Back to a new normal - Covid times update

It is going very well with this clan! 

It's 2021 and the Virus is still with us. But the numbers are coming down every day, and the roll-out of the vaccines has started in South Africa. We know of people who died, and people who is still in ICU with Covid... Our immediate family is all safe and still healthy! But we are all wearing our masks, and things are looking up! We are more than surviving this!

The schools opened with a bang. It was a whole month later than previous years, but it is back to every day school for all the students. It was quite shock to our systems. 🤯For some reason, we missed the memo about every day. We thought the schools would continue the same as last year. One day in, one day work at home...

Miss Fine loved it at home, and would have happily continued like this. Luckily, Grade 7 turns out to being a great year. Miss Fine enjoys being part of the seniors at school, and they had a two-day leadership workshop with fellow students this past weekend. She got sunburnt quite bad, because it was held outdoors, but they had a ball. Miss Fine signed up to everything that's happening again at school. There's netball and Revue. There's also Voortrekkers (scouts), which apparently is going to be a busy year for the Grade 7's. Hopefully camps can start again? They are doing it a bit differently (because Covid) this year, but thankfully things are opening up with enthusiasm. 

The peer group is now definitely the focus, and what they do and think and dress are the bomb. We do not get viewed by the same regard of reference. It's all okay.😉 I love this stage! 

I am constantly in awe of Miss Fine and her friends. They are such awesome and beautiful human beings. (I should tell them that more often.) They still get excited about life and things, and happily shares it with us. Of course she thinks she knows better, but it's okay. Sometimes, I really learn new things!😜

I am still not sure about my word for the year? "Survival" doesn't really cut it! I need a more positive focus!

I have a job interview tomorrow. Hold thumbs. It is stressful times. 😁

What's happening with you?

Grooming female scientists and engineers of the future

Parktown Girls

Stories about inspiring women and girls are always great to share! We got an email about Parktown Girls who are grooming female scientists and engineers. We have a Miss that only has a few years (3 years eeek!) before she also has to decide what direction she is going to go with regards her career and her subjects. How do we prepare girls like her to choose a career in STEM?

South Africa is in desperate need of qualified scientists and engineers. Compounding this, only 11% of engineers globally are female according to an article published by UNESCO in October 2017.  This is a worldwide phenomenon, despite a rising global demand for qualified science, technology, engineering and, maths (STEM) professionals.
Tracey Megom, Principal at Parktown High School for Girls, says the idea for a Science Centre was born 15 years ago, but the school initially struggled to come up with the money to build it, so parents started fundraising and looking for partners. Anglo American helped them with their dream by a multi-million Rand investment that is already impacting this skills gap.

Following Anglo American’s contribution, the construction of two conjoined laboratory and classroom facilities for life sciences, physics and chemistry began in 2015 and the science centre was opened in late 2016 to the school’s 1 100 pupils. Its effect was almost immediate: 30% more Grade 9 girls chose the sciences as matric subjects.

Parktown High School for Girls is a government high school in Johannesburg that serves a diverse grouping of girls across class, race, and culture, and happens to be one of Gauteng’s province top-performing schools. It boasts a consistent 100% matric pass rate and achieved a 97% Bachelor Degree entrance rate in the 2017 matric results.  The school has been acknowledged by the University of the Witwatersrand as its top feeder school.

Tracy Megom answers a few questions, about herself and how to inspire young girls.

The importance of entrepreneurship in the school curriculum - Allon Raiz

Radley Private School

I get excited when I hear about interesting teaching methods, programmes and technology that enhance Education! We definitely need a new teaching and learning mindset in preparation for a fast-changing digital future. Pair that with a fluctuating workforce where permanent employment is unheard of. Entrepreneurship is of utmost importance in preparation for this!
Why am I interested? Maybe it's the undeveloped teacher in me, and maybe it's the fact that I still have a daughter that is in the beginning of her school years? I am also still very much part of the workforce, and most probably won't be able to retire at the suggested age of 63.
We all need to become entrepreneurs!

Educator and well known consultant, Peter Drucker, said that “The best way to predict the future, is to create it.” This is what Raizcorp, a for-profit business ProsperatorTM and investor in Radley Private School, plans to do. In an innovative move, the company has not only enhanced the curriculum, but is also addressing the physical layout of the school and the manner in which the teachers teach, all in the name of entrepreneurship.

 The best way to predict the future, is to create the kids who will make it

Allon Raiz, CEO and Founder of Raizcorp

Allon Raiz was kind enough to answer my questions that I sent through on email. I was unfortunately not able to attend a breakfast at Radley Private School to see how they are incorporating entrepreneurship into the curriculum.

