The Internet Service Providers’ Association of South Africa (ISPA)’s 2011 competition for the Super Teacher of the Year is open for entries.
The competition forms part of the ISPA’s flagship initiative called Train the Teacher, which aims to nurture high-quality IT skills training in South Africa. Information and communication technology (ICT) has been adopted globally as a key 21st-century tool to deliver curriculum content. Last year, the department of basic education launched a massive “teacher laptop initiative” as a strategy to enhance the quality of classroom teaching by equipping teachers with computers and IT skills. All registered teachers are eligible to receive a government-subsidised laptop loaded with relevant software linked to the curriculum.
Organisers of the competition expect teachers to submit projects that could be used as tools to “promote and develop computer skills in their own schools and communities”. NetDay Association, which manages the project, advises applicants to submit “project plans and supporting evidence, indicating the progress they are making with their projects”.
The closing date for the competition is the end of July to allow for assessment to start in August.
The top 10 candidates will be invited to a “premier internet industry” award ceremony at iWeek in September this year. Winners will walk away with prizes such as laptop computers, Blackberry smartphones including all-expenses-paid attendance at high-profile IT conferences.
Evaluation of projects entered for the competition will be on the basis of “the teachers’ use of newly acquired computer skills in their own teaching practice” and how they use them to benefit their colleagues, learners and the broader community.
Since the first phase of the awards, 26 projects have been registered and all of them displayed strong “potential to effectively introduce computer skills in their communities”. The competition is now in its second phase to evaluate the impact of each project.
ISPA’s chairperson of the Teacher Training Working Group, Fiona Wallace, said she was “overawed” by the enthusiasm shown by teachers over the years. She said the initiative has generated tremendous interest among teachers nationwide. “This is our 10th anniversary and what we have been doing over the years was to train teachers in basic computer literacy. But, in the course of this, we realised there were those teachers who were doing remarkable things unnoticed, particularly in the rural parts of the country.”
Wallace said the awards do not just give recognition to these teachers but they also try to add value and enhance their “technological savvyness”.
“These teachers display an amazing passion and most of them find themselves with no or very little support. They always go beyond their call of duty to take what we have given them to benefit their colleagues, learners and their immediate communities.”
Melia Moeketsi won last year’s Super Teacher of the Year award. She represents the type of teacher the initiative seeks to empower with computer skills. Based at Maribe Primary School, which serves the impoverished rural community of Segope in Limpopo, Moeketsi beat her competitors by coming up with a simple and innovative computer project that saw her teach her learners, colleagues and the local community some rudimentary computer skills. Moeketsi is counted among teachers who have mastered the use of ICT in the classroom and trains others.
“Initially, I did not know how to use a computer but when ISPA started with the training I jumped at the opportunity. I have never looked back since and I have embraced technology as part of the learning environment. I just hope more teachers could be part of this growing digital revolution, particularly in education,” said Moeketsi.