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Report to Vodacom Foundation on SchoolNet SA

Partners in Learning Training and

Support for Community ICT Centres Progress Report: November 2010

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTThe Vodacom Foundation is partnering with Microsoft and SchoolNet SA in a three year programme aimed at enhancing initiatives in education. The project consists of two components:

Providing Microsoft Partners in Learning training for teachers and

Providing training and support for Vodacom ICT Resource Centres

As the first year of this project draws to a close, this report aims to describe the current status of the project as well as to make some recommendations for the way forward as the project progresses in 2011.

MICROSOFT PARTNERS IN LEARNING TRAINING FOR TEACHERSVodacom supports many schools spread throughout South Africa. The intention of this project is to provide training to staff members from 70 of these schools. In 2010 and 2011 teachers from 35 schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Limpopo provinces will be trained and in 2011 and 2012 teachers from a further 35 schools in another two provinces will be trained.

In the first year of running a programme in a province teachers will be trained on the following Partners in Learning courses:

ICT Leadership for Education Managers ICT Skills for Teachers Student HelpDesk

In the second year of the programme teachers will receive training on the following courses: Peer Coaching Innovation workshop One Step Further WebQuests

TRAINING THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN 2010To date all four rounds of ICT Leadership for Education Managers training have been completed; five out of six rounds of HelpDesk training have taken place and 24 out of 35 schools have received ICT Skills for Teachers training.

The training dates and venues are listed below, followed by a more detailed description of each training session:

ICT Leadership for Education Managers

SchoolNet SA Report on Vodacom Foundation Project (November 2010)

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Limpopo Vhembe District of Limpopo (29 – 31 March 2010) Mopani District of Limpopo (23 – 25 April 2010)

KwaZulu Natal Port Shepstone District (29 – 31 March 2010) Pinetown and Umlazi Districts (23 – 25 April 2010)

HelpDesk

Limpopo Vhembe District of Limpopo (10 – 14 June 2010) Mopani District of Limpopo (21 – 23 May and 29 – 30 May 2010) Mopani District – Giyani (30 July and 1, 7 and 8 August 2010)

KwaZulu Natal Port Shepstone District (10 – 14 June 2010) Umlazi District (22-24 October and 5 - 6 November 2010)

ICT Skills for Teachers

Limpopo Charles Mathonsi Secondary (23 – 27 June and 1 and 2 July 2010) Nyanisi Secondary (10 – 14 June 2010) Mandela Barloworld (10 – 14 June 2010) Maloti Secondary (4 – 6 June and 16 - 17 July 2010) Tondalushaka Secondary (15 – 16 May and 8 -9 June 2010) Siloam Primary – Vhembe District (29 -31 March and 8 -9 May 2010) Basopa High (17 - 19 September and 23 and 24 September 2010) Gija-Ngove Secondary (10 -12 September and 17 -18 September 2010) Hivuyeriwile High ( 17 -18 September 2010) Lephai Secondary (8 -10 October and 15 -16 October 2010) Laerskool Messina Primary (9 -10 October 2010) M.K Khambani (8 -10 October 2010) Mpandeli Secondary (7 -9 August and 23 -24 September 2010) Realedisha Secondary (8 -10 October 2010) Shingwedzi Secondary (17 -19 September 2010)

KwaZulu Natal Luthuli High (23 – 25 April and 1 – 2 May 2010) Ithongasi Primary (28 June – 2 July 2010) Siphapheme Primary (21 – 23 April and 4 – 5 June 2010) Jamengweni Primary (15 – 16 May and 14 – 15 June 2010) Zakhele Primary (14 – 18 June 2010) Siyaphambili Secondary (31 July and 6 -8 August 2010) Swanvale Primary (30 -1 August and 7 and 11 September 2010) Isipingo beach intermediate ( 15, 23 and 30 October 2010) Amagcina Primary (10 -14 October and 17 -18 October 2010)

- Amagcina Primary is a replacement school for Phangisa Primary school.


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ICT Leadership for Education Managers

Limpopo Vhembe District of Limpopo (29 – 31 March 2010)

According to the trainer “the workshop was an eye opener to a lot of the trainees and they rated the training as very much important”. Whilst the trainer reported that the participants had said that they wished more teachers could receive this training – it was disappointing that only 11 of the 25 participants who were invited to the course attended.

This course was held at Tondalushaka High School – one of the schools involved in this programme. There were sufficient computers available however the courseware had not been installed prior to the training and there was a power cut on the second day. To compensate for these delays the group agreed to stay late on the final day to complete the training.