1. Allon, why are you interested in helping students learn entrepreneurial skills?

Our aim is to create the next generation of entrepreneurs that are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to make a significant difference in the South African business climate. With one of the lowest rates of entrepreneurship in the world, South Africa is desperate for new generations of job creators who have been educated and immersed in the marinade of entrepreneurship. It’s all about solving these issues sooner rather than later, which will translate into a better chance for South Africa.

2. How are you enhancing the curriculum? Give me an example?

Identifying opportunity is a function of seeing information from multiple perspectives. In English, for example, when a story is told from a single narrator, the question is asked about how the story can be seen from multiple other perspectives, thus highlighting the fact that different narratives see problems and solutions from different perspectives. This is the basis of entrepreneurial opportunity identification, the ability to see a situation from multiple perspectives and then identify where the gap or “pain” might lie. We have enhanced the curriculum by implementing entrepreneurship thinking into every class, from English to Mathematics and everything in between.

3. How are you addressing the physical layout of the school?

We have taken the traditional school model of desks and chairs and changed it to create a learning environment that is user-friendly, comfortable and includes different elements that relate to the child’s best learning style, whether that is standing, lying down on a bean bag, rocking, or sitting at a desk. Our methods encourage students to find a comfortable position that best serves their concentration. Our pilot classroom includes a Pilates Ball, seated and standing desks, a couch and beanbags, amongst other things, all of which speak to the different needs of different students.

4. How are the teachers teaching differently with regards entrepreneurship?

The teachers are being immersed in entrepreneurship through regular Raizcorp entrepreneurship training. All lesson plans include an entrepreneurial perspective and the learners and teachers are exposed to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial contexts on a regular basis.  We have also encouraged our teachers to run and manage the school tuck shop to ensure a better understanding of what it means to own and run a profitable business.

5. How can other schools get involved in such a type of project?

Raizcorp has a BizCamp and BizFlame programme that we run at other schools; two youth development programmes that facilitate guided entrepreneurial learning.

Minecraft Education Edition in South Africa

Minecraft in Education. It's now in South Africa as well! I definitely should have been born later! The children are playing while learning! That is the best kind of learning!

The possibilities of using Minecraft in learning are huge, and according to the expert, Stephen Reid, there are options in every single subject to make use of the game!

Minecraft is "an open world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is you imagination."

I was at the informal launch of  Minecraft Education Edition on Monday. 

Minecraft Education launch - with Tamzyn and Mariaan from FleishmanHillard South Africa

Stephen Reid is a Minecraft ambassador/creative consultant in education and director of Scottish-based company ImmersiveMinds. He spent the last ten years working with game-based learning, with the last six years focused on Minecraft.

The benefits of game-based learning are in creativity, collaboration and problem solving! All qualities that are so much needed in the careers of today and definitely tomorrow!

Stephen Reid

The benefits of Minecraft in Education: 

Student Engagement

Minecraft: Education Edition brings the classroom and curriculum to students in an environment they are already comfortable with. It offers the same Minecraft experience many students enjoy already, but with some additional capabilities that enable them to collaborate in the classroom, as well as support for educators to deliver learning activities within the game.

Collaboration

The game is designed so that students can work in teams to solve problems, or as a whole class to master challenges within the game. Engaging in work teams and learning environments that foster co-operation in the classroom helps prepare students for their futures. It has the same benefits associated with teamwork for teachers. One of the biggest perks is the almost immediate sharing of knowledge from teachers all over the globe.

Creative Exploration

Children learn naturally through a combination of observation, trial and error and play-based practice. An open-learning environment like Minecraft allows students the freedom to experiment and challenge themselves. Much like real life, there are no step-by-step instructions — students must try, fail and try again to achieve the result they want.

Tangible Learning Outcomes

To create a fully inclusive classroom, educators are challenged to create learning activities that cater to all types of learners. With Minecraft: Education Edition, educators are able to align projects and activities directly to specific learning outcomes and curriculum standards. What’s more, learning-by-doing gives students a sense of accomplishment when they can demonstrate their knowledge.

Brescia House girls on their experience with Minecraft

The Brescia House Teacher that was at the launch says that the  trick is not to claim you are an expert, but to learn with the children.

This note! 

Microsoft Minecraft Education Edition offers a digital version of the real world. It is a safe environment to make mistakes. 

The Minecraft Education Edition has extra applications for education. The support and the community are available on the website! The software needs a Windows 10 or Mac OS operating system, and work on mobile devices which use Windows 10. It is matched to the CAPS Curriculum.

Download it here: Minecraft Education 

Extramarks bagless learning in South Africa

Extramarks - - 360° solutions for comprehensive learning

I was invited to a breakfast by Extramarks at the Digital Education Show last week. They are starting to roll out "Bagless Learning" in South African schools. I was surprised at how well structured, hierarchical and easy-to-use the whole system looks.


