Coding Evangelists are a pillar of Coding & Robotics Curriculum

This image depicts a group of coding enthusiasts led by Duduzile Mashinini, a coach and friend to many young people in Mpumalanga Province. Duduzile Mashinini joined the Mpumalanga ICT organization as a volunteer to help with various coding projects that the organization has accepted and launched.

She travels with the Founder of the Mpumalanga ICT Club, Ms Nomusa Keninda, to assist schools in implementing Coding and Robotics Curriculum. Her journey as an Unplugged Coding Evengelist has influenced many changes in the mentality of the children she has touched. Coding, as we all know, develops critical thinking abilities, problem solving skills, and all the other amazing skills required in today's changing environment.

Her participation in these coding exercises has also given her the confidence to stand in front of a full-size classroom with more than 60 students and deliver a dynamic coding lecture, just like a licensed instructor. I was quite fortunate to have heard her polite voice pierce through the classroom. 

"When I joined the club, I had no idea what was going on when you teach coding, it was really hard but I learned because I was determined," Dudu said. "There were no financial benefits, but I felt fulfilled to be part of the team that changes lives."

She was lucky to be assigned a role in the club to educate other Coding evangelists who had recently joined the club as Tangible Africa interns. They visit schools with other interns from the eMalahleni and Steve Tshwete Municipalities to explain unplugged Coding using cellphones and puzzle pieces produced by Nelson Mandela University. These interns are currently training teams of students in schools to compete in the Mandela Day Coding Tournament 2023. Last year, this competition was held at Witbank High School, and over 160 children participated in teams. We hope to see more schools celebrate Mandela Day with coding activities.

Maboi Primary School spotted a potential hub for Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts.

I drove through the gates of Maboi Primary School for the first time at 08:30 a.m. I traveled all the way from Mpumalanga Province to share my experience as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert with the teachers who were scheduled to attend the three-day digital literacy training sessions hosted by the Bellamatrix Foundation. 

Maboi Primary School is located in Kromhoek,

Limpopo, in the settlement of Ga-Makgato. What struck me the most about the school's location is the grandeur of the Blouberg mountain range, which can be viewed as one drives from town to hamlet as one approaches Kromhoek. It was amazing to have finally arrived to Maboi Primary School.

I was excited and never imagined that one day I would be stepping foot in this region of South Africa, but I did because when the noble call of becoming a ChangeMaker knocks on your door, you can't say no. I was particularly pleased to see that teachers were eager to learn. As Mr. Dakalo Maswanganyi puts it, "knowledge is not power, but knowledge applied is power." Maswanganyi attended the workshops as a project leader to support the teachers.

In grappling with technology in the classroom, I saw the excitement and drive demonstrated by instructors who are surrounded by multiple contextual elements. During the training sessions, they were unquestionably determined and actively engaged in all areas of the curriculum. They also packed their own internet connection and other types of equipments to ensure that they understand all of the abilities that will allow them to be inventive in their classrooms.

Every teacher can embark on the adventure of becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert. It provides many advantages for students, instructors, and the entire school community because we have already taken the 4IR road in education. Traditional ways of doing things are rapidly disappearing in all aspects of our life, and teachers who keep up with the times provide satisfying experiences in their classrooms. 

Teachers in these courses learned how to conduct assessments with students using a technique known as flipped classroom. Covid-19 has taught us that teaching and learning can be flipped and blended using various online digital platforms such as Testmoz, WhatsApp, Microsoft Excel, Word, Teams, and others. These tools must be learned and used on a daily basis by both teachers and students since they give active participation and fast feedback to both students and teachers, including parents. 

Microsoft Education has created the Microsoft Educator Centre, an online Educator Community platform where teachers can start on a self-paced training journey to become  Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts. Teachers were guided through the process of determining how to best use Microsoft Educator Centre to continue their lifetime learning.

As a member of the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert network, one can meet other teachers who are doing amazing things in their classrooms. During the session, I mentioned Mrs Phuthi Rakgophala, who will receive the Order of the Boabab Silver from the President of South Africa for her continued involvement in education after retiring as a principal. She continues to engage students by providing them with digital literacy skills through a variety of online digital tools and programs, including hosting Skype in the Classroom with international classroom collaboration, coding and robotics, and various AI tools in the classroom. 

When the 2023-24 cohort opens in May of this year, I hope to see many teachers, particularly those who completed the third level of the training session, join the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert group. The Microsoft Educator Centre will be open for self-nominations in May.  

