Source of Brian Schreuder's photo: Tumblr; source of e-learning picture: www.efrontlearning.net
Oxford Press recently held a conference – the Africa Conference – to discuss the future of education and technology in South Africa.
Naomi Meyer asked Brian Schreuder, Deputy Director-General: Curriculum and Assessment Management at the Western Cape Education Department, about the WCED's e-learning strategy and future plans.
Hello Brian, could you please tell me a bit about your job?
I am Deputy Director-General for Curriculum and Assessment Management at the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) in Cape Town. Besides all curriculum development and delivery aspects I am responsible for all examinations and teacher development and also drive the Western Cape Government’s (WCG’s) e-Learning Game Changer Strategy.
There are many challenges facing education in this country. Maybe technology could be a part of the solution. At the recent Africa Conference, what was discussed regarding the WCED’s e-learning strategy?
We shared our 20-year vision for e-learning and the strategy and plans to make it happen. It is a strategy that will transform education and change pedagogy to improve teaching and learning so that learners achieve better, but are also better equipped for the 21st-century world of work, study and living. We plan to create an enabling environment in which 21st-century teaching and learning can take place using digital resources to enhance learning. While the strategy has medium- to long-term turnaround deliverables, the initial phase is a three-year Game Changer phase.
The strategy has six streams that all need concurrent attention: 1. eCulture (advocacy, communication and orientation of all concerned); 2. eEnvironment (WAN and LAN as critical enablers – high-speed 24/7 world-class connectivity in all schools and all classes ultimately). By the end of this year all schools in the WC will be connected and in three years more than a third of our schools will have blanket WiFi LANS; 3. eTechnology (Smart classrooms, Slim LABS, teacher and learner devices); 4. eTeachers (ensuring support and development for all teachers on a clear development pathway); 5. eContent (access to appropriate digital content for all subjects and other resources for learners, teachers, management, parents and SGBs via our ePortal at WCEDePortal.co.za); 6. eAdmin (ensuring digitised admin and classroom and learning systems to make teachers’ lives easier.
http://www.oxfordafricaconference.com/
What are the biggest challenges in terms of infrastructure, implementation and hardware?
The WCG wishes to supply a high-speed reliable infrastructure of connectivity and access. This is planned for and budgets are in place for the next three years of the Game Changer period. It is a mammoth undertaking, but we are on track. As I said, by the end of the year all schools in the WC will be connected and in three years more than a third of our schools will have “enhanced technology” including WiFi and smart classrooms. This rollout will be ongoing.
Times are tough, budgets are tight. What about all the learners from low-income backgrounds - will they have access to the technology?
We are planning to develop a small number of “model” schools over the next two years where all learners will have appropriate devices and access to digital resources. But device propagation is very costly and we will devise various approaches to accelerate learner access to devices. This will include BOYD, smart phones and smart devices, tablets where appropriate, etc. We will encourage the acceleration where parents can afford to contribute and will support where the needs are great. The WCG has also established the Cape Digital Foundation (CDF), which will assist with sourcing and channelling private and corporate funding in support of our eLearning Strategy.
http://wcedeportal.co.za/
The Western Cape Education Department has an e-portal where learners and teachers can access information and digital assets. Where do you get the content?
Our ePortal is web-based and accessible from anywhere and by anyone. While it will give access to curriculum resources for all learners and teachers, it will also have valuable resources for all education role players. There is a mix of free and for cost resources and ultimately the majority of resources must be free for learners and teachers. We are sourcing good-quality aligned digital resources globally and we are also engaging with existing content repositories in South Africa to collaborate so as to provide free access for education resources. If learners/teachers access the resources via our high-speed WAN, there are no data costs to them. And the portal can be accessed from home, free WiFi hotspots or anywhere else.
Children grow up with technology but grown-ups tend to be digital immigrants. What are your plans for ongoing technical support at schools for teachers?
There is a detailed roadmap and data plan developed so that we can report on targets reached, milestones attained and eventually outcomes achieved. As we roll out technology, warranty and maintenance is built into the tender. At the same time we envisage that technical support will be required by schools. In the interim our Centre for e-Innovation (CEI) is gearing to give technical support, our Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI) and Districts are busy offering training and support, with a wide range of collaboration partners, and we are investing in an internship scheme where technical interns will be trained and placed in selected schools to help with support.
Can e-learning be done in the children’s home language? Or is English the language of e-learning?
e-Learning can be done in any language and we are certainly keen to utilise it in the language of teaching and learning in schools in the Western Cape. While globally the technical language of e-learning is English, this does not mean that digital resources can be only in English. There are a number of resources already available through our ePortal in other languages and I am aware of digital resource development in Afrikaans. Again we are exploring ways of collaboration to facilitate access for all our users to these appropriate resources. We would also like to make an appeal to all organisations, teachers’ and others, to make quality digital resources available in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa via our ePortal at WCEDePortal.co.za.
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