“Knowledge is like light, weightless and intangible; it can easily travel the world, enlightening the lives of people everywhere.

Yet billions of people still live in the darkness of poverty, unnecessarily”.

World Development Report 1999

Overview

White Paper on e- Education

Developments in ICTs can: Improve systemic efficiency create better access to information and learning opportunities redress inequalities improve the quality of learning and teaching support lifelong learning

Broad Principles

Improve systemic efficiency Redress inequalities Widening access to high quality, relevant and diverse resources and

learning opportunities to all teachers and learners Exposing all learners, in advantaged and disadvantaged areas, to

enriched educational experiences Provide to all learners and teachers the means of communication

and collaboration to enhance teaching and learning Give all learners the opportunities to excel in a 21st century

environment

Six Pillars of the White Paper

Infrastructure in all schools and for all support personnel including maintenance, sustainability, security, technical support and initial training

Connectivity to all schools, FET Colleges and district offices to a closed network linked to the Internet

Ongoing professional development (teacher training and teacher development programmes) for teachers, principals and support personnel

Maintenance and further development of the Educational Portal and content development

Research, monitoring and evaluation Appointment of Human Resources (National, Provincial and

Districts) to drive, manage and support ICT in Education

Operational principles

Long-term growth Responsive to curriculum and teacher/learner demands Relevant, quality learning and teaching support material Content is relevant to the lives and learning context of South Africa -

content for learners and educators from disadvantaged schools and particularly rural areas

Safe space for communication and collaboration At no cost to end-users

National Curriculum

Critical Outcomes Problem solving, decision making, critical and creative thinking Work effectively in a team Organise and manage themselves and their activities Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information Communicate effectively Use science and technology effectively Understanding that the world is a set of related systems Variety of learning strategies

Kind of Learners envisaged:

Principles of the National Curriculum Social transformation Outcomes-based education High knowledge and high skills Integration and applied competence Progression Articulation and portability Human rights, inclusivity, environmental and social justice Valuing indigenous knowledge systems Credibility, quality and efficiency

21st Century Skills

Digital-Age LiteracyBasic, scientific, economic, ICT and technological literacies Visual and information literacies Multicultural literacy and global awareness

Effective CommunicationTeaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills Personal, social, and civic responsibility Interactive communication

High ProductivityPrioritising, planning, and managing for results Effective use of real-world tools Ability to produce relevant, high-quality products

Inventive ThinkingAdaptability and managing complexity Self-direction Curiosity, creativity, and Risk taking Higher-order thinking and sound reasoning

Chaotic learning: the learning style of the Net generation

Enjoyment and love of learning - fun, and learning is almost incidental Individuality and self-control - no teacher determines what they learn Self-learning - a preparedness to do things for themselves Constructivist or enquiry based approach - learning prompted by discovering Multitasking - random vs traditional structured linear approach Being holistic and integrated - not defined by “subjects” Collegial support - they ask each other Networking - international boundaries are crossed Responsiveness to change and a willingness to push the boundaries Authentic vs contrived experience

Mal Lee http://www.csuhttp://www.csu.edu.au/cstl/community/isis/pubs/isis2000.html.edu.au/cstl/community/isis/pubs/isis2000.html

What is the Thutong Education Portal ?

Provide teachers, school managers and administrators, and national and provincial education officials access to high quality resources and information of direct and specific relevance to the South African National Curriculum Statement and associated education policies.

Ensure ease of use, enabling users to find what they need in the most intuitive ways possible.

Create strong and vibrant online communities of practice amongst the above target audiences.

Facilitate discussion and sharing of information and ideas amongst peer networks.

Encourage South African educators to develop and improve education by sharing the country’s common intellectual capital.

New vision and Web 2.0

Dedicated spaces in ways that are intuitively logical to the primary target audience of teachers

Communication tools Comprehensive search facilities Resource sharing opportunities

Communication

Collaboration

Creativity

Home Page and registration

Curriculum and Examinations

Typical Learning Space

Communication tools

This facility displays a list of main topics for that learning area/subject, with the ability to view results for that topic or filter further by selecting a sub-topic to view linked resources.

TOPIC SEARCH

Users have the option of choosing one of the resource types to filter results, after which the search moves on to searching by Topics.

RESOURCE TYPE SEARCH

This searches keywords defined for individual resources. It uses what is known as a ‘folksonomy’, or collaborative tagging, where users can collaboratively create and manage tags to annotate and categorize resources.

KEYWORD (TAG) SEARCH

This search facility displays a list of outcomes specific to the subjects/learning areas in an identified learning space.

OUTCOMES SEARCH

SEARCH RESULTS

1 The Name/Title of the resource, which acts as a hyperlink to the Resource itself.

2 A truncated version of the document’s abstract or description. No more than 200 characters are revealed in the results summary.

3 The URL if it is a link to a resource on another web site.

4 A link to ‘View Resource Details’

5 Media type (.doc; xls, ppt, link)

6 Resource Pool (DoE acquired resources, approved resources, non-assured resources)

7 Ability to “Add to Favourites”

8 Ability to “Add comment”

9 Star rating

RESOURCE COLLABORATION

Only available to Learning Space Manager

Professional Development

Education Administration

Education Management

Other spaces

Enviro Space Kids Space Foundations for Learning Space Matric Help Space Dinaledi Schools Space School Safety Space Enrichment Space Reading and Literacy Space Rural Schools/Multigrade Classroom Space 2010 Space Correctional Services Space Early Childhood Development Space Subject Advisors ICT Space Curriculum Management Committee Space School Governing Body Space Partnerships Space Gallery Space Non-Official Languages Space Special Days Space

So… please become part of the Thutong Community