It is no secret that I have a preferential tablet and operating system that I prefer! But Extramarks is definitely worth looking at as a holistic system to implement into a school, or use for homeschooling. Especially when the budget is low! They are not yet available on iOS, but apparently working towards it!

Extramarks started in South Africa about 18 months ago, mostly in private schools. They have 150 technology experts, and partnerships with Intel, Google and Telkom. The pedagogy is simplified into three steps: Learn > Practise > Test.

As soon as a learner walks into the school with the tablet, attendance is marked. All the learning is also available without connectivity! A great feature of the programme is a Career Assessment Programme. It is only available in English at the moment. There is also a preprimary-school programme available!

I am super impressed with the way they have implemented Extramarks into Dendron Secondary School, a rural school. I am trying to upload the video here.. (Come back later if it is not yet available. Sorry!)

Apple in Education Awards 2015 - mind-blown!

The yearly Apple in Education Awards was announced on Tuesday night!
As always I walked away with a an inspired feeling of FOMO! I am definitely missing out!
I wish I was in education right now!
I wish I was a student again!

The possibilities! The creativity!

This year there were again entries from Grade R to Grade 12.
70 schools from 9 provinces participated.
1156 projects were received which were judged by local and international judges.

Here is one of the winning entries:
Exploring the Sciences in Everyday Life - Thomas Granig from The Ridge School
"Gravity and beyond"



You can check out the rest of the winners here: Apple in Education competition 2015.

Christine Greig from Parklands College won in the iPhoneography part of the competition with her "Selfiest Self" portrait! Stunning!

Judge Bernard Viljoen (from "I was shot in Joburg") with Christine Greig

Lindsay Durell from Parklands College won the iTeacher award, and it was not difficult to guess, because she was on stage with many of her students!

Lindsay Durell

The following are links to the rest of the entries. If you have time, it is worth looking at all of these! And wondering How The *Genius they did it!

- Expression Through The Arts: Gabriella Fedetto from St Stithian's College: Lovely

- Bring to Life Your Favourite Historical/Literary Figure: Matthew Thompson from St Andrews: Winston Churchill

- Shape of my world: Luca Genovese from The Ridge School: The Shape of My World

- iTunes U in the Classroom: Brett Udal from Hilton College


Well done to all the winners and the teachers who make this happen! You are stars!!


Which one of the projects are the most mind-blown to you?

Bullying: We are stronger than we think!

I was alerted to Elsa’s website, Stronger than you think, by Lynette (A work in Progress) who is her sister. Elsa’s daughter disappeared with a friend, and was only found 4 days later. (This is of course great news!)
All because of bullying at school!

They knew that her daughter was unhappy and that she was bullied, but they were hoping to sort it out with the school. This did not have a satisfactory result.

Elsa has learnt a couple of lessons along the way. I am also worried about the girl politics at school and the fact that little girls can be so mean to each other! We get feedback on a daily basis about the ugly things the little girls say to each other! It makes Little Miss very unhappy!

Elsa wrote me the following, and she agreed that I can share it on my blog:

“Since I started making noises about the prevalence of bullying and what I perceive to be the inability or unwillingness of the school staff to deal with it, I have had a lot of responses from all over the world... it is quite overwhelming.

I am hoping that the website I am setting up will be a place where people can find encouragement, support and maybe some help/advice for dealing with their own situations. 

Three of my four children have had to deal with bullies. My son has been the only one subjected to physical bullying. We spent quite a bit of time on phone calls to and meeting with the principal and teachers. Unfortunately there was very little done about it, but we most certainly made a lot of noise. My son is no longer being bullied. Not because they stopped being bullies but because he started Muay Thai which has given him the confidence to stand up for himself.

Both my daughters were subjected to verbal bullying directly and through the spreading of rumours as well as cyber bullying. My eldest dealt with it by facing up to them, but my youngest is a marshmallow who could not deal with it at all - she became so paranoid that she no longer felt safe at home, even. She ran away with a friend and was missing for 4 days. It was hell. Since her return we have moved her to a private school and she is also seeing a counsellor. We are hopeful that she will be able to deal with any new problems in the future. 

I am sorry to hear that your daughter already has to deal with other mean kids. I unfortunately don't have any fool proof answers as to how to stop it. Emma (my youngest) was teased and insulted daily when she was that age. It broke my heart. Unfortunately the only thing I could do was to counsel her not to resort to the same bad behaviour, to avoid the nasty girls as much as she could and to tell the teacher when she felt she couldn't cope with it. My husband and I raised the matter with the school several times and insisted that something be done about it, with no noticeable results. Eventually they found someone else to pick on and left her alone. There is no feeling of victory in that, is there?

As a parent, you have the right to insist that the adults where your child is attending keep her safe. You may be able to reach out to the parents of the children involved - hopefully they will be receptive. Quite often they are not, but it is worth a try. You can also look into your legal rights and whether you can involve the police.

