Teachers in South Africa

This exploratory study explores girls' use of cellphones in Cape Town, South Africa, with a particular focus on their use of the popular cellphone based instant messaging software, MXit. Through qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with Grade 11 and Grade 12 teenagers, three main themes emerged: 1) the use of MXit in the development of personal relationships via social networking, 2) the use of MXit and the cellphone in the construction of personal identity, and 3) the potential use of MXit for education.

Local lessons Jipeee!!!

"Our investigations have shown that social software tools support a variety of ways of learning: sharing of resources (eg bookmarks, photographs), collaborative learning, problem-based and inquiry-based learning, reflective learning, and peer-to-peer learning. Students gain transferable skills of team working, online collaboration, negotiation, and communication, individual and group reflection, and managing digital identities."

Internationally and locally, there is growing emphasis on the importance of effective school management and leadership in contributing to good student achievement outcomes. 'Instructional leadership' has become a key concept in the research literature, reflecting an attempt to better understand the relationship between school leadership, curriculum and instructional matters, and student achievement. Managing to Learn is the first study of its kind in South Africa, considering these issues. The research reported in this monograph provides an extensive review of the literature around the management of curriculum and instruction, a framework and methodology for the research, and the empirical findings from the study. Through a series of regression analyses, the study presents those management factors identified across a wide range of schools as most crucial to improved performance of students. It brings greater clarity to the somewhat undifferentiated view of school management currently, and a sharper focus on its importance in relation to how students learn.

Driven by centralised state processes, externally mandated and regulated, the restructuring of teacher education curriculum and institutions in South Africa has radically changed the teacher education landscape. How universities mediate, contest and resist the resulting pressures has differed, according to their historical legacy, their specific trajectories of restructuring, and their leadership dynamics. This monograph traces the micro-level responses of teacher educators at five universities experiencing the impact of the restructuring processes with varying degrees of intensity, and selected as representative of the system as a whole. The analysis reveals distinct patterns of recurriculation, ranging from bureaucratic compliance to creating academic coherence between contrasting legacies. What becomes clear is the need for teacher education academics to grasp the challenges and opportunities to assert their power over shaping curriculum processes that will produce competent, confident teachers.

This technological shock to our moral codes means that in the future, we are going to have to teach our children well. -- Howard Rheingold This resourve is dated but relevant!

The safety of the self-contained classroom, one separated (by walls and firewalls) from the rest of the world - the world we are supposed to prepare our students for - goes against everything that surrounds young people today and prevents them from learning how to navigate the complex online world

This is a tool that makes it possible for you to print a doc as a pdf

Telkom is to spend R22-million at Western Cape schools to boost pupils' access to the Internet, says the Western Cape Education Department

The 2008 senior certificate maths examination papers were up to standard

Twitter has become a pretty great tool to help with socializing at conferences. Here are a few of the things we've been doing

South African schoolchildren will be taught a Bill of Responsibilities along with the Bill of Rights, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said in Pretoria on Monday.

It's no secret that today's wired learners have better technology in their back pockets than they're offered at school. It's also clear that students are much more inclined to engage these devices than take in the sage-on-the-stage teaching models of yesteryear. So why aren't we making use of the technologies our students actually enjoy

"The African Alphabet" CD contains 13 fun sing-along songs for kids of all ages. The songs are an A to Z of things African and are composed in vibrant African styles ranging from Afro-Jazz, Afro-fusion, Afro-pop, to more traditional sounds and a whole lot more! Aside from teaching the Alphabet in a novel way, the CD exposes kids to wonderful African music and culture where they will get to learn about Ululating, Soweto, Yebo, Impis, Marimbas and so much more.

Protecting Minors from harmful content via mobile phones

A very nice summary...

A CLAIM by a maths educators' organisation that the matric maths standard was "watered down" to boost the matric pass rate was refuted yesterday.