Mopani District of Limpopo (23 – 25 April 2010)The trainer described the participants at this session as “computer literate” and “very committed”. She noted that the participants attended the course over a long weekend and were still prepared to complete homework tasks in the evenings which they brought in for discussion the following day. Two of the participants indicated that they were planning to participate in the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Awards. By the end of the training each school went home with a training plan for their school.

For this course Tzaneen Primary was used as a venue as none of the schools included in the training rollout was suitable. At Tzaneen Primary the computers were all working and the internet access was good. The trainer noted that the course “went very well and I am pleased with the outcome. It was a pleasure to work with these educators”.

KwaZulu Natal Port Shepstone District (29 – 31 March 2010)

Port Shepstone High School was used for this training session as none of the schools in the cluster could provide adequate facilities. At the venue the trainees had access to the internet and a printer and all the computers had CD drives which facilitated easy loading of the training materials. The only setbacks were a lack of administrator rights for the trainer and a lack of sound facilities for showing videos.

One of the highlights of this course included using the Intel online visual ranking tool to rate the importance of different ICT options, which led to vibrant discussion on ICT competencies. Many of the participants at this course had not yet attended ICT Skills for Teachers training which meant that many lacked basic computer skills. This lack of computer skills was compensated for by completing some activities in the hard copy workbooks and working through ICT skills scenarios as a group.

With 19 participants, this was the most well attended ICT Leadership for Education Managers course that was held for this project. Nonetheless, the trainer noted that in many cases the principals did not attend the training themselves, but instead sent the deputy principal and/or a few members of the school management team. He noted, “I sometimes feel that our endeavour of capacitating principals to be pioneers in transforming our schools into ICT schools is not gaining momentum; they continue delegating their deputies and HOD’s to these workshops. It sometimes makes our attempt a joke, particularly in those areas that require the authority of the head of the school”. Despite only having a few principals in attendance, the trainer described the group as “wonderful people who were very eager to learn, they participated in group discussions and shared ideas with other trainees”.


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Pinetown and Umlazi Districts (23 – 25 April 2010)This round of training proved to be very difficult to organise. After rescheduling the training twice, SchoolNet SA made a decision to have the course despite anticipating low attendance. This was done to accommodate the schools who had shown interest and who had twice been let down when training was cancelled at the last minute. The following schools did not attend for various reasons: Phakathi Primary claimed that they needed a mandate from the department of education to attend training – despite a letter from the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education being sent to the school they still failed to send delegates. Swanvale Primary mentioned it was a short term and that they did not have time to attend a course. Kwamgaga High School had had their computers stolen and said that they didn’t see the benefits of attending ICT training as they currently do not have computers at their school. Finally the members of the Isipingo Beach Intermediate SMT mentioned that they were computer literate already and therefore did not need computer lessons. They did not seem to undertand that the course was not about learning computer skills. In the end only five delegates attended – of these one participant was a deputy principal and the remaining participants were classroom teachers for whom the course is not designed. Interestingly when the ICT skills for teachers training was conducted the trainer found that the teachers’ ICT skills were very weak. Fortunately the principal did attend that training and was then at least able to appreciate the value of training for her staff.

Microsoft’s Smart Exchange in Durban was used as a venue for this course and this also proved to be problematic. Whilst there were sufficient computers in good working order, as well as a data projector and internet access – there was no one on hand to host the session and the trainer battled to locate toilets and data projector at the venue. There was also no parking for visitors which meant that the delegates had to park some distance from the centre.

Despite these challenges, the few people who did attend the training enjoyed the course and felt that they had benefited from it. In addition to improving their own computer skills they were also made aware of issues around the development of ICT policy and the importance of being information literate. We hope that they will be able to share some of their discussions with the managers at their schools. As one participant noted, “to me it was a real adventure. I found that technology plays an important role in the teaching and learning environment and I would suggest that all educators be exposed to it.”

HelpDesk

Limpopo Vhembe District of Limpopo (10 – 14 June 2010)

This training took place at Mbilwi Secondary School which is one of the schools participating in this project and it included learners and teachers from three schools in the cluster. According to the trainer the venue was well equipped with 50 computers and internet access and the principal and teacher in charge of the computer room were always on hand to assist when something was required. For example, there are sections of the course that require the use of the command line and administrator privileges and the computer room teacher was able to change the user permissions to accommodate this. The school also provided old system units that the group was able to open to check the internal components.

The times for the training were adjusted to accommodate the World Cup games that were being played at the time – however through starting early and shortening breaks no training time was lost. The trainer reported that overall the training went well as the group was small and easy to manage.


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Mopani District of Limpopo (21 – 23 May and 29 – 30 May 2010) This course was divided into two parts – three days of initial

training and a two day follow up. It was well attended by 22 learners and 6 educators who were described by the trainer as “cooperative and enthusiastic”.