Pi Day Celebration at Makhathini Primary School

 

Mr.Mantengu & Ms Keninda 

On March 23, 2023, Makhathini Primary School celebrated Pi Day with a variety of engaging mathematics and coding activities. Reatlegile Primary, Future Achievers School, and Bright Star School also participated.

 

Pi Day is all about celebrating math and science in a fun and creative way.

To celebrate Pi Day, people often engage in activities that involve pi, such as reciting pi to as many decimal places as possible, making and eating circular foods (such as pies or pizza), participating in math-related activities or games, and attending or hosting Pi Day parties or events.

 

If I were an AI system, I would declare, "I lack the ability to select themes that are "fun or not, because I lack emotions and personal preferences." "But, I can assure you that Mathematics and Coding are undeniably important disciplines with many practical applications in modern life," Ms Keninda remarked, remarking on the celebration of Mathematics Day shortly after presenting Coding to a group of grade 3 and 6 kids.

 

 

Learners were exposed to new mental maths skills, and it was fascinating to watch them tackle some Arithmetic tasks in a timed manner. The grade 3s followed in the footsteps of the grade 6s by being calm and confident during the final competition.

 

These children were also allowed to play the Tanks Coding game, which was developed by the Nelson Mandela University School of Computer Science. Students were able to interact with the Tangible Africa Coding Ambassadors who presented them with the coding session.

When asked to remark on her experience, one learner stated, "It was exciting to learn to code, and I was able to teach my team from the stages of the game."

Her remarks were in reference to the Tanks Coding game, which is played with a tablet and 31 puzzle pieces. These children are learning programming for the first time, and their abilities require a more supportive setting, such as Makhathini Primary School.

 

Teachers are God's free human resources, and they should be innovative in making Mathematics interesting and easy to understand for the students in these grades. Mr. Masingi demonstrated how children might develop a love of maths. Youngsters enjoy stories, and he utilized a Biscuit Man narrative to capture their attention, as he highlighted distinct forms of biscuits in the story, allowing the students to identify these shapes in their surroundings. Undoubtedly, the day was well spent, and we thank Mr. Mantengu for his efforts in organizing the occasion.

Gogo Makhotha hosts a Coding and Robotics session

Gogo Makhotha hosts a Coding and Robotics session

Gogo Makhotha, a 93-year-old citizen from Maserijini Farm near Lothair, will turn 94 on January 10. She was born in Badplaas and married the late Mr. David Makhotha. She had lived on this farm for over 60 years. On December 26, 2022, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Nomzamo Makhotha, request that she host a coding and robotics workshop for the Maserijini and Lothair farm village children. "Mine angati lutfo my kind, nine nifundzile phela yentani msebenti wenu," Gogo Makhotha said, claiming that she knows nothing and that because you are educated, you can do the work. She never hesitated to extend the invitation to her neighbors who came to see her on Christmas Day. "Nitfumele bantwana kusasa, makoti utobafundzisa," she was heard saying. On the 26th of December, the community children arrived as expected. Despite the fact that it rained in the morning, the children were eager to learn about coding and robotics.

Coding and robotics are relatively new subjects in South Africa. The President, Cyril Ramaphosa, announced it in his state of the nation address in 2019, and a few schools were identified to pilot the subject in 2020. The Minister of Basic Education announced in 2022 that all schools will fully implement the coding and robotics subject in grades R through 7, with other grades, such as grade 8 and 9, continuing with the pilot.

The workshop got off to a great start at Gogo Makhotha, with two sessions introduced to the children. The first session was about the Boat app, and the interface of the app was laid out on the ground in a grid, and children had to move two robots according to instructions given by facilitators to two groups of children. One group quickly named their robot Viase (Female), while the other named theirs Ace (Male), and they both used their group mate to follow their instructions to reach the other robots.

The second session focused on manipulating the Tanks App with seven smartphones and seven sets of Tanks puzzle pieces designed by Nelson Mandela University. After the first few levels, the children had to play the Tanks game independently by following a few basic instructions from the facilitators. The Tanks game has 35 levels, starting with simple steps and progressing to levels that are more complex. The power of Tanks, with its embedded problem-solving skills, inspires the children to keep going until they reach the next level. "We'll get it right this time, let's try again," some kids said. "We are now in level 7 and ready to use the red puzzle," said Lindo Zulu, one of Gogo Makhotha's great grandchildren. The red puzzle is the Shoot Puzzle, which clears the path by to removing obstacles in the app so that the Tanker can reach the Star.

