Joe Slovo on the road?

Today, after many attempts, training started at Joe Slovo Secondary school. It was a good day. We found the back containing the remote control and pens. Keke, the maths educator, took easily to the board and was quite excited to make some waves. We opened and closed some installed software on the board.

The English educator who is stationed in the library, like the idea that learners will be visiting the room frequently to have a different learning experience. She navigated through the Mindset library to view what was available for English First Additional language.

During next week more educators will join the Interactive Whiteboard training. Till then they promised to practice, practice, practice.

Sometimes the old are still useful - To tech or not to tech?

If the newer technology fails what alternatives are there? If help is not so easily available and your technology is sorely needed? Who do you call? Ghostbusters.....oops!.....facilitators.

A year-old laptop would not communicate with the data projector. After much fussing about and calls made we decided to go back to older technology. The school provided a desktop PC from a

previous lab the school had. When the data projector was plugged in, it immediately sprung to life. Hallelujah!

We installed Geogebra, Java Runtime Environment, Java Applets, Physics Simulations and Smart Software. All went well except that the desktop PC does not communicate properly with the board. This leaves another problem to be solved. Back to the drawing board.....or is it the whiteboard?

ACCESS and IMPRESSIONS

We always think that technology is not being used at schools, but they are. It's just not used in the way we think it should be used. While visiting a school this week, I found a constant stream of learners and educators visiting the computer lab. I decided to walk a round to find out what they were doing.

A pair of younger learners were visiting some dubious site. I addressed this with them and the educator-in-charge of the lab. Other learners were busy searching the Net for information on the Haber process, a project they got during last term as was due soon. I came to realize that these learners did not have access to a nearby library for research. Their textbooks had sparse information. (I have an older textbook with loads of information in it). There school has internet, but access to it was limited during the five week holiday. Also, these learners were involved in a Winter School programme as well as an additional tuition programme. The time was too limited to do any research.

What is wrong with this picture? I invite some comment. But here are three issues I want to raise :
(a) Are we not killing our learners with too school? There must be a balance here. Teenagers are teenagers and they must have the freedom to do teenager things. I am not against a Winter school, but for three to five weeks? And this is done all in the name of grade 12 matric results?
(b) Learners do not have access to information, be it at a library or internet. The local library where I live have a reasonable set of books, but it also has about four Linux computers that are connected to the internet. You have to book time. Where is the access to these resources for a township community. Their school has internet which learners are allowed to use during intervals and after school for about 30 minutes. And then.....?
(c) Learners want access to information, maybe not in a structured way we expect them to have it. I loved the idea that learners, although under pressure searched for information. They seemed knowledgeable, but they should have been guided through the process of doing an assignment. This is the job of a teacher. I am sure that many learners would just plagiarize.

The other thing I saw was that a learner with a CD he bought for R20 from a museum. It had some Geography stuff on it. He used the teacher workstation to move through the what was a jacked-up Powerpoint presentation with smart multimedia in it. Other learners joined him as he explained a few things pertaining to what looked like plate-tectonics. Now I love this. These learners took initiative to use ICT in their learning. They do not have a single computer at home, but at school they do. The thing is that learning goes on in different ways. It is fluid network of different things. Also, ICT should be used in a similar fashion, not a rigid, boring, unimaginative way (There is place for that too).

I also met their Physics teacher, a young man that knows his Physical Science and is eager to use ICT in his lessons. We conversed very easily as I tutored his learners during the holiday and I had the opportunity to complement him on well they know their work. As I sat down to show him a few stuff he indicated that he will use it to revise many concepts with his learners. He even made me excited. There are some stumbling blocks but he is willing to overlook them.

ICT usage may not be as our project would like it to be, but it is being used......just not the way we think it should be used. Variety is the spice of life and we should encourage it.

EIAWB Notebook 10 Lessons in AFRIKAANS !!!

See the video on wiskunde les in Afrikaans. Zelda Villet @ Glen Elgin PS het al heelwat lesse in Afrikaans vertaal vanaf die Notebook 10 website. Wie gaan haar voorbeeld volg ?

You've just missed it!

Mr Dyers was teaching his usual grade 12 class when I entered his room. "You've just missed it!" he said excitedly shoving his activity on Motion under my nose. His grade 10s just did an investigation on Motion with Constant Acceleration. They had to do the research question, the hypothesis, planning etc, etc. Instead of using equipment, they used the Java Applets by Walter Fendt to collect data. The visual graphs made learners think about its construction and interpretation. It went well.

"If we have more software like this, just imagine how far we can go!" he mentioned, trying to twist my arm for more software. He is very grateful using the Freeware provided, but he is setting his eyes on something bigger. As they are using TRAC from Stellenbosch University too, maybe other instructional devices to get his learners to do even better.

DUST - Enemy no ONE !!

On a recent visit to a school, the D U S T inside the ws box was very VISIBLE. Cleaning a ws box once a term can be recommended to extent life expectancy and eventually sustainability through regular maintenance.

D = Dirt

U = Undermining

S = Sustainable

T = Technology

Albie

EIAWB @ Paarl School Learners to the Board !!

The Paarl Specialized School in Brackenfell
Khanya has become involved at Paarl School with a view towards introducing Smart Board Technology. Today, this technology is elevating the learning experience at the school and is helping learners to overcome many of the difficult learning barriers that exist at the school. Nevertheless the obstacles, the learners @ Paarl school is using the EIAWB, despite whatever physical or other disability they might have. James (diagnosed with dyslexia) and Mienkie (in a wheelchair) demostrated how to use the EIAWB with success during an EIAWB Cluster workshop to some educators attending the training session !!

