Smart class to produce smarter kids

Tsakane – Michael Zulu Primary School was abuzz at the unveiling of their new ‘smart class’, donated by an international electronics company, on Friday.

“We are so grateful for the donation made to the school.

“I know that the project will benefit our learners,” says Lindiwe Vilakazi, the school’s principal.

Pitso Kekana, head of corporate citizenship and governance relations of the electronics company, says they are always looking for ways to give back to the community.

“We have two engineering academies and this is the third smart class we have donated.”

This comes after the Gauteng Department of Education started the ICT Paperless Classroom Project in secondary schools.

“We are staunch advocates of paperless learning that takes full advantage of technology,” explains Chris Yako, who leads education in the company.

He says their philosophy is ‘one device per child’ to optimise learners’ chances of absorbing information.

The teacher also has a tablet, which gives him or her control over the devices being used by the learners.

Princess Mokate, a teacher at the school, says the solution will make their lives simpler.

“I will be able to plan my lessons on the device, and load all the reading material I want my learners to go through.”

She is more excited about the feature that allows her to monitor what the leaners are doing on their devices.

“Even when they fidget or explore material that is not relevant to the lesson, I can lock the screen.”

The teachers were provided training, and Kekana says the company is committed to continue with the training.

“It will not help anyone if we just dump all this here and never come back to show you how to use it all.”