Vodacom's new multi-stakeholder Mobile Education Programme hopes to realise government's goal that by 2015, every child who has passed grade three will have had exposure to ICT.
Speaking at the initiative's announcement at Vodacom's headquarters, in Midrand, yesterday, CEO Pieter Uys said the programme aims to provide teachers throughout SA with better access to educational resources and ICT.
The initiative will see the roll-out of nine ICT resource centres - one in each province - which will reach 200 schools in the region. The centres will serve as district teacher-training hubs and are equipped with 50 computer terminals and high-speed Internet connectivity. Using services provided by the various partners, these centres will allow teachers to access educational content uploaded and stored in a central cloud.
“Teachers will now be able to use cloud computing to access vital content, teacher-aids and resources to help deliver quality education,” said Uys.
The programme is particularly geared towards improving the quality of physical science and mathematics teaching, which remain the most challenging subjects for South African learners.
Deputy minister of the Department of Basic Education, Enver Surty, said there was a need to take a step back before moving forward, as many learners still battle with basic literacy and numeracy skills.
A recent departmental assessment of students' ability to read and write showed they struggled with fundamental concepts - an area where ICT can play a significant role, said Surty.
“To reach out to 27 000 schools personally is impossible, but ICT has the ability to monitor remotely what's been done in terms of interventions.”
“We have a responsibility to ensure all students have access to the technology needed to compete in a 21st-century, interactive world. This is not just for the benefit of the children or the specific school, but for the whole country,” said Surty.
Partner power
Uys emphasised the need to partner with stakeholders to optimise projects for social good. “We cannot do it alone. We can't just give money and walk away - we have to make it sustainable.”
He added that there was a lack of equality in terms of technology access, which should be available to everyone. “ICT can play a big role in the entire country and economy, and it starts with giving young children access to information.”
The ICT Resource Centres are connected through a virtual private network to Vodacom's head office in Midrand, which hosts a portal serving as the programme's online hub. This connection provides a pipeline of information connecting the centres, participating schools and teachers to the Internet, free textbooks and other educational resources.
Content and training is supplied by partner companies Microsoft and Cisco, which includes professional development curriculum software, teacher certification programmes, computer technician certification and entrepreneurship training.
Mindset Learn has made its range of curriculum-aligned digital video content available, as well as various supporting print and multimedia resources. It has also developed more than 50 hours of specific teacher development video content, to show teachers how to effectively use the learning resources. The training programmes are freely available at Mindset Learn.
Uys noted that of the roughly 27 000 schools in SA, only 30% have access to technology of any kind, and 10% to the Internet.
“The Vodacom Mobile Education Programme is our most ambitious project, but it is also the most important.
“It not only levels the playing field for rural schools that often don't have access to the same quality of teaching material that urban schools have, but it also ensures that schools, teachers, learners and communities have access to ICT and the Internet,” he said.
First with Webbook
Uys also used the event to introduce the Vodafone Webbook, noting that SA is the first developing country to roll out the product, which was designed for emerging markets.
The device has 512MB of memory and comes with the Ubuntu OS, with various software applications and the ability to load specialised content. Vodacom says the Webbook is designed to provide affordable Internet access that can also be used in the education sector.
The Webbook costs R1 499 as a standalone device with a prepaid option.
For more information and to see where in the provinces the ICT Resource Centres are located, visit the Vodacom Mobile Education Programme's Digital Classroom.
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