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Goosen E

Media Alert: Free high-speed internet at all Western Cape schools by end-2016 | Western... - 1 views

www.westerncape.gov.za/...-western-cape-schools-end-2016

media alert free internet western schools cape government technology CAT PAT digital resources

shared by Goosen E on 25 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • 8 September 2015
  • Premier Helen Zille formally launched the Western Cape’s eLearning “Game-Changer” at the province’s Legislature building in Cape Town today (8 September 2015).
  • will provide free high-speed internet access to all Western Cape schools by the end of 2016, to support teaching and learning.
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  • for improving access to quality education in all communities.
  • vision is to use eLearning to improve literacy and numeracy, and to ensure that our learners are better prepared for the 21st century.
  • two key parts.
  • free high-speed broadband access.
  • first
  • second
  • give learners and teachers instant access to the very best digital materials for teaching and learning.
  • ePortal
  • Western Cape Government (WCG) is investing R3.8 billion over the next 10 years to bring high-speed broadband to all residents of the Western Cape.
  • And schools are our first priority. Over the next decade, R2 billion of the total investment will be on connectivity at schools.
  • broadband system will provide a Wide Area Network (WAN).
  • total of 581km of fibre optic cable will have been laid by the end of 2016,
  • alongside the existing 1251km Neotel cable network
  • backbone
  • connects all schools and other sites across the province.
  • Western Cape Education Department is also installing Local Area Networks (LANs) in schools, district offices and head offices to connect classrooms, teachers and learners to the broader admin system.
  • Work started in September last year, and the first schools were connected to the WAN in April this year
  • 31 August 2015, service providers have completed connectivity at 275 schools
  • end of 2016, all schools in the province will have free, high-speed internet access.
  • “smart classrooms”
  • including interactive whiteboards, laptops, projectors and other devices to support teaching and learning.
  • addition
  • will be able to use their own devices,
  • 3 350 smart classrooms were established in schools in 2014/15. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) also refreshed 249 computer laboratories in the same year.
  • The WCED has provided 26 000 ICT training opportunities to date, to support teaching and learning.
  • the new eLearning Portal has gone live, and is accessible at www.wcedeportal.co.za.
  • Our new broadband system and the digital revolution are making it much easier to respond to the individual needs of learners, teachers, parents, school managers and governors.
  • individuals can easily access the ePortal from any location
  • content available on the ePortal will be entirely demand-driven, with content suppliers competing to provide the best digital resources.
Goosen E

Uber sparks taxi row in South Africa's Johannesburg - BBC News - 2 views

www.bbc.com/...world-africa-33431722

shared by Goosen E on 24 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • 8 July 2015
  • Taxi drivers in South Africa have had a fierce reputation dating back to the days of apartheid and have often resorted to violence to protect their routes.
  • In the posh business area of Sandton, a passenger was pulled out of an Uber car a week ago and the driver was threatened with whips and batons. The meter taxi drivers say they are angry with Uber for taking their customers, and making business difficult for them.
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  • Under apartheid the white minority government had neglected to provide reliable public transport for the majority of South Africans. Mostly black individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit took it upon themselves to start an informal taxi service. They have been running it for decades.
  • Now the government wants to regulate it and it is finding it difficult to penetrate the multi-billion dollar industry. Minibus taxis ferry millions of people every day to and from work. They provide an essential service.
  • And it is under this tense climate that the innovative Uber business idea has arrived.
  • customer
  • her Uber driver was too scared to pick her and her husband up from Sandton after being harassed by the metered taxi drivers.
  • Uber in AfricaLaunched in Johannesburg in 2012
  • Uber prices are cheaper and its cars are much cleaner
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      7. How did the current taxi service in SA started?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      8. Why do people prefer Uber cars to taxis?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      9. Where is the Uber head office?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      10. Why do taxi owners feel that Uber gets preferential treatment from SA government?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      11. What influence did the intimidation of Uber drivers and customers had on the Uber service?
  • a regular Uber customer
  • she has found ways of using the service, undetected by metered taxi drivers.
  • "I ask them to pick me up away from designated pick-up spots in order to enjoy the cheaper service without being intimidated."
  • Its Johannesburg general manager, Alon Litz, said in statement that intimidation was getting worse.
  • "We are in constant communication with the drivers assuring them that their safety is our number one priority. We're looking into ways to reduce cases of intimidation," he said. 'Like third-class citizens'
  • I asked 70-year-old Peter Moloi what problem he had with Uber?
  • that Uber annoyed him because it had jumped the queue for operating licenses.
  • "We are tired of being treated like third-class citizens in our own country."
  • foreign-owned firm received its taxi licence quickly, compared with some of his colleagues who had waited for years.
  • Uber in South Africa had one million rides in 2014 - in the first half of this year it has already reached double that.
  • headquartered in San Francisco in the US
Goosen E