The coding and robotics session was full of joy and laughter, and the children were special here at Gogo Makhotha's house. They prepared special hot dogs and cold drinks with the help of other older grandchildren, and Gogo Makhotha gave them sweets.

Mpumalanga Tangible Coders

I've been coding since 2016, and one of my main challenges has been reaching as many kids as possible, but that wasn't always possible because many schools don't have computer labs, and devices like desktops, laptops, and tablets were fantasies for many schools in my district.

Some schools will receive old unused desktop computers disguised as contributions. Because the schools with devices were not connected to the internet, connectivity, which was necessary by some coding sessions, reduced my energy levels. One extraordinary, unexpected day occurred when I feared the Mpumalanga ICT Club of my dreams would not survive the Covid-19 trials. I needed something to get me through it, especially after the President announced that coding and robotics will be added as formal subjects. I wanted to do more. 

I discovered about unplugged coding via Prof Jean Greyling's articles and reached out to him without hesitation; he hooked me up. You know what, I was overjoyed, and my sister Ntombizodwa and my daughter Nomzamo shone the brightness through my eyes as they touched those coding tokens of Tanks. We were all taken aback by the app's image recognition magic, as well as the game's inherent problem-solving and teamwork skills. Wait until I engulf you with all of the reactions we received from each child who touched the same tokens. "Mem, I'm winning," one grade 3 pupil said in the middle of the workshop at Benzangani Primary School. We were able to reach more schools,  than what we expected such as ITsoseng, Rankaila, Phopholo, Bazani in Mpumalanga and Tiamoko and Tlamaganyo Primary School in Soshanguve.

I tried my best to explain the coding games on the local radio stations and in the local media, but it only made sense when journalists came to witness the largest coding competition ever held in our province, the Mandela Day Coding Tournament. 

It had a great impact, made people smile, and told amazing stories all around South Africa and beyond. We were counted in and are still waiting for additional major events. We, the Mpumalanga ICT Club and the interns from the Leva Foundation, have established ourselves as Mpumalanga's Tangible Coders.

Coding is a new language, every child deserves to be fluent

Coding is gaining popularity in our classrooms. Although not all schools were chosen to pilot the Coding and Robotics Curriculum, many schools accepted the challenge of incorporating the topic as a non-examable in their curriculum, making it fashionable to all children.

Ms. Nomusa Keninda, the "Coding Queen," who is also the creator of the Professional Learning Community - Mpumalanga ICT Club, visits schools on a regular basis to teach Coding together with Leva Foundation interns who are Coding Evangelists for the Nelson Mandela University Computing School.

"Our goal is to ensure that learners are aware of, comprehend, and have coding skills; in this sense, we are stating that all learners deserve to be fluent in Coding because it is a new language." Ms. Keninda claims

Schools in KwaGuqa townships like Khayalethu, Vuma, Siphendulwe, Moruti Makuse, and Duvha Primary School have been blessed to host the Leva Foundation Coding Project using Unplugged Coding Apps such as TANKS and Boats. Other schools in the Gembokspruit area, as well as two in Soshanguve, were included to the project.

The Mpumalanga ICT Club has been involved in the Africa Code Week Campaign and the Hour of Code since 2016. "It took me a while to understand and learn the coding languages, especially Scratch, but I did it because I am passionate about digital technology, and now I am expanding my arms to reach teachers and these kids."

Ms. Nomusa Keninda maintains numerous portfolios within and outside the Mpumalanga Department of Education; she has been recognized by Microsoft as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and Fellow, she is a Trailblazer Award Winner 2021 in South Africa, and Scratch Coding Judge, to name a few. Her passion for coding is spreading to the most disadvantaged schools in the Nkangala District. She has visited schools at Phopolo, Loding, Itsoseng, Rankaila, Jabulani, Benzangani, Morelig, Bazani schools and many others to teach coding and spread her passion for coding.

Like a queen bee, she has a big impact at the schools she has visited, and the kids adore her. Ms. Keninda was also named a "Coding Pioneer" by the MEC for Education in his budget and policy speech 2021 to the Mpumalanga Legislature.