I thought I would mention to you what a friend of mine's gorgeous child is doing, because I think it is a brilliant idea.  She started a colouring-in club at her school (she is 9). This provides a place for children who do not feel safe during break times to get together and participate in activities. She started the club about a month ago and now has 21 children who regularly participate. Her mother, I and a few other people are providing the supplies. It is inexpensive and effective. So at least for now those little ones are safe from their tormentors.”


Thanks Elsa!

I was just reminded again that we can’t ignore these things or tell our children to ignore it!
We have to act and to help them to handle the bullies! I love the idea of a colouring club!


Elsa is based in Australia, but the problem of bullying is a worldwide one!
You can help Elsa by sending details of where to get help in your own country:
elsa @ stronger than you think .me
Elsa's website is also going live next Tuesday, and it will be worth checking out more stories, including an interview with Kitty who started the colouring club at her school.


Related post: 

- iSchool giving Young SA a Voice to speak out against gender based violence #endGBV

iSchool giving Young SA a Voice to speak out against gender based violence #endGBV

iSchool partnering with UNICEF 

The iSchool Press Team is an ongoing programme that aims to give YOUNG SA A VOICE.
The iSchool Press Team train, mentor and support media clubs in schools across South Africa - with approximately 200 active young teen journalists.   The youth gets a platform to share their opinions on issues close to their heart.

iSchool Press Team partnered with UNICEF on an inspiring campaign to have the youth of South Africa speak out to end violence against children.

Students are challenged to create a two minute video on one (or all) of the following topics:
(The winner in each topic will win an iPad Mini 16GB.)

 -  I can change gender based violence by…
-  This is my story and why I want to tell it
 -  Let’s speak out against gender based violence
                                                        - Campaign info

Each school will receive information packs, resources and support throughout the campaign to create powerful, impactful videos.  Teams will also be invited to a workshop hosted by award winning director, Ingrid Martens (Africa Shafted: Under one roof).


One of the videos submitted



Website: iSchool Press Team & UNICEF
Facebook: iSchoolAfrica
Twitter: iSPT

Check out the hashtag #endGBV to see more of the submissions.
The call to action videos are also available here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOaB2BuWhQ7xwT2nmkrklhSk18nyONwuR

Why it is not a good idea to bring your own device to school? #BYOD #iPadLearningZA

Andrew Wilkins: Northcliff High

I attended an expert panel discussion on Friday at Northcliff High School about the merits (or not) of bringing your own device (BYOD) to school.

The members have done the research around using various devices in the school environment. They shared their findings and discussed why their schools decided against the BYOD model.

The statement was made by Lulu Burger that when talking about BYOD, there must be a question in the first place. What was the question? Why are schools so afraid to go the single device route? Because of the parents?

The school and teachers are the educational experts, and why should they punish themselves, the IT department as well as the children and ultimately the parents when making a choice against BYOD?


I am sharing some of the notes of the reasons for their decisions here.


Andrew Wilkins from Northcliff High:

The deputy Principal at Northcliff High, Andrew Wilkins, said that they did research by looking at all the devices, and they looked at the cheap options as well. They also looked at the Android vs Apple debate and the question of open source and the possibility for fiddling on the devices. They asked about support and they asked about experience in education.

Why not BYOD?
- There is significant pressure from the anti-Apple believers.
- Avoid the "Mine's better than yours" (1900 different devices - minefield) device!
- Teacher training on par across platforms.

They implemented an iPad roll-out in their school by giving iPads to teachers (ownership model) via the school governing body., a full 2 years before giving it to the pupils. The pupiles are providing their own iPads and the parents are responsible for purchasing of textbooks, either electronically or on paper. They are planning a future move towards the flipped classroom, where Think Ahead will be instrumental in supporting the roll-out!


James from Sacred Heart:

James in the middle - Sacred Heart 

At Sacred Heart they are implementing the iPad 1:1. Their goal is to improve how students and teachers interact with one another. Connectivity is very strict, and they only make the network available during particular periods.

- Interoperability
  The moving of content from one platform to another very easy.
- Stability of the system
  Looked at apps and found it to be a very good system. It remained stable. Also with regards security issues. They have guided access, and have placed restrictions on the use.
- Creativity
They have not only combined the iPads with the curriculum, but also with administration and extra- murals. Reconfiguration is all done on the device. For example being used in a visual  literacy project.

The major focus at Sacred Heart has been on the augmentation of lessons. They have feedback sessions about the apps and support. The mobile lab has been eye-opener to the kids, where they used it for chemistry and biology and micro-biology. They record the lessons and experiments.

They are planning to roll it out even further, and the Grade 7's are implementing it next year!


Janet from Red Hill
(ICT Coordinator)

Janet was tasked with the project to research which route they were going to go. They did the research for a year, and did 6 weeks training for the teachers.

