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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

Distractions of games and videos Unmonitored social networking leading to bullying or predation Consumption (and creation) of inappropriate content Social status and stigma of devices

Personal computing changed the nature of human life forever

The impact of these devices on the lives of adults and children of today is amazing but it is only the beginning

a wave of innovation in digital assistive devices

devices like Google Glass

people are never without their smartphone and rarely out of range of a network connection.

human condition is radically improved by the immediacy of information and social interconnectedness that these devices enable

smartphone has become a seamless compliment to my human brain. With my brain and my smartphone on, I am more powerful

addictive

We are all more powerful beings armed with our devices

Whose responsibility is it to teach responsible use?

important to teach children how to use their other technology “brains” as it is to teach them to use their physical brains

So how are teachers and administrators to cope with the risks of unfettered online access with the responsibility to teach students how to leverage this irreplaceable technology?

Seek tools to manage content

Put policy and technology in place

Surround the access points with security

Leverage the speed of these new technologies to discover and participate in experiments with pioneering institutions in the digital world.

how are parents to cope with the risks of unfettered online access at school

supporting your local school in their efforts with BYOD and technology initiatives

Associating technology with learning in the minds of our children

These are not JUST tools for playing games.

both physical books and ebooks

read to your children

sources of interaction like ebooks

devices can be used for knowledge consumption and knowledge contribution

Show them how you manage your work life and home life with the help of your own devices

etiquette for email and SMS in the same way that you discuss the polite ways to interact personally

Africa has the highest growth rates in eLearning in the world for four out of the five self paced eLearning products and services, including packaged content, custom content development services, cloud-based authoring tools, learning platform services, installed authoring tools, and installed learning platforms.

there are three central challenges that continue to exist which hinder effective implementation of eLearning in Africa.

Internet Access / Connectivity.

Availability Of Locally Developed Content And Curriculum Online.

Training And Professional Development.

South Africa’s peak connection speed was measured at 16.8 Mbps in the first quarter of 2015, giving it a world ranking of 112th.

A large proportion of the educational software produced in the world market is in English.

where English language proficiency is not very high, especially outside urban areas, this represents a serious barrier to eLearning. There are significant challenges in terms of language patterns and local language usage (especially in serving the youngest populations), and as such there is a need for locally developed content.

Teachers on the continent have been brought up in education systems with limited technology and they find it difficult to utilize technology to engage and support learning.

A huge challenge is to develop and implement training and professional development for teachers so they may embrace teaching with technology and understand the benefits of teaching with technology as a way to advance the academic outcomes of students

In South Africa, Microsoft has trained over 31,000 teachers and school leaders on ICT integration with the aim of enhancing teaching and learning and having an impact on nearly 4 million learners. Over 800 trainers from the South African Department of Education have been trained to roll out, scale and sustain the Microsoft Partners In Learning program.

The goal of delivering a high quality education to every child in Africa remains unfulfilled, but technology presents an opportunity for this to be a reality

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.

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.