Spelling in the LAB + Software on Workstations = LITNUM

Mr Adams is busy preparing SMPS learners for a spelling marathon competition. A new dimension in spelling at Strand Moslem PS in one where the learners are in the LAB with their notebooks to practice the correct spelling of the words.

CAMI Reader with its Spelling activities and Encarta 2008 Dictionary are valuable tools to be used to do a spell check !!

Well done to SMPS and their efforts to improve the LITNUM !

Albie

Knyp die Katz in die donker

A phone call.....Esangweni.....again. I answered the call. Donald Katz contacted me again about an Interactive Whiteboard not working. The educator teaching in the room was upset that she could not use the board whole day. Ok. That was surprise number one. I went there late in the day to help her. Unfortunately the key for the door could not be found, but she would not let me go. “We will find a way to open the door. You dare not leave”, she said. I was being held “hostage” here. After a long while we had to give up and as a result I had to promise I will stop there first thing tomorrow morning. What I liked about this lady was her tenacity to not let go and she is committed to use the Inter Active Whiteboard.

Off to the lab and surprise! Donald Katz was busy assisting some maths educators using Master Maths. A new educator was learning how to register learners. Another educator was busy with some Maths Literacy modules (the lady in the light blue jacket) while the third educator was busy going through modules on sequences and series. I believe that this is the type of school we want where educators are taking the initiative to teach each other. Also, educators who are willing to learn and to share will move this school forward. What did I have to do? Sit and watch him do his stuff.

Mr Mbotshelwa, the principal, was happy his school is moving along and after attending the iNET conference he was in good spirits. He and Mrs Phike have met new friends from overseas. Mrs Phike, the deputy, is happy that things are up-and-running at school but complained that the facilitators are not giving her personal attention, particularly science. But that is another story.....

TextBooks + EIAWB + LAB = Curriculum Delivery

Textbooks were delivered to some schools in the EMDC East Helderberg Area and EMDC Overberg after a free donation was received. These textbooks are brand new and can be used together with the EIAWB and the LAB to ensure the availablity of a wide spectrum of resources.

Seen with Khanya Facilitator Albie Smith, who transported the books to the schools, are Temperance Town PS educators Mr Sharief Davids and Mr G Louw and at Bloemenhof PS, near Riviersonderend, is the principal, Mr Danie Maloy and some learners.
Mrs Gaynor Krynauw of Books24/7 donated the books and Mrs Karin Pieterse from GBPS collected the books and delivered it to Khanya facilitator Albie Smith to distribute.

CCM = S (Care, Clean, Maintenance = Sustainability)

Taking care of ICT equipment together with frequent cleaning operations, will result into a habitational continuous maintenance program that will ensure Sustainability of all electronic equipment in a school.

Dust and negligence are factors to be attended to and must be eliminated. Start to be creative and put a wooden block or brick (wrapped in colourful paper or contact) under a plug and get learners to be responsible to clean e.g. the air filter of a data projector with a toothbrush, wash it and put filter in sun for an hour or two and fit it again in data projector.

Lengthen and Strengthen the life expectancy of your school' equipment !!

Albie S = Sustain

Meeting place of the minds

Mr Yali of Intlanganiso Secondary School has taken to using the IAWB in his maths lessons in the classroom. He had just completed a lesson on numbers (natural numbers, integers, irrational numbers, rational numbers) and was introducing the coordinates being plotted on a cartesian plane. We quickly installed freeware such as Graph and Geogebra for him to continue during the next lesson.

The grade eleven had a double period doing sequences and series. Mr Yali called learners to the board to explain their solutions. They were happy to comply. With a little more help the learners will become better instructors. The collaboration between peers while working on the board bodes well for a school who had a 67% pass rate in mathematics.

Off to the science classroom where Ms Dlova with her grade 9 class constructing formulae by using the periodic table. Using the Croc clips software she quickly got an electronic form of the periodic table and merrily explained how to put elements together to get compounds. While discussing different possibilities of how to approach the subject we needed to use the laptop while learners were taking down the examples explained. We quickly found the picture freeze button and went ahead to discuss the use of some applets in her teaching.

This school is using their IAWB technology while their lab is being revamped. This school will go far because of educator such as Xolile and Zodwa.

The Early birds catch the Worms

This blog story is dedicated to all those educators who toil under adverse circumstances to produce good results in their subjects. Despite poor results, vandalism, burglaries, pregnancies, gangsterism and lack of motivation a few educators still feel they can make a difference.

Ms Mnisi, a maths educator at Chris Hani, jumped in early to use the Interactive Whiteboard with Master Maths to teach a section on Exponential graphs. Learners were eager to start off the year in their new grade. The Interactive Whiteboard has grabbed their attention with many being not so sure of the potential of the board.

At Esangweni Secondary School, Mr Donald Katz was teaching Geography using the World Cup 2010 as theme.

Armed with a laptop he easily connected it to the network and in so doing opened up a new world to the learners.

The internet showed a different dimension of the discussion they just had. Somehow the stadium is closer to Khayelitsha than it real location in Green Point.

Also in Khayelitsha Mrs Christians-Gaffoor of Bulumko Secondary School allowed the learners to surf the internet for information on career possibilities. Information from websites such as that of UWC gave the learners a fair idea of what results they must achieve to study there. In Life orientation she has to cover so many bases and the internet allows her to teach skills such as navigation and research. Her school is one of a few who can allow learners to surf the net confidently with minimal trouble. This is because learners are allowed on the net during intervals and after schools. Educators working on administration in the lab also supervise what learners are doing.

So to these educators.....you are making a difference!