They use a challenge approach in their teaching methodology: The child need to learn to ask the right questions!

Think Ahead was already there, who helps with the support, and who helped in convincing the parents!

They have two models: 1:1 in Grade 7, and two mobile banks for iPads.

The iPad is more than just a flat textbook.

They needed to get buy-in: Students are there already! But the parents and the teachers needed to be convinced! They opened  up learning events to parents. The IT teachers had a change in their work-load because they also had to be able to support the staff.

Their experience has been that the teachers were getting excited about the technology. The workflows are very important, and it is not possible when the teachers use different devices! It becomes cumbersome!

They are planning more roll-outs, and the more they are using it, the more they are seeing and using new creative ways in their teaching and learning!


Related posts: 

- iPads at Moshoeshoe Primary School - changing the South African education landscape #iSchoolAfrica

- iPads for children 

- Why iPads?

iPad in Education at Sacred Heart College #iPadLearningZA

Ipad being used at Sacred Heart College
(Photo: Core Group)

Sacred Heart College has implemented iPads 1:1 in their learning environment.

Colin Northmore, the Head of Sacred Heart College, says that for a device like this to have a transformative effect, it has to be everywhere and it has to be invisible.
"What you really want to do is to focus the children on the learning. They are getting better results because the children want to be engaged in learning!"

The success of the iPad project at Sacred Heart College is due to the following: 

• The Emmaius Centre caters for students with special needs at Sacred Heart College. iPad is a critical tool for learning here and allows the school to meet the needs of individual students who may have specifi c barriers to learning. In these cases, iPad is used as a remediation and reinforcement tool.
• The Knowledge Cafe is a session that runs once a week and allows teachers to share ideas, successes and their experience with using iPad in their lessons. This allows for knowledge to be shared across all areas of teaching and facilitates collaboration among teachers. 
• The 3 to 6 Project is an after school initiative for underprivileged refugee students who do not attend school. The iPads are used regularly to aid in depth learning and understanding of basic numeracy and literacy concepts during this time.
• Some students at Sacred Heart College have special requirements when it comes to writing exams. The iPad is regularly used as an audio tool so that students can listen to their exams. These students no longer need to have special venues arranged for them.
• The registration of all extra mural activities in the primary school is done on the iPads and attendance is managed through an app by the teachers.
• Sacred Heart College is the first school in South Africa to develop a course on iTunesU which is based on a successful project they ran with their grade 7’s. The course allows students to create their own interactive books utilising an app called “Composer” and teaches them to be creators of content, rather than just users. It has allowed them to develop critical skills such as time management, teamwork, creativity, music composition, marketing, problem solving and technical app development.

I love what the schools are accomplishing with these projects!


The link and information is supplied by the Core Group.

Ipad in Education - Transoranje School for the Deaf #iPadLearningZA

Following on the inspiring story and challenge by Abdul Chohan, "What would you do if you were not afraid?"on Friday, we were shown this video as one of the iPad in Education projects in South Africa that is transforming Education.

The Transoranje School for the Deaf, located on the outskirts of Pretoria, is home to 200 deaf and hard-of-hearing pre-primary to high school students.

The children are developmentally behind their peers because of a lack of language exposure.

Photo: Core Group

The iDeaf Project on the iPad originated out of a necessity to better equip the deaf students with the critical reading and language skills needed to accelerate their learning to desired levels.  The developers set out to combine a variety of visual and language elements because their learning are centred around visual methods.

Picsterbooks developed a series of locally relevant and interactive story books in both English and Afrikaans that would teach deaf students to read using South African Sign Language. The books are not only engaging but also enables a level of in-depth understanding that has surpassed previous learning methods.
It has transformed the way the school teaches students to read and communicate effectively.

The iDeaf app overview

"The storybook apps were designed locally to meet the needs of deaf students who use South African Sign Language.

• There are 6 storybooks which include folk tales such as 3 Little Pigs, Goldilocks and The Gingerbread Man, as well as uniquely created stories which are based on the local curriculum such as The Clever Plan and The Big Carrot.
• All the storybooks are based on the objectives of the South African curriculum and contain beautifully illustrated stories designed in a standardised format.
• The storybooks can be read in English or Afrikaans and contain various visual elements: simplified text and syntax, picture animations, highlighted words, finger spelling and SASL (South African Sign Language) interpretations and video.
• The highlighted words in the app are words that deaf children commonly struggle with. When selecting these words they are explained in 4 formats: text, an animation or an image, SASL and finger spelling (deaf ABC). By combining the learning elements into 1 place, the student is able to move through the book and develop a range of skills in an easy to understand format.
• The books also contain an audio element for only partially deaf children so that they can also hear the book read aloud, while reading the text and learning the sign.
• The storybooks were created using the Demibooks Composer app only available on iPad."

