Integrating ICT in Education

ICT use in education is at a particularly dynamic stage in Africa, with new developments and announcements happening on a regular basis. Tacklesport is working with a range of organisations to be at the heart of this change. 

The ‘E-education White paper’, the policy development on ICT in education dates back to 1995 and the goal of the policy is that every learner in the primary and secondary school sectors should be ICT capable by 2013. E-schools are defined as having learners who utilise ICT to enhance learning, qualified and competent leaders who use ICT for planning, management, and administration, and qualified and competent teachers who use ICT to enhance teaching and learning. The paper also states there should be access to ICT resources that support curriculum delivery and connections to ICT infrastructure. In such institutions therefore, the teachers and learners will be able to function across three dimensions such as operational (referring to skills to use ICT), Cultural (developing cultures that support the practices of using ICT) and critical (ability by teachers and learners to challenge assumptions embedded in the success stories about ICT)

Whilst integrating ICT is a key agenda, it is important to note, that of the 25,582 public schools in South Africa, 5,778 have computers used for teaching and learning and 13,011 have one or more computer for administrative purposes. Less than 5% of schools can afford Internet connections and are integrating Internet for teaching, learning, communication, and collaboration. Private Schools have a different and more fortunate situation: the financial power and flexibility to purchase both hardware and software in order to enhance both teachers and learners knowledge.

Other significant factors create obstacles to enhance ICT in education, principal among them being that South Africa’s education system still faces severe challenges in combating the legacy of apartheid: Illiteracy rates remain as high as 24% of adults over 15 years of age, there remains a shortage of qualified teachers (one-third of teachers teaching mathematics and science are not qualified) and the majority of schools remain under-resourced, under-supplied, and over-crowded.

South Africa has successfully hosted the football World Cup this year (to highlight the importance of the event, the whole educational timetable was re-scheduled in 2010), and the national government has embarked on economic growth strategies. The aim is to move to broadband and promote ubiquitous ICT access. South African education institutions in general, and the schools and further education & training college sectors in particular, are set to grow significantly in ICT access, teacher training, and professional development and usage.

Tacklesport software and its sports teaching & coaching multimedia solutions have been available in the African continent since May 2009. Not only is there a growing list of Schools that can testify to the benefits of the Company’s multimedia resources, but the software has also been approved by the Government of Education and content is in perfect synergy with the National Curriculum.

There are currently various initiatives, projects and programmes available promoting enhanced learning through the use of ICT at various levels of the education system. One of them is ‘Intel Teach’, a worldwide effort to help both experienced and pre-service teachers integrate ICT into teaching and learning to develop learners’ higher-level thinking skills and enhance learning. As part of the global Intel Innovation in Education initiative, a multi-million dollar effort has been made to help realise the possibilities of integrating science and technology in education successfully into the Intel Classmate programme; Tacklesport software has been included in this initiative, with software and multimedia resources available for educational organisations in the African continent.

So, having been approved by both the South African Department of Education and the Intel Teach Global initiative, Tacklesport’s future is looking extremely bright in the African Continent.

Source: www.infodev.org

Adrienn Cushing