Teachers from across the country descended on Hilton College in Pietermaritzburg last month for Intel’s professional teacher-development conference on information and communication technology (ICT).
The theme of the conference was Innovation in Education and computer and education experts spoke on how best to integrate ICT into the curriculum.
Intel’s regional education manager, Parthy Chetty, says the conference follows a similar one that was succesfully held in Cape Town last year. He says last year’s event focused more on academic issues, while this year, ‘we wanted it to [include] a lot of classroom scenarios where we put a teacher in front of a computerâ€.
‘We believe teachers are change agents,†Chetty says. ‘To see change in the classroom, we must make sure we fully develop our teachers.†He believes providing more computers at schools without providing quality and professional teacher training will not achieve anything.
Computers alone are not magic, he says. ‘Neither should they replace chalk and board, but should be used as a tool to aid lessons.†Intel has developed an online thinking tool, Teaching Thinking with Technology, designed to help learners develop high-order thinking skills.
Chetty says these tools enable learners to use reasoning, cause and effect, mind-mapping and other techniques to create and save visual representations of their thinking. ‘And it is easy to access for both learners and teachers as there are no subscription fees. All one needs is a computer connected to Internet,†says Chetty.
Teachers were also taught a range of applications and online tools at the conference. These include how to set up a help desk; how to use advanced search tools and educational websites; peer assessment using interactive spreadsheets; data analysis; time-tabling; and introduction to calculus.
Most teachers were pleased with the outcome of the conference. Estia Warmenhoven, an education standard and systemic evaluation teacher in Mopani, Limpopo, first discovered Intel’s online programmes in 2002.
‘The programme is empowering and helps to boost teachers’ morale,†Warmenhoven says.
‘Empowered teachers become confident and can reclaim their dignity. This will translate into good learner performance.†What Warmenhoven liked most about the conference was that its programme was packaged to resonate with key aspects of outcomes-based education objectives.
Isaac Mbengo, principal of Siphamandla High School in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, says he learned a lot at the conference. ‘I attended the Cape Town conference, which I thought was more theoretical than practical. This one was more focused and hands-on. I spent lot of time at a computer and I think this has expanded my IT horizons,†he says.
But there are still a number of obstacles to navigate before reaping the fruits of ICT at schools. One of these is the poor level of involvement of provinces. ‘I am not particularly happy with the uptake of the programme, especially by the provinces,†Chetty says, adding that provincial officials are bogged down by bureaucracy and take time to respond to such initiatives.
The Western Cape seems to be ahead of the other eight provinces in terms of connectivity. The Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Northern Cape are preparing for a ‘roll-outâ€, while the Eastern Cape and Limpopo have barely started. It is not clear how Mpumalanga is faring.
Neil Butcher, of Neil Butcher and Associates, highlighted the advantages of ICT and the shortcomings experienced by some schools in trying to implement the technology. He says most schools spend their budgets on purchasing computers at the expense of staff development. Teachers get little training that lacks context and have no reference to classroom practice.
The lack of coordination between provincial and national education departments results in situations where private companies ‘dump†obsolete computers at schools. Because there are no guidelines, schools accept these ‘donations†only to discover they are inferior.
The Department of Education’s Lyndall Clarke says it is ready to implement ICT at schools. This will be accompanied by teacher development and all schools will have access to an ICT infrastructure and be connected to the Internet.
He says there are ICT committees and sub-committees at provincial and national level to coordinate the introduction of ICT at schools. Companies that donate computers are obliged to refurbish them and install appropriate applications and software.