"We are working with children who are naturally language users with their hands 

and this was just an extension of their own language."

                                          Karen Hart, App Developer and Digital Publisher

I love the fact that the students AND teachers have already found new ways to use their iPads in their learning at the school, not only for reading and language skills!

Kellogg's Breakfast for Better Days - Hamper winner #KelloggsBFBD

Helenvale Primary learners line up
to receive their breakfast thanks to Kellogg's

The winner of this lovely one month Kellogg's Breakfast for Better Days hamper goes to....

Kellogg's BFBD - one month breakfast hamper

Congrats to Elise du Toit!
Please send me your contact details so that your hamper can be delivered.


Related post: 

- Kellogg's Breakfast for Better Days - hamper up for grabs 

Grade R, bring it!

Grade R has been the ultimate ultimate goal for our Little Missy!
She has been bugging and dreaming about the elusive Grade R for decades years!

It is finally in sight when they start at the primary school next week.

We went and bought the sport clothes, the only uniform she is going to have to wear this year.
And apparently only on Tuesdays or when they tell us to.

She was very excited!

I had to ask for the smallest size, and it still looks a bit big!

She is ready!

Apple in Education Awards 2013 - the winners! #iPadlearningZA

The 7th annual Apple in Education Awards 2013 arrived on Wednesday. It is designed to award excellence in the classroom. But it does more than that. It challenges the teachers and learners to excel in being creative in their use of technology to enhance their own learning.

I love seeing the finalists and the winning entries! But I must mention that I think that each of the entries in the competition deserves to be mentioned, and especially the teachers who have made a special effort for these kids to be able to take part!

I see this as a positive step towards a future in education where we will be able to address imbalances in the standard of our education, compared to the standard of education globally. The winning entries showed that government schools that implemented the same technology were on par with the private schools!

A few interesting facts, figures and announcements were made:

• The second edition of the Education App guide has been launched, and there are over 100 000+ education apps that are available to use.

• ZA Books have now over 1500 South Africa titles 
• There are great apps that are free on new iPad purchases: iWork productivity apps: Pages, Numbers and Keynote and iLife creativity apps: iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand.
• From Grade R - Grade 12 have submitted entries in this competition.
• There are entries from 32 subjects in the competition.
• 56 schools have submitted entries.
• 783 projects were entered.
• The judges were independent from the schools and the learners.

Donnay Torr announcing the winning entries for
the Curriculum Projects Grade 5-7

I had the privilege to be a judge in the category Curriculum Projects Grade 5-7 with Donnay Torr and Karen Walstra. It was very difficult to decide on the winning entries, because the entries were all very creative and innovative. Luckily we had a list of criteria to measure and compare our marks of the different projects.

Grayston Preparatory School winning entry being shown

The winning entry from Grayston Preparatory School deserves their win!

Congrats to the winners of Curriculum Projects Gr 5-7 >Grayston Preparatory #iPadlearningZA @SAPixi @KarenWalstra pic.twitter.com/teTnxOd5BB
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) November 27, 2013

The iTeacher of the year from Gugulesizwe Primary School (I missed her name, unfortunately!) successfully introduced her learners to using the iPads as a way to introduce English as the language of learning and teaching in the school. 

I am sorry I don't have more information about the other winners and about the learners. I was hoping to find some more information about this competition on the web, but so far it has not been made available.

Congratulations to all the enthusiastic teachers, and especially the creative students! 

The students are showing us that there are no limits on education! 

Give them the tools and technology, and they will embrace it with enthusiasm and with positive results!

Related posts:

- Apple in Education Competition Awards 2013 coming up #AppleinEd

- Apple in Education

Book Creator great for learning and fun

Moshoeshoe Primary School pupil presenting her ebook
created on Book Creator

An app that came up during the visit by Fraser Speirs about the use of iPads in schools, is the Book Creator app. It is one of the apps that is part of a suggested learning set of apps being pre-loaded on mobile labs of iPads in schools in South Africa.

Moshoeshoe Primary School is an example of a school that has implemented iPads in their school through corporate sponsors and iSchoolAfrica. They use Book Creator very creatively in the English Second Language classes.

We also played with the app. It is a lot of fun for own personal use, or maybe for that book you always wanted to write. Little Missy dictated her story to me while I recorded it. I could add the video in the book, and wrote the rest of her story, with photos attached to it. The first book is free, and after that you have to upgrade to create an unlimited number. At $4.99 (about R37) it is not a huge amount.

We will be making more...

The creators of Book Creator picked up on my mentions of Book Creator in previous posts, and asked me to write a guest post.

 

The guest post is here: Book Creator adding to the learning experience in South Africa

Apple in Education Competition Awards 2013 coming up #appleined

The yearly Apple in Education Competition awards is happening at the end of this month. 

