Six years of Patience, Resilience and Networking to keep Mpumalanga ICT CLUB standing

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Jump in or fall by the wayside.

Every business, sport, entertainment,  you can name them including education were forced into new environments since the Coronavirus outbreak which led to the stand still of normal traditional activities around the globe called Lockdown.

South Africans schools were also forced to closed down just before the official school closure on the 18 March 2020 leaving the department of basic education and other sectors to amend their schools or activity calendar for the year. Big Easter church gatherings were also forced to worship individually at home.

Coronavirus is a deadly flu like symptoms disease which started in China and spread all over the globe. The mighty continent of Africa was slowly becoming affected on daily basis with a rapid increase of infected people. South Africa, my birth country had a number of infections that rise day by day with others succumbing their lives. Coronavirus has also taught us that handwashing hygiene can no longer be ignored.

Jumping into new ways of doing things is no longer a matter of choice now, it is a matter of sustainability and survival. On daily basis there is a spring and marathon of new technologies targeting Education and businesses to provide remote online services to their target audiences.  In Education, teachers especially in public schools were anxiously worried how they will reconnect with their learners due to their lack of online computer skills. At the same time, learners too especially grade 12 were no longer so sure about their future.

The Department of Basic Education together with provincial departments published lists of Online tools for teachers to use to reconnect with their learners and start online remote learning such as Classdojo, Edmodo, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Seesaw, Moodle, Radio Stations and Television channels etc. Questions remain, are teachers capable of navigating and making choices amongst the online tools to use without any necessary guidelines, the cost of Data involve in using the tools, the stability of network in some areas which can affect the bandwidth, the online safety for learners who can accidentally go to inappropriate material online, the ability of parents to assist their kids online, all these issues can negatively affect the good course of continuing with learning at a distance.

It is a matter of jumping in or fall by the wayside to all of us. After reading some good work compiled by educationists around the globe giving guidance on what to do under this difficult time of Pandemic in Education.  They reminded me of the importance of Maslow's hierarchy of needs that Safety and Physiological needs come first than Bloom's Taxonomy. I was comforted and advise teachers and learners not to be anxious, their wellbeing and safety is paramount now and beyond lockdown. They should do what they can to keep their connections with their fellow learners and engage with their peers for positive feedbacks.

Video on the chalkboard, disrupted the norm in the classroom

Sometimes other things happens for a good

course but this one was unexpected but it happened. "Video on the chalkboard".

Three DigiGirlz Launched at Thembisile Hani Municipality, KwaMhlanga. 

Mr. OJ Molopo with DigiGirlz 

It can be a very daunting task to organize a digital learning event in a school with no devices and connectivity but it is possible. Phanagela Primary School is in the deep remote rural area of Mpumalanga in South Africa, at KwaMhlanga known as former KwaNdebele area. This area is best understood by those who know the history of South Africa during the Apartheid era where a group areas act was passed to place black people in homelands separating them according to culture and ethnicity. KwaNdebele for the Ndebele speaking natives.

Four DigiGirlz Coding Clubs were launched by Mpumalanga ICT CLUB and hosted by Phanagela Primary School, Moloto Primary School, Dumelani Primary School and Matimba Combined School.

Although Phanagela Primary School did not have devices for learners to practically learn Coding, learners were excited to learn about Positive Personal Branding and Careers in Computer Sciences. "The girls learnt about setting themselves apart from the rest, be resilient and the power of networking with people that positively contribute to their vision" said Mr. Oupa Molopo well known as OJ at the school. He is also a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert 2019. These girls showed an interest in this workshop and attended in numbers.

Ms. Maile & Keninda
Coding Twins 

Ms. Lelo Maile, the deputy principal of Moloto Primary School coordinated three groups of girls from her neighborhood and ensure that the girls are exposed to Computer Science Education. "The Computer lab was full to capacity and the girls enjoyed the Hour of Code Minecraft Adventurer, they couldn't stop until they all reach puzzle 14 to receive their certificates" said Ms. Maile with excitement.

We are looking forward to involve more schools in this area in future. Mpumalanga ICT CLUB is spreading its branches to reach out to all schools in Mpumalanga and thanks to those diligent teachers.

Feel it, its here...Africa Code Week 2019

Karabo, Nomusa & Duduzile 

Learners from DM Motsaosele Secondary School and Coronation Secondary School will never be the same after attending the Africa Code Week 2019 event hosted by the Mpumalanga ICT CLUB at Witbank Campus, Nkangala TVET College on the 5th October 2019.

