Dimension Data and Convergence Partners Foundation donate school elearning centre in Limpopo

Dimension Data and Convergence Partners Foundation has extended their e-learning program into the Limpopo Province, by establishing an e-learning centre at the Hudson Ntsanwisi School, over the weekend.

This is the sixth province included in the program, which focuses on using technology to improve education in underprivileged schools. DiData says it aims to have 40 000 learners throughout SA on its e-learning programme by 2015.

Andile Ngcaba, chairman of DiData Middle East and Africa and Convergence Partners, says while the primary objective is to improve the quality of education in disadvantaged schools, the program has additional benefits, such as demystifying technology for both teachers and learners.

Each e-learning centre includes a trolley equipped with computer equipment that can be moved around the school; connect to the Internet; and features education software aligned with the Grade 10, 11, and 12 maths, science, English, and life skills curricula.

Ngcaba says: “Our e-learning program is more than an education tool – it’s a community builder.” He explains that learners are able to access the technology during school hours as well as on Saturdays. This ensures the technology is not simply an additional teaching aid, but encourages learners to take responsibility for their own education and become catalysts for the establishment of a learning society, notes Ngcaba.

On Saturdays, the e-learning centers enable parents and the general community to participate in the modernisation of their children’s education, he adds, and to support them in becoming technology proficient.

According to DiData, during the past three years it has implemented its e-learning program in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Eastern and Western Cape, and the North West Province. This has introduced over 10 600 Grade 10, 11, and 12 students and their teachers to the advantages of online and computer-assisted learning.

The program is already delivering an improvement in matric pass and university entrance rates in participating KwaZulu-Natal schools, where it was first introduced to Grade 10 learners three years ago.