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Tournament sparks learner interest in coding


Johannesburg, 07 Oct 2020
TANKS kits
TANKS kits

More than 400 learners from over 80 schools across the country participated in a virtual tournament held from 19 to 26 September 2020, which used gamification to introduce them to basic coding concepts and social issues such as ocean conservation.

Professor Jean Greyling, associate professor in Computing Sciences at Nelson Mandela University, said the BOATS tournament was a partnership between the university’s Department of Computing Science, legal technology company LexisNexis South Africa and non-profit organisation, Leva Foundation, which empowers previously disadvantaged youth by providing employable skills development.

Professor Jean Greyling, associate professor in Computing Sciences at Nelson Mandela University
Professor Jean Greyling, associate professor in Computing Sciences at Nelson Mandela University

“During the tournament, learners logged in from home to access the BOATS Android mobile coding app. They were taken through multiple choice questions that educated them about marine pollution and South Africa's cultural heritage. Up for grabs were TANKS school kits sponsored by LexisNexis South Africa, valued at R3 000 each. These kits introduce learners to coding concepts with the use of tangible tokens and image recognition, eliminating the need for a computer,” he explained.

Sisters Mia van Huyssteen, 13 years old in Grade 7, and Janri van Huyssteen, 17 years old in Grade 11, both of Paul Sauer High School in Kareedouw in the Eastern Cape, scooped the top scores, each winning a tablet.

Sunridge Primary School in Port Elizabeth had the most participants and won two TANKS coding kits.

Anke Hinze of Gene Louw Primary School enjoying BOATS.
Anke Hinze of Gene Louw Primary School enjoying BOATS.

In addition to other incentives such as data and cash prizes, 24 schools each received a TANKS school kit sponsored by LexisNexis. Most of the schools will receive training early next year to roll-out their own coding clubs at their schools.

Professor Greyling said TANKS was developed by one of his former students, Byron Batteson, who is now a Software Development Engineer at Amazon Web Services, to introduce learners to coding concepts.

“Our main coding project is TANKS, which is mainly dependent on interactive coding workshops that reach thousands of learners from mainly disadvantaged communities across the country. With the COVID-19 lockdown situation, it was immediately clear that these workshops were not feasible. We consequently added features to BOATS to allow for virtual tournaments,” he explained.

Success

He said this was the third such tournament. “We had a big number of learners who participated enthusiastically, and we received positive feedback from teachers who said the learners really enjoyed doing something exciting in a year where they have had limited extra-curricular activities. We plan to keep contact with the learners, and hopefully have some of them do an online coding club with a programming language such as C#,” said Professor Greyling.

Videsha Proothveerajh, LexisNexis CEO
Videsha Proothveerajh, LexisNexis CEO

LexisNexis CEO Videsha Proothveerajh said the company’s involvement with the BOATS tournament was part of its annual RE Cares Month programme.

“This year, we were extremely excited to include the BOATS tournament in our RE Cares programme, because technology exposure is very important to us as a company invested in tech solutions that serve the legal, professional and government sectors. One of our core values is also innovation,” she said.

Proothveerajh said LexisNexis’s business and corporate social responsibility efforts are guided by the company’s common global purpose of upholding the rule of law.

“Every October, RE Cares encompasses business-sponsored volunteer activities and fundraising events, as well as in-kind charitable donations to benefit communities across the globe through our international parent company, the RELX Group. We encourage employees to play a positive role in their local communities and to make a positive impact on society as a whole by volunteering at selected charitable organisations.

Great BOATS excitement at Good Work Foundation in Hazyview.
Great BOATS excitement at Good Work Foundation in Hazyview.

“LexisNexis has a software development office based in Nelson Mandela Bay, which has been on the rise as a software development city. We regularly work with Nelson Mandela University to attract talented students and graduates, and the BOATS tournament partnership certainly gave us the opportunity to encourage an interest in technology among even younger South Africans,” she said.

The tournament also provided the top participating schools and NGOs with a R4 000 voucher to purchase shoes for needy children from KwaNobuhle (Uitenhage), Langkloof, Hazyview and Alexandra through the #ShoesForChildren project, initiated by a young man, Godfrey Jacobs from Colchester outside Port Elizabeth, in partnership with the tournament organisers.

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LexisNexis

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that help customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 10,600 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

In South Africa LexisNexis® has been assisting companies and professionals to remain abreast of changing legislation and shifts in the regulatory environment for over 85 years, combining the best of local knowledge in Butterworths with leading-edge tools and online solutions that have positioned the company as a pioneer of legal technology. LexisNexis South Africa’s business units include LexisNexis Legal Information and Compliance, LexisNexis Data Services, LexisNexis Business Software Solutions and LexisNexis Academic. South African investment firm, Tsiya Group acquired a minority interest in LexisNexis South Africa in July 2012. 

Editorial contacts

Jozi Meth
Logico Creative Solutions
(+27) 031 207 2887
jozi@logicocreative.co.za
Neliswa Mncube
Corporate Communications & Brand LexisNexis South Africa
(+27) 031 268 3284
Neliswa.Mncube@lexisnexis.co.za