"Our children are excited to learn new skills that help them to vision their future" said Ms. Keninda- Founder of the Mpumalanga ICT CLUB and an eLearning Specialist. Coding skills assist learners to understand the importance of learning Mathematics and Science so that they can venture into Computer Science Careers and the new jobs that never existed before because of the Forth Industrial Revolution. 

Zacheaus Malaza Sec.

The Africa Code Week event is initiated by SAP organization and supported by Google.  The aim is to introduce Coding skills to children and youth in Africa.  37 countries in Africa participate in the celebration and is targeting to reach 6million children from the 4 to 18 October 2019.

Two learners from Coronation Secondary School rendered an informative dialogue about their understanding about the Forth Industrial Revolution, an era where lots of jobs become obsolete in the job market due to advanced technology. The banking sector is mostly affected because people use internet or cellphone banking. "We also learnt about the first launch of the Robot Teacher in India from Ms Keninda" said Ms Phindile Skosana, teacher from DM Motsaosele. 

The following schools in eMalahleni will also host the Africa Code Week: Vuma Combined School, Ilanga Secondary, Hlanguphala Primary School, Witbank High and Zacheaus Malaza Secondary School.

eMalahleni teachers made it to the Global List of Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts

Nomusa Keninda- Mpumalanga ICT CLUB Founder and a Senior Education Specialist for Mpumalanga Department of Education, Vanessa Talane- Teacher at Witbank High School and Miss Sadtu -Willy Mathaila Region in eMalahleni, Bheki Mbatha-Teacher at Zacheaus Malaza Secondary School, eMalahleni and Oupa Molopo, teacher from Phanagela Secondary, KwaMhlanga made it to the Global Official published list of Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts 2019-2020.

Vanessa Talane & Nomusa Keninda 

Each year, Microsoft selects Innovative Educator Experts to be part of this exclusive global community paving the way for their peers to share ideas, try new approaches, and learn from each other. They have been chosen as an MIE Expert because they are self-driven, passionate about their work, have true collaborative spirit, and strive to inspire students with outside-the-box thinking on technology in education. We appreciate their resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit. 

Nomusa Keninda has attended the Education Exchange E2 in Paris in April this year as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellow. She is a founder of the Mpumalanga ICT CLUB and initiated number of projects in the club including the DigiGirlz Coding Clubs Events. She motivates young girls to develop a Positive Personal Branding and stay in STEM education. She is introducing these girls in Computer Science basics called Coding and robotics skills during DigiGirlz events.

Vanessa Talane is becoming an inspiration to her colleagues at Witbank High School, she is a coordinator of the ICT activities in the school. Very influential in assisting teachers to get digital skills. The school is now having standing meetings on ICT integration. She and her colleagues attended the SchoolnetSA Digital Conference during school holidays in June this year.
Mr. Bheki Mbatha, visionary teacher at Zacheaus Malaza. He has several projects such as eLibrary that he has established for learners to access e-content. He has recently established an online training on how to use simple devices and tools to integrateaICT in curriculum hosted in his YouTube channel called Qheqheshwani. Last year, Bheki received a District National Teaching Award for enhancing his classroom teaching with technology.

Mr Oupa Moloto, very enthusiastic teacher from Phanagela Secondary School, hails from a small rural village of KwaMhlanga called Vlaklaagter. He inspired teachers to use the power of Microsoft Excel to record learners progress. He has been a part of Delta ICT project of SchoolnetSA.
These teachers may be joining the E2 2020 that will be taking place in Sydney, Australia next year if they work hard and become selected to join global teachers to share their expertise in the classroom.

eMalahleni teachers exposed to 4IR in Education

Witbank High School and DM Motsaosele Secondary School teachers were exposed to the 4th Industrial Revolution in Education at the SchoolnetSA Digital Learning Conference  hosted in the North West Province at Lebone II Royal Bafokeng Institute on the 26-28 June 2019.

During the panel discussion hosted on the first day of the conference where Nomusa Keninda- Mpumalanga ICT Club Founder and the e- Learning Specialist for the Mpumalanga Department of Education answered questions from the floor of whether the 4IR is still coming or is already here for teachers to prepare or to adapt into it. "We are already in the 4th Industrial Revolution and as teachers we need to learn faster to introduce our learners in preparation for their jobs that never existed in our era" she replied.

These teachers were exposed to different kinds of ICT skills that can help them enhance their classrooms lessons. Virtual Reality, Minecraft Education, OneNote,  Skype in the classroom, Coding and Robotics topped the lists of skills acquired from the conference.  

Since I attended the Microsoft Education Exchange Global Summit in Paris recently in April, I took teachers step by step on how they can become Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts to join the Global Summit next year in Sydney, Australia.  Keninda said.