omani students going for mass communication have a bright future ahead because this is a growing industry in the country that calls for local talent.

-          Deeba Hasan

Bayan Students shoot for documentary at Haramel Beach

By Deeba Hasan
1^st July’2011

Fifteen students from Bayan College, Muscat spent a day in Haramel beach shooting for their new documentary project for their TV production class on Sunday, 26th June’ 2011. They were accompanied and supervised by Qais, their asst. teacher for the course.

Bayan students at Haramel beach
-Photo by: Abdulaziz Al Zedjali

The documentary focuses on Haramel which is a fishing village on the outskirts of Qantab which is a very famous beach of Oman. The students have taken clippings of fishermen talking on camera about their usual fishing routine and the fishing business.

“It was a great experience working together and learning how to use the equipment which we only read about so far, we had to walk a bit which was hard in this heat but we still enjoyed working together” said Jawaher Al Rashdy, a student from the class.

Students carried all their shooting equipment with them including boom microphones, professional video cameras, reflectors etc to help them shoot professionally and avoid any disturbances with the quality of the video. The students are also planning to edit the same during the following week.

Abdulaziz Al Zedjali who was the student leader of the project said that this was a learning experience and students got the chance to work with the camera and other equipment closely. Such projects should be encouraged in the future as well; we thank our professor for giving us the opportunity to do this.”