Technology educators` support should go far beyond skills training, says The Organisation for Educational Resources and Training (ORT)-Tech Institute director, Alta Greeff.
None of the technology teachers in SA were technology students at school, according to Greeff, and may therefore encounter problems when delivering information effectively to learners.
ORT-Tech Institute has introduced ORT SEED (Sustainable Educator Empowerment and Development) in Cape Town, as part of its plan to bring technology education to under-resourced schools.
ORT SEED is an on-site support system offering assistance to teachers who deliver and implement technology knowledge.
"Technology is a new learning area for South African schools. It includes structures, processes and mechanisms. This doesn`t only refer to PCs, although as in all learning areas we strive to include curriculum delivery via computers," Greeff says.
This system has been rolled-out to teachers in Northwood, Sobambisana and Linge Primary Schools in Cape Town. Teachers from neighbouring schools are also receiving associated beneficial training, says ORT-Tech.
There are plans to roll-out the system to schools in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and to Jewish schools in Cape Town and Johannesburg next year.
"The ORT SEED project, headed by Alta Greeff, will take ORT SA to the next level in terms of its active participation in the education of technology throughout the country. The teaching of technology is so badly needed and this is a gap in the country`s education, which ORT is filling," says ORT SA national director Michael Sieff.
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