Training took place at Mandela Barloworld Secondary School which offers CAT as a subject. This venue had enough computers for each delegate to have his or her own computer to work on and the CAT teacher was on hand to help where required. The trainees also remarked that the catering team was very good.

Mopani District of Limpopo – Giyani (30 and 31 July and 1, 7 and 8 August 2010)

The initial training for this course took place at Tivumbeni Education Centre however the follow up training was moved to Mbilwi Secondary School as this venue was closer to home for most of the participants. Unfortunately only 17 of the 30 participants that had been expected attended the training and of these many of the learners battled to communicate in English. Despite the challenges the trainer reported that “for them this was the beginning of them no longer being ordinary educators and learners at their schools but also computer technicians”. The trainer concluded that the session was a success and that the participants became increasingly more self-reliant as the training progressed. His one disappointment was that all of the invited schools did not send participants.

KwaZulu Natal Port Shepstone District (10 – 14 June 2010)

The trainer reported that conducting this workshop was very challenging as it took place during the soccer tournament and “people were feeling the FIFA 2010”. As a result of this, some days training ended early to allow people to travel home to watch the games. Despite this, the training was well received and the participants grasped the concept of making their schools technically independent. The trainer remarked that he was impressed by the skills of the participants who were “young and eager to learn”.

The group especially enjoyed the section on “Understanding Hardware”. Whilst initially the group were scared to disconnect and connect computers they were thrilled when they were able to get the computers to work again. The group are now equipped with basic trouble shooting skills and will be able to apply what they have learnt to finding technical solution at schools.

Umlazi District (22-24 October and 5 and 6 November 2010)(Training in progress – report to be submitted upon completion of training)


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ICT Skills for Teachers: Limpopo

Charles Mathonsi Secondary (23 – 27 June and 1 and 2 July 2010)The trainer reported that the fifteen teachers who attended this session coped well with the scenarios and found them to be relevant to their classroom practice. He noted that the group was ready for the next course and that they had the skills to cope well with the One Step Further Course. There were sufficient computers for each participant to have his or her own computer, however the computers had viruses which complicated the reading of the training materials CD. Teachers who did not already have email accounts were able to set these up during the training session.

Nyanisi Secondary (10 – 14 June 2010)Thirteen teachers attended this session and the trainer reported that they were “appreciative, cooperative and they wanted to go on and on for it was such an exciting moment for them to learn how to use a computer.” The venue had been well prepared in advance, but the computers had a range of software on them – from Office 2000 to Office 2007 – making it difficult for the trainer to demonstrate a scenario that would then look the same on all the participant’s computers. The internet was not working and the trainer’s 3G modem failed to connect which was disappointing to teachers who had hoped to learn more about using the internet. The eager teachers started as early as 7am and cut short their lunch time because they were so eager to spend more time with their “newly found toys”.

Mandela Barloworld (10 – 14 June 2010)This training session included fourteen teachers from this school as well as a teacher from Molabosane High School who had asked to be included in the session. The trainer described the group as “eager to learn and cooperative” and reported that the training went well. He noted that it was encouraging that these teachers were prepared to attend five full days of training during the World Cup Soccer holiday and said that they can be commended for the active and dedicated way in which they participated in the sessions.

Maloti Secondary (4 – 6 June and 16 - 17 July 2010)The computers at this school were all functional and using Office 2007. There were only nine trainees present, and most of these teachers were computer literate which made it easy for the trainer to help those present further advance their skills. Although the computers did not have internet connectivity, the trainer used her 3G modem to demonstrate some of the scenarios that require Internet access. The teachers enjoyed the course, especially as one teacher noted “it is specific to my work. What I learn is what I am going to use or apply when preparing my lesson plans etc.”.

Tondalushaka Secondary (15 – 16 May and 8 -9 June 2010)The initial training at this school was cancelled and rescheduled twice before the principal finally committed to training dates. The Monday after training supposedly took place, the principal phoned our project administrator to say how good the training was and how much everyone had enjoyed it. We were delighted by this phone call until a short while later when the trainer phoned our project manager to say that when he arrived for the training only the principal and two staff members were present, and when the training was rescheduled to begin the following day only the principal and one staff member arrived. Whilst no training took place, the trainer said that the principal had told him to still submit his report and invoice to SchoolNet and that he would phone SchoolNet to confirm that the training had taken place so that the trainer would still be paid. We were grateful for our trainer’s honesty and were forced to take up the matter with both the principal and the district official to say that this was unacceptable and that teachers would actually have to attend the sessions to receive certificates