On November 24, 2022, the club will organize another coding session for students at Makhathini Primary School in Mhluzi township. This will be the closing ceremony of Africa Code Week 2022, with over 120 students from various grades participating in the coding activities planned for the day. "It is not the end of the coding year; we are also preparing to commemorate Computer Science Education Week 2022 by hosting the Hour of Code, which is the global coding campaign; we invite schools to join by keeping learners in schools from December 1st to 9th, 2022." The coding interns will be teaching youngsters to code wherever they are in our communities.

The Minister of Basic Education declared a few weeks ago that beginning in 2023, all schools will provide Coding and Robotics lessons in grades R - 3 and 7.

"My experience dealing with children in schools has made me fall in love with the teaching profession and children," coding evangelist Duduzile Mashinini remarked.

Coding skills assist these youngsters in developing the computational thinking skills required for twenty-first century learning. They work together on activities, communicate, lead, and add creative components into their learning.

DigiGirlz Workshop, a Powerful weapon for girls' Dreams

DigiGirlz Workshop that was recently hosted by the Mpumalanga ICT Club Founder, Ms Nomusa Keninda on the 13 August at Nkangala TVET College, -Witbank Campus, I would say "It was empowering, fun, amazing work and brings hope to the nation and a powerful weapon for girls' dreams" as the saying goes "When you educate a woman, you educate a nation."

The DigiGirlz Workshop is a program that aims to encourage young girls to pursue STEM subjects in school and learn coding and robotics. Attendees of the workshop make connections with young female professionals in STEM fields in order to encourage them to study Math and Science.

"When I was a young girl, I did many household chores such as fetching water far from the river and gathering wood for fire because I grew up in a small village in Limpopo... but I did well in Mathematics and Science and received a bursary to study Bachelor of Science, Honours, MHSc, and PhD in Science, all of which I earned with distinctions. Dr. Edith Phalane informed the thirty girls attending the DigiGirlz workshop that she is now a Research Manager Specialist at the SAMRC/UJ Pan African Centre for Epidemics Research via a zoom platform during her motivational speech.

Suddenly, following Dr. Edith's address. The computer lab was filled with the girls' joy as a sign of confirmation for hope, dedication, and gratitude that they were fortunate to meet her because she rose from a humble beginning to her current position.

When one of the girls was asked about her overall impression of the DigiGirlz workshop on that day, she responded, "It was fun." "Yes, it has inspired me a great deal; today I learned that you can be successful even if you come from a poor background; I read a book about a poor family who struggled a great deal, but in the end, their lives turned out well. I would like to encourage young leaders to pursue their dreams and not give up because life is meaningless without them.

Sharon Khoza- STEM Facilitator

Sharon Khoza, a STEM and 4IR Facilitator from Siyafunda CTC in Midrand, came with her team to introduce the girls to coding using the Scratch platform. These girls were extremely fortunate to meet Sharon Khoza. She demonstrated how simple it is to create a game and animation using Scratch. This is what the girls said after creating their games successfully.

"Today's workshop was fantastic, I'm glad I learned something new, and I'm glad they taught us how to code, to create your own game, app, and story through the computer."

"It's incredible to know that even girls can do interesting things that boys can do; it's fascinating to know that we can do it"

"It's incredible that you have the chance to create your own music, games, animation, and other things. I am interested in animation production.

Ms. Florence Sibiya, a recently appointed unplugged coding evangelist at Nelson Mandela University, along with Dudu Mashinini, Glenda Maselesele, Andile Mahlangu, and Surprise Shai, Leva Foundation interns in Qheberha, assisted in introducing unplugged coding using the TANKS App to the DigiGirlz workshop. The girls were ecstatic to discover that they can even learn to code using the smartphones they carry.

Surprise, Andile, Glenda, Florence& Duduzile

The TANKS App coding program employs 31 puzzles created by Nelson Mandela University to teach students how to code. These are the identical puzzle pieces used by teams of learners during the Mandela Day event hosted by the Mpumalanga ICT CLUB at Witbank High School on 18 July 2022.

Ms. Nomusa Keninda is the founder of the Mpumalanga ICT Club and launched this DigiGirlz Workshop initiative in 2016. Since then, more than 2000 girls in the Nkangala District, Limpopo, Gauteng, and Cape Town have been introduced to this initiative through her networks.

Nomusa Keninda (observing the girls'projects)

Ms. Keninda stated, "There is still more work to be done, many girls are still in the dark about their career options, and some believe that there is an easy way to be successful because of what they see on TV soapies. I can't sleep at night knowing that there is a girl somewhere who is not dreaming of a STEM career." My goal is to reach out to more girls every day, not just during women's history month.