SA schools falling off the e-learning deep end | Fin24 - 2 views

www.fin24.com/...e-e-learning-deep-end-20160609

shared by Goosen E on 25 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • 2016-06-09
  • Few schools in South Africa have the ability to roll out effective e-learning programmes because of a lack of understanding of these platforms, says an industry insider
  • many South Africans schools, and the authorities that govern them, are misinformed as to what e-learning actually is,” Ian Light, chief executive of Eiffel Corp, told Fin24.
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  • Eiffel Corp is an e-learning specialist and Light said that the lack of local understanding of the process makes it difficult to define the exact number of schools that have effective programmes in place.
  • some of the biggest barriers to schools having a successful e-learning ecosystem is the lack of a well-planned teaching and learning strategy that incorporates technology, a lack of funding to invest in online platforms to administer and deliver e-learning content as well as the complementary subsidising of network data and connectivity infrastructure at places of learning,” said Light.
  • In Gauteng, Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has spear-headed the provincial e-learning programme in which the paperless education system is expected to cost around R17bn.However, the programme has had challenges with a number of devices stolen.
  • More than 100 smart boards have been stolen in our schools since the installation in July 2015 of the ICT programme in the Grade 12 classrooms in 377 schools
  • But a critical component is the training of teachers to manage the delivery of the curriculum through technology tools.
  • it should be clear that the training (perhaps we should call it up-skilling) of teachers is a massive task
  • expensive and a labour intensive
  • But unless it is done in tandem with the roll-out of technology devices in schools, there will be minimal return on the technology investment," Kobus van Wyk recently told Fin24.
  • Van Wyk is the chief executive of the Associated Distributors of Educational Supplies in Southern Africa and managed the Khanya Project for a decade.
  • “South Africa needs strong, committed national leadership and complementary government policy to foster innovation and direct efforts to encourage teacher skills growth in this area,” said Light.
  • Poll that revealed more than half of school children said they knew more than their teachers about the use of tablets and computers for learning.
  • for e-learning to be effective and assist with bridging the divide for all learners, it needs effective planning that integrates with sound, measurable academic practices, cheap and reliable data connectivity as well as committed, long term funding from government,” said Light.
Goosen E

Project Isizwe | Company Profile | Business Review Africa - 0 views

www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/...South-Africa-through-free-WiFi

CAT PAT research digital divide resources

shared by Goosen E on 07 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • Super Admin - Aug 23, 2016
  • Deloitte research has shown that productivity in developing countries could be enhanced by as much as 25 percent with the expansion of WiFi access.
  • 75 percent of citizens can’t easily or affordably get online
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  • Project Isizwe, a not-for-profit organisation based in the city of Tshwane, is currently working with government bodies across South Africa to bring free public WiFi to the country. 
  • “We all understand the value of Internet connectivity,” Zahir Khan, the CEO of Project Isizwe, explains, “especially in terms of educational benefits, improved healthcare services, better opportunities for economic development — and, of course, social cohesion. From that perspective it’s critical to connect the country sooner rather than later.”
  • In 2013, a bid to connect every citizen was launched across the city of Tshwane. To date, it is Project Isizwe’s largest deployment effort, with 850 Free Internet Zones (FIZs) installed in the local area and almost two million unique users accessing the web since November of 2013. By 2018, Tshwane will have WiFi within walking distance of every citizen. 
  • installation of 213 Internet access points outside of schools in Tshwane.
  • This ensures that every learner, educator and community member in and around the schools is connected”.
  • Rural environments in South Africa also stand to benefit from the efforts of Project Isizwe,
  • these locations is admittedly more of a challenge
  • remote regions, state revenue is limited, thus it is more difficult to get these communities online.
  • “Funding has been the biggest barrier for expansion across the entire country,” Khan says.
  • Project Isizwe’s not-for-profit status
  • the project operates exclusively under cost-recovery: it doesn’t charge users for its service and the large-scale financial benefits of WiFi access for South Africa will not be immediately evident.
  • Research by the World Bank has shown that a 10 percent increase in what is called ‘broadband penetration’, the amount of the Internet access market that has been captured by high-speed broadband, will result in a 1.3 percent increase in a country’s GDP. 
  • access to an affordable mobile device
  • was also a barrier to Internet access in South Africa
  • cost of these items has fallen
  • Project Isizwe has deployed in rural environments, places as remote as the mountain village of Tshedza in Limpopo province
  • are finding creative ways to reach out into their newly-connected world.
  • Khan cites the story of Martin Nyokolodi, a young man in Tshwane who has launched his own Internet radio station, among his favourites. Not only does Nyokolodi utilise the City’s ‘TshWi-Fi’ service to broadcast his programme, he also takes Skype calls from listeners and maintains the station’s social media presence on the network.
  • Restaurant owners in proximity to a WiFi hotspot have been setting up shelters within signal range so that customers can access the web
  • these makeshift ‘Internet cafes’ have increased restaurant profits by as much as 80 percent
  • Internet has helped to streamline the process of care and diagnosis in South Africa’s clinics and medical facilities.
  • In its National Development Plan 2030, the government of South Africa states that it wants universally available Internet across the country in 14 years’ time. 
  • “The public hotspots become a place to bridge the digital divide, where regardless of personal circumstance or background, everyone has access to the same Internet,” Khan says.  
Goosen E