I was extremely honoured to be asked to be a judge in one of the categories. 

The aim with these awards is to reward creative use of Apple in teaching and learning!

I was expecting to see great projects, because I have seen the previous year's winners at the Apple in Education Awards, but I was blown away with the creativity! Again!

The venue was at the stunning new iLounge in Juta Street in Braamfontein.

Thr iLounge has a great view of the city with Mandela Bridge.

Each category was judged by 3 people. Each of us sat with all of the projects in a category, and gave our own marks and notes on each of the projects. After that we went through all the projects again, and it was extremely satisfying to see that the individual thoughts concurred to select the best three.

The children in the category Gr 5 - 7 mostly made projects in iMovie, and we had one Keynote presentation to judge as well!  It was so inspiring to see what they are able to do!

I can't wait to see the projects of the final winners in all of the categories! The projects come from schools all over the education spectrum; from government to private schools.

It made me excited again to think that this type of technology are helping - and should be implemented more - to level the educational standard in South Africa!

I wish we could put this in all of our children's hands!


Related posts:

- Why iPads? #iSchoolAfrica

- iPads at Moshoeshoe Primary School - changing the South African education landscape #iSchoolAfrica

- Chosing iPads for your school - Fraser Speirs

Why iPads? #iSchoolAfrica

I got a first-hand experience of the implementation of iPads at Moshoeshoe Primary School in Daveyton. It is part of the iSchoolAfrica project with support from the Peermont School Support Programme

The question is of course why iPads are being used, and not other tablets as well?
Especially since it seems that the initial cost of the iPad is higher than that of other tablets.

- "The total cost of operation and ownership when compared to other devices are significantly lower once one looks beyond the cost of an individual item to the cost of the iSchoolAfrica mobile lab solution and the advanced educational ecosystem offered by Apple."
                                                      - Peermont School Support Programme

- The solution for unprivileged students are on par with the same comparable technological level that is required in the workplace, by implementing iPads.

- Apple offers a range of standard applications that support creativity in teaching and learning...
                                                       - Peermont School Support Programme

- Apple technology has fewer systems failures and fewer viruses, keeping downtime to a minimum. Fraser Speirs - who helped in implementing iPads 1:1, the first in the world - had the same experience.

- The IT support required is less than other solutions and less intimidating to ordinary educators. 
                                                        - iSchoolAfrica
   
- The applications are mapped to the South African curriculum.

- ZA Books covering over 1000 SA text book titles, are offered on the iPad.



I just love my own iPad 2, and how easy it is to operate! I was even able to upgrade to IOS 7 in recent days, and it has given me immense pleasure. I have an older version of the product, but I am still able to use all the most recent upgraded applications.
I am totally biased! I know!


Disclaimer: Nobody has given me an iPad or an iPhone (I wish ;-)) to say these on my blog.


Related posts:

- iPads at Moshoeshoe Primary School - changing the South African landscape #iSchoolAfrica 

- iPads in Education - I want to be a teacher now! #iPadSamG

iPads at Moshoeshoe Primary School - changing the South African education landscape #iSchoolAfrica

I had the wonderful opportunity to see how iPads have been implemented in a primary school in Daveyton. By now all know that I have a passion for the iPad especially, and that I would love my own child to have access to it in her education.

The statistics worldwide shows an amazing increase in results across the board when there is an implementation of this type of technology in schools.

The initiative is part of an iSchoolAfrica Support Programme together with the Peermont School Support Programme (funded by Emperors Palace and Peermont Global). 

Through this kind of initiatives the same technology is available to government schools as is available in private schools.

Moshoeshoe Primary School

The Moshoesghoe Primary School started with a mobile lab of 20 iPads, and it has been increased to 50 iPads that are in mobile suitcases. The costs to the sponsors are significantly lower than erecting a computer lab, and the mobile labs go from class to class.

Daveyton

The teachers get hands-on training and workshops and the apps for use in the education (synced with the curriculum) are pre-loaded on the iPads.

We had the opportunity to see how iPads are used in the English and mathematics classes. In the English classes they are creating e-books, doing mind-mapping and planning, and presenting their final books to the classes. 

In the mathematics classes they are playing games to learn the basic concepts. I would have loved to do maths like this!

English teacher about the creation of an iBook on the iPad

The children working on BookCreator

A student presenting her iBook about an African culture to the class

The children doing maths by pairing bubbles. How cool is this?

Children in the mathematics class

iSchoolAfrica poster

Doing maths on the iPad

The Head of the Moshoeshoe Primary School

The Head of the school finally told us how much this initiative has meant to her school as well as the community. They are proud of what they have achieved. The teachers love working with the technology, and they see the impact of this technology in their final results.

They have a goal of 60/60 by 2015. 60% of the children to reach a 60% grade in their main subjects.
It is a reachable goal with the implementation of iPads.

