South African education early beneficiary of IBM/Cisco collaboration on e-learning

IBM SA`s use of a mobile-wireless classroom solution in the GautengOnline pilot programme examining options for computerising and networking all of Gauteng`s 2 450 schools by 2006, is one of the first implementations of an e-learning collaboration between IBM and Cisco Systems.

A similar solution is being deployed in Scotland.

The solution used for GautengOnline, known as the `IBM ThinkPad Mobile Wireless Classroom`, consists of a robust trolley that is a hub for ThinkPad notebook computers using Cisco wireless technologies as well as a secure storage unit for the computers when not in use.

Optimised for connectivity to the Internet, the ThinkPads have leading-edge integrated wireless facilities, including - for the first time - built-in Cisco Aironet 350 Series Wi-Fi (802.11b) technology and security protocols.

The solution gets schools up and running on the Internet and computerised learning quickly and affordably.

And, it enables schools to bring computers to the students in their own classrooms rather having the students go, in a set period, to a computer laboratory.

This vastly increases the range of uses to which the computers can be put by students and teachers.

Says IBM`s James Penny: "IBM and Cisco have a joint vision of e-learning, which is not only about enabling people to learn about computers. It`s about enabling people to use computers to learn.

"Mobile wireless computers can become an integral part of the learning process in any classroom.

"They don`t, necessarily, replace traditional teaching tools, or even fixed, wired, desktop computers. But they are very powerful additional education vehicles that can be used in many different ways - some not fully explored yet.

"So, they give educators flexibility in the same way as cellphones have widened telecommunications choices for consumers."

A second joint e-learning offering from IBM and Cisco, called the `Learning and Information Outlet`, provides a complete set of tools and technologies for rapidly creating and deploying rich multimedia content around a networked organisation.

Trek to the summit

00Days

:

00Hrs

:

00Min

:

00Sec

It also allows education organisations to take advantage of the growth in bandwidth to communicate quickly with geographically dispersed students and staff.

Like the mobile wireless classroom, the Outlet is a `quick start` offering - allowing organisations to start small and grow as fast and as securely as they need.

Both IBM and Cisco have years of experience working with the education sectors and meeting their needs beyond simply offering essential technology components.

Penny says that experience has shown that education via technology has the capacity to fundamentally change the way educators work.

"Technology tends to trigger most educators into an evolutionary process.

"To start with, they just use technology to do a little more efficiently what they have always done.

"Then they see how it opens up the world to students in a way that text books and chalk boards simply cannot and they start looking for ways to exploit its inherent educational value.

"Educators in the GautengOnline pilot schools are in the early stages of the first phase - finding their way around the equipment and software.

"And, like others new to computing technology, they don`t really know what to expect from it.

"But, already, it`s hard to prise either the teachers or the students away from the computers."