Contributing to productive e-learning environments in education can be an effective way of investing in ICT in education as well as supporting the school environment. This article contains examples of these initiatives.
Telkom has an online learning portal to assist learners with maths and science by providing online lessons through edtech platform, Lightbulb Education. Vodacom e-school, provides access to content for Grades R-12. The lessons are free on all networks and Vodacom customers don’t pay for data when making use of the Vodacom e-school library.
The FunDza initiative further makes e-books available via 400 Huawei-sponsored tablets available at 61 Vodacom ICT resource centres across the country. Vodacom e-Learning equips educators with mobile technology to improve the classroom experience. MTN has digitised e-learning material to benefit not only schools with established MTN multimedia centres but also other schools and community centres nationally.
The Gauteng Department of Education’s ‘Classrooms of the Future’ project has seen schools in the province go almost fully digital, with learners using government-issued tablets to access textbooks and notes, and teachers using Smart boards to facilitate classes. Learners can access all learning materials online, thanks to the department’s e-Learning Content and Online Assessment Platform.
Schoolnet South Africa and Siyavula joined forces on a project to roll out maths and science eLearning services to Gauteng schools in partnership with the GDE. Siyavula also offers free online access to all of their CAPS- aligned textbooks – they can be downloaded or read online.
In response to the COVID19 pandemic, African Teen Geeks, in conjunction with the SASOL foundation and the department of education, launched a STEM digital school. Classes were available on Youtube, Facebook and zoom and were later rolled out on community television channels too.
Learn more about investing in online education: Webinar: How online education can support our school system
