Sifundise Primary School will soon top up

Sifundise will soon top up...

Satellite launch of the 2010 WorldCup Legacy School Connectivity Project
On the 26 March 2014.

Click click click! It's no more a dream to learners and teachers at Sifundise Primary School. It's happening everyday. Everybody in this school is excited to receive 20 laptops in a trolley loaded with educational material for all their grades.

 Like a school name 'Sifundise' meaning teach us, learners are always ready to be taught and they are also ready to teach others as they share the laptops.

The 2010 World Cup Legacy School e- Connectivity Project was launched on the 26 March 2014 in Free State Province at Senakangwedi Secondary School. Sifundise was part of the eight chosen schools representing Mpumalanga during the launch as satellites. About 163 schools in Mpumalanga in the Nkangala District benefited from the project roll out. Thanks to the Department of Education in partnership with Telkom and the Department of Communication.

All 163 schools in the district will receive training on how to use the laptops with internet. Sifundise Primary School teachers have since been trained by Schoolnet as part of their involvement.

Written by Nomusa Keninda

Rural Mpumalanga Schools get tablets

Six schools in eMalahleni get tablets

Wow! Finally, we are part of the digital nation.

Teachers from Maloma Primary School at eMalahleni 1 circuit were so excited to receive their certificates of attendance after a three weeks training on Basic Computer Literacy Workshop offered by the Mpumalanga Department of Education  Computers in Education Unit (CIE). 

"I still remember how I found the school's computer lab: A dark room, dust all over the computers, number of CPUs disconnected from Monitors and lots of cables scattered around the floor with no hope at all that teachers will ever pick up the skill" 

The passion of computers showed by the Principal, Mr. Meshack Mahlangu drove me to take Maloma Primary School teachers into digital space with me. Together with Mr. Mahlangu, we conducted the basic computer literacy course which included, Microsoft Office, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Some of the teachers touched a computer for the first time in their lives.

The arrival of the 20 laptops in a trolley, a data projector and a printer from the school e-connectivity project, 2010 World Cup Legacy Project was an extra-ordinary blessing to the school. Mahlangu couldn't stop the training. He introduced his staff to the internet in particular, to Google tools in education. They all have G-mail accounts and able to share and receive information electronically.

written by Nomusa Keninda 

We are all doing Apps...but why?

We are all doing apps.. but why?

This article is published in the Khoroni Newsletter : Volume 3 No 6 March 2014, written by Nomusa Keninda- Mpumalanga ICT CLUB Founder. She is also a member of the South African Association of Science & Technology Centres SAASTEC 

who attended the 2014 Science Centre World Summit in Belgium from 17-20 March 2014 funded by the Department of Science and Technology  

While others were presenting their Pecha Kucha, expanding their ideas and perspectives for new and innovative ways to engage a broad and diverse set of audiences in the Yellow Room, others were in the Blue Room asking today's big question. "We are all doing apps..but why?

The speakers selected by the Science Centre World Summit 2014 together with their audience in the blue room were to have a robust debate looking into mobile apps to see if they can really serve as powerful bridges between science centres /museums, universities and the public. Whether apps can encourage visitors's reflections on how scientific thinking can promote knowledge with sensitive or social implications. 

The debate wasn't simple. Battles of innovative ideas and questions fought to get a space in the room. Some arguing about the different operating system on mobile devices such as iOS, Android and windows phone, and whether to develop apps that can cover all multiple platforms. The question of costs and Return on Investment(ROI) couldn't be ignored. The cost of designing quality and engaging apps with 90% reach can be costly.

Immediately, a question was asked, "Does this mean we shouldn't do apps?" The debate continued until the speakers decided to compare between mobile apps and mobile websites. Another angle of discussion discovered that people don't go to app store when looking for information, they go to Google and they are likely to land on your mobile site. And that mobile website works on all smartphones. At the end of all the factors shared, a science centre should decide if it wants to reach users across more than one platform. Whether science centres go with a mobile website or mobile app-or both- science centres will probably benefit.

Many questions remained unanswered- hence the debate will always go beyond the summit session to various platforms in our institutions. Costs, security, data and user's choice formed the centre of the debate. The fact of it all is that Mobile technology is really taking off. Science Centres should begin to develop online mobile strategy that can be simplified as WEBSITE>MOBILE SITE(if necessary)>MOBILE APP(if necessary)=REACH