Potholes: How They Effect Our Roads - RoadCover - 2 views

www.roadcover.co.za/oles-how-they-worsen-our-roads

PAT effect roads CAT

shared by Goosen E on 20 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • Motorists are being urged to contact the department of transport and claim the damages to their vehicles caused by the roads and potholes in South Africa
  • The national government is aware of the dangerous road conditions across the country which has resulted in them announcing a R22billion budget over the next three years on a countrywide pothole repair program.
  • This program is expected to create over 70 000 jobs in its first year. It aims to improve the road conditions of any road (highways, toll-roads and suburban roads) and repair any potholes which have been causing damage to motorist’s vehicles. Depending on how much the roads get used, the rainfall and the weather conditions can all cause the potholes to get larger and have an impact on the condition of the roads.
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  • The bad roads are also having a major impact on our countries economy
  • The Automobile Association (AA) said that if there was proper maintenance of our roads, then there could be an immediate decrease in about 5% of road deaths, costing the economy about R40billion. South Africa’s has more than 700000 accidents occurring annually
Goosen E

SABC News - Motorists refuse to pay e-tolls despite 60% discount:Friday 29 April 2016 - 1 views

www.sabc.co.za/...inedonundefinede-toll-20162904

shared by Goosen E on 23 Jan 17 - No Cached
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 23 Jan 17
       
      Why is it necessary to pay e-toll?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 23 Jan 17
       
      What is e-toll?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 23 Jan 17
       
      What is the reason for giving discount?
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  • The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says they remain firm on their stance in fighting e-tolling.
  • We made it very clear and we are filling our cases now of our intentions to defend our members in court and that Sanral and government have introduced this scheme unlawfully."
  • The Justice Project South Africa (JPSA), which is also firmly opposed to e-tolling, says the only way to find out if the discount was a success will be if the Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters is questioned in Parliament.
  • JPSA National Chairperson Howard Dembovsky says, "When it comes to the 60% discount thing, the only time we are going to know whether it was or was not successful will be when members of Parliament ask a direct question to the Minister of transport.
  • "This 60% discount is much better than paying the whole amount. I am happy with this 60% discount my bill came a little bit lower.Now I am trying by all means to avoid these highways because I am scared to pay again."
Goosen E

E-learning hard for SA to implement, but necessary: iLIVE - Times LIVE - 1 views

www.timeslive.co.za/...-implement-but-necessary-iLIVE

shared by Goosen E on 25 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • Most South African learners in rural and township areas do not have access to the Internet.
  • they will be entering a world where proficiency with digital technology is a fundamental necessity. 
  • when these learners leave school,
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  • because of the myriad obstacles to widespread digital access in South Africa, some educators and experts in the technological field argue that e-learning is not viable for us. They believe that bridging the digital divide is too big a challenge.
  • in developed countries
  • technology allows them to engage more deeply with the subject matter, while – crucially, in today’s technology driven world – also allowing them to become comfortable with using digital technology.
  • Implementing e-learning programmes in South Africa is difficult.
  • that implemented properly, e-learning can assist in both equipping learners to enter a digital world, and alleviating what many see as a crisis in our education system.
  • proper implementation” lies in using educational technologies that span the online and offline worlds.
  • solutions
  • using educational technologies that span the online and offline worlds
  • Via Afrika
  • developing digital learning tools that require only limited Internet connectivity to work, and can be used both online and offline.
  • LivingPages app for Grade 10, 11 and 12 textbooks
  • interact with their textbooks using a smartphone or tablet
  • it enhances the printed page with extra digital content
  • can be streamed directly through the smartphone.
  • video
  • graphics
  • audio
  • Another
  • example
  • the Via Afrika eBook series for Grades 4–12.
  • e-textbooks can be read in the MobiReader app
  • allows for learners to engage with digital enhancements such as videos, slide shows and audio offline
  • Government is also making inroads into overcoming barriers to e-learning
  • Gauteng
  • its intention to introduce e-learning to the province’s schools, and distribute 88 000 tablets to schools that need them.
  • 2014-03-05
  • broadband technology is also becoming increasingly accessible
  • Too often underprivileged learners who gain entry into tertiary institutions find themselves poorly equipped to work with the technology needed to succeed in these institutions.
  • If given the opportunity to engage with digital technologies from a young age, learners won’t have to face such challenges later on.
  • will only increase as cheaper smartphones and internet access become available.
  • creative educational solutions
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