Overview FIFA Legacy Schools Connectivity Project

Overview FIFA Legacy Schools Connectivity Project

The FIFA legacy schools connectivity project is a joint initiative between the Department of Communications, Intel and the Department of Basic Education. This project provided a charging trolley with 20 laptops and Wi-Fi connectivity to each of the participating schools.

As Intel’s preferred training provider, SchoolNet was contracted to provide training to teachers in the participating schools. At first the training model included the principal and two already ICT literate teachers who were meant to be trained as master trainers who would go back and design professional development plans to train their colleagues.

Our invitations to schools were mostly met with eagerness. Schools varied in response from wanting to send more than the maximum teachers, sending teachers without their principals to a few schools that sent no teachers.

The aim of the Intel Teach Getting Started course was to facilitate workshops where teachers are able to practise working on their administration tasks using ICTs. This, according to the Guidelines for Teacher Professional Development and Training, is cited as the Entry level to achieving ICT competences. Teachers who attended the training were reportedly at first not confident in their abilities to use ICTs but soon progressed to using at a bare minimum, email (where connectivity was stable), a word processor, spreadsheets and presentation software. The provided training was therefore successful in achieving its aim.

Training was provided in authentic contexts at the project schools or at fully equipped Vodacom-DBE ICT centres in the respective districts. This allowed teachers to come together from a range of different schools and work together to complete the activities within the course. This served a two-fold purpose for teachers to understand that they are not alone in this ICT journey but moreover professional learning communities can be born to celebrate the many successes at schools as well as the roadblocks to learning.

Training was implemented in seven of the nine provinces as Gauteng and the Western Cape were deemed to be already well-resourced in terms of the provision of ICTs. Training to date has been completed for 1678 teachers in 77% of all project schools. Only the Free State province fully seized the opportunity for sponsored training and completed training in all their schools with an average of two teachers attending training from each school. The remaining 247 schools (19%) across other provinces will be scheduled when schools re-open for the second term.

The table below reflects the breakdown of project schools per province, the training to date and the schools still remaining to be completed.

Province / Total # of schools / # schools completed / # schools to complete / % schools left to complete / # schools scheduled / # of teachers trained
EC / 216 / 169 / 47 / 21.8 / 0 / 379
FS / 150 / 151 / 0 / 0.0 / 0 / 276
KZN / 228 / 165 / 52 / 22.8 / 11 / 195
LP / 213 / 197 / 16 / 7.5 / 0 / 334
MP / 169 / 97 / 72 / 42.6 / 0 / 138
NC / 99 / 47 / 42 / 42.4 / 10 / 48
NW / 197 / 164 / 18 / 9.1 / 15 / 308
TOTAL / 1272 / 990 / 247.0 / 19.4 / 36 / 1678
% Schools completed: 77.8
% schools scheduled: 2.8
% schools left to complete: 19

Our observations and recommendations are as follows:

• Models for implementation need to be addressed. Training three teachers in a school with foundation skills for ICTs and expecting them to train colleagues is not adequate. It is highly recommended that foundation or basic ICT skills be provided to as many teachers as possible to ensure that the entire schoolmoves forward with all teachers with the same initial skills. This sets the tone for change within the school environment.
• Delivery of hardware, connectivity and content must be completed before training can be scheduled. It is not ideal for training to be scheduled only to find that schools have not received their laptops nor connectivity- worse still where the equipment has been delivered,it is still in boxes in the storeroom. This not only wastes both time and project funds but also demotivates teachers because they lose the momentum and excitement created by synching the process opportunely.
• Confirmed project funds must be available before the start of implementation. The lack of funds in Quarter three prevented the project from gaining the required momentum for completion of the project within the required time frame. The model for implementation also had to change due to limitations on funding.
• Assistance from the Provincial Departments of Education is paramount. Provinces such as the Free State and North West have shown success due to the excellent support of the Provincial personnelat all levels, including the Director for E-learning and Curriculum (head Office), District directors, Chief Education Specialists, and Senior Education Specialists.
• Efforts need to be made to build ICT capacity in the Provinces where they are lagging behind. More capacity for training and support must be in place in order for schools to be assisted to change the way they envision ICT and its use within the schooling environment and to see the gains of teacher professional development. District officials should be in positions to visit teachers who attend training in order to see evidence and support the change in teaching methodology. It is only through concerted efforts that we will see the change we want to see.

Omashani Naidoo
Operations Manager

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