It was extremely inspiring!


Related posts:

- Chosing iPads for your school - Fraser Speirs

- iPads in Education - I want to be a teacher now #iPadSamG

- Afrikaans op die iPad

Mondays come to soon

and blah-blah...

The normal feelings for a Monday, after a great weekend.
Yawn!
It is the time of the year when everything feels blah-blah...

Lots of things to do, and to get done!

We are beginning to look forward to the end of the year, but it still too far away. The Christmas decorations in the shops does not help! I find it disconcerting, and think they are spoiling the fun! By the time Christmas does come around, I am going to wring its neck!

This photo was taken on the road this morning. The clouds were ominous, and there was an icy wind blowing.
We were hoping for some rain, which did not come...

But I got the Monday dusted, and the week does not seem so bad anymore!

It is back to school tomorrow, and the normal traffic chaos will be back.


It seems the empty road this morning was not such a bad start to the Monday!

Choosing iPads for your school - Fraser Speirs

Fraser Speirs with Michelle Lissoos

I am passionate about iPads in schools. Especially since I have seen what children are able to do with the iPad, and the yearly iPad in Education Awards which are totally awesome!

(I do not get an iPad for saying this!
I just love LOVE my own iPad2, wishing I have the most recent one! - Hint-hint, Universe!)

 I really hope my child's school will incorporate it in their learning programme. Apparently they have a three year plan in place! I have been one of the parents asking, again and again!

Fraser Speirs toured South Africa recently, made possible through the iStore. His claim to fame is that he is involved with the first school in the world that incorporated iPads 1:1 in their school. He has a background in software development and systems administration, and has been involved daily in the classroom.

I attended a session as part of a roadshow at Kingsmead School on 12 September, where Michelle Lissoos, Head of Think Ahead, introduced him. They provide the iPad solutions to schools, from pre-primary to higher education. They have flexible iPad solutions available, which addresses budget vs vision issues. A mobile lab is one way of introducing iPads to a school learning environment.

ZA Books is the text book store for iPad. It is not only about text books, but a sure way to start on the iPad route in a school.

Education app guides are available for primary and secondary education. Schools also starts with working with a core set of apps, which helps a lot with implementation.

They have made a 12 months interest free finance plan available to schools for buying iPads, and there are different purchase plans to match schools financials.

Fraser Speirs about their 1:1 implementation at Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock, Scotland:

 "Technology must always be subservient to goal of education to be effective!"

- Internet research is available in class to everybody.
- Everyone challenged on a level that suits them.
- 100% more engagement in the class.
- Some statistics:
       - 50,000,000,000 connected devices by 2025
       - 7 connected devices per person on planet
       - The world is already 1:1
- They spent 11 years to get their teachers to use technology.
- iPads with 10 hour battery, 9.7" screen, 1.5 pounds changed the scenery.
- They have found the "sweet spot" in usability, where they have adaptability to most tasks - Tasks of medium to moderate complexity.
- Bringing your own device is not a good idea, with the following issues:
       - big players are going vertical in mobile
       - "Equally bad everywhere" problem
       - "School uniform" problem - devices should be all the same.
- They are hiding the integration cost in cost of staff effort.
- The Web is Not Enough! any more.
- Technology is as accessible as paper.
- Different stages for different individuals / learners.
- Not an ICT project, but about improving education! They are even going into the gym.
- The teacher training programme starts with:

      "It's essential that the teachers live with the iPad" 

- The way of using it in the classroom: Research, synthesize and give back to teacher with the use of apps.
- They have a remedial for children coming from other schools in place.
- The stats show consistent better results!
"Students in iPad classes outperformed every other student!"
- They have put their curriculum on iTunesU. Found it to be very useful!
- During exams they deliberately use iPads less to put in exercises where students have to write for longer periods of times.
- They use Showbie for assessments which can be annotated by the teacher.
- Google Drive also very effective.
- Student teachers are not getting technology teaching > only 1 day in training > major issue ( in Scotland).
- 2% damage and failure over a year > 7 were damaged or failed. 0% stolen and 0% lost! (where Android devices have a 40% failure rate!)
- The right case to protect corners and closes cover of screen. (Important!)
- Ownership > school owns the entire set with a lease for 3 years. It stays with the kid, but if kid leaves, it stays behind.
- Everything begins with the leaders in the school! The head teacher and deputies should be there when introducing and starting an iPad programme.
- Some apps that are great to use: Showbie, Explain everything - whiteboard, Book creator, Adobe Reader, PDF creator
- How to get parents on board? Built cost of deployment in school fees. Parent information evenings, and explaining the educational validity. Today a whole lot more of information to convince parents. University if Holland did a very favourable research study.
- Wi-fi issues and density of use can crop up > performance issues > the solution is to have enough base stations.

It is very exciting times!