Dr. Shariffa Khalid Qais Al Said

Role: Educational Expert (retired), Ministry of Education, Sultanate of Oman Relationship Depth: External Partner

Role & Affiliation

Title: Educational Expert (retired), Ministry of Education, Sultanate of Oman
Education: EdD, Columbia University (Teachers College), New York
Connection: Via Oman hackathon / Josh Weiss

30-year career at Oman’s Ministry of Education
Seconded to the Ministry’s Specialized Institute for the Professional Training of Teachers
Visually impaired since birth — staunch advocate for blind students and employment
Published in international journals; presented at AERA (2013, 2014) and AHEAD (2012)
Organized the Gulf Collaboration Symposium for the Advancement of Special Education (Muscat, 2014) and 2nd Gulf Collaboration Special Education Conference (Dubai, 2016)
Co-authored research on multiple literacies for individuals who are blind or visually impaired (with Columbia/Pittsburgh researchers)

Interested in designing a curriculum from the ground up centered on children with learning differences
Reuben’s approach: use AI Flash Lab concept as starting point to explore affordances available to students with learning differences in 2026, then build curriculum from there
Feb 8 meeting with Josh, Reuben, and Maryam Alkhzami (autism PhD): Clarified the ask is for guidelines + teacher training, not curriculum per se. She’s been asked to find someone who can provide training. Part 1 is a whitepaper. Shared designkit.stanford.edu. Created collaborative Google Doc during the call.
Connected us with Maryam Alkhzami — PhD in autism, key collaborator on this effort

Talk: https://youtu.be/IQNMA6whUrI
Research: “Modes of ordering disability: students living with visual disabilities in the Sultanate of Oman” (Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 2017)
Research: “Multiple Literacies for Individuals who are Blind or with Visual Impairment” (2017)