Thamsanqa Makhathini, one of the winners in this year’s Innovative Teachers Forum awards, shares the details of his project
Details
Name: Thamsanqa Makhathini
School: Mpophomeni High School, near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal
Teaching experience: 13 years
Subject areas: Mathematics and computer applications technology for grades 10 to 12.
Name of the project
Local is lekker at Mphophomeni to create a website about the history of the township of Mphophomeni.
Reason for the project
The area has an interesting political history that can be traced back to the 1960s. Former president Nelson Mandela was arrested on August 5 1962 near Howick after a tip-off from informers.
The area experienced a lot of conflict between the IFP and the ANC during the 1980s. I thought that preserving such an important history electronically would be a great learning experience.
I wanted to integrate ICT in a meaningful way, not just to create a website without any context. I was motivated by the fact that some learners don’t know the history of the area and do not value the developments that have taken place. There are community centres around the area that could be of great benefit to learning if learners are given relevant projects.
Software and hardware requirements
Camcorder, laptop and desktop computers, cellphones, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Media Player and Microsoft FrontPage.
Learning outcomes
Communicate information effectively by using a variety of communication modes and tools. This can be achieved by interviewing resourceful people in the community and visiting community centres.
Use technology to locate, collect and analyse various forms of data by recording conversations using mobile phones. Learners can take pictures that will be used in a video they will produce.
Organise, record and summarise information in appropriate electronic formats.
A video will be made to integrate all the material gathered.
Putting the project to action
Step 1: Learners were organised into groups of five or six according to their ability and interest in technology.
Step 2: Each person was assigned a specific duty decided by the group leader.
Step 3: Groups were asked to do research about the history of Mphophomeni township pre-1994.
Step 4: Groups were asked to do a survey to verify their assumptions about the work of the community centres.
Step 5: Planning for a video was started, which would be included in the website, using pictures and relevant content taken by a camcorder.
Step 6: Relevant content and pictures/video were used to enhance the movie.
Step 7: The movie was downloaded to PCs using Movie Maker and/or Media Player.
Step 8: A comment and feedback form was designed where other students could comment on the video content.
Step 9: Key clips were included, such as those of the township, schools, computer room and other relevant venues.
Step 10: FrontPage was used to design a website showing the research initiatives.
Lessons from the project
What the learners said:
The project was useful because I learned how to design a good questionairre.
I learned how to handle data using different methods.
Working together as a group was nice.
I used most of my time at Zenzeleni community centre to make sure that I finished the project on time.
Teenagers do learn from past mistakes.
I learned that some of the causes of crime are linked to unemployment and poverty.
What I learned:
I really enjoyed seeing my learners grow in the process of exploring – hearing and seeing themselves in interviews and pictures.
The community members’ remarks were very encouraging and they wanted to see the results of the project so that other community members could see what learners are capable of doing.
Areas of improvement
Because learners were using FrontPage for the first time, they encountered some challenges. Perhaps they should have been given basic website skills so that the look of their websites would have been better.
It would have been great to have had one or two other schools focusing on the same project from a different angle.
Mixing the groups and allowing learners to work collaboratively would have challenged them further.
Gaps
Learners’ limited research skills meant that the content was not as rich and informative as it could have been. Learners would have done better if they were aware of other resources such as newspapers, police archives and libraries to produce a more balanced view.
My interest in ICT education
I have been exposed to a number of educational programmes that enhance learning and teaching in an exciting manner. My involvement in Schoolnet South Africa activities, Microsoft Partners in Learning Programmes and Intel Teach made me realise that there is a great need to use technology to improve learner performance in our schools.
It all started when I attended a Vula Programme in 2002 at Hilton College. Since then I have not missed a class and try out new ICT skills with my learners.
Role of ICT
We really do need to make our learners aware of how technology can be used in a classroom environment. Even something as simple as sharing files via Bluetooth-enabled cellphones can enhance the learning experience.
For more information go to PIL Teacher Training Model: http://www.school.za/PILP/
Microsoft Innovative Teachers Awards: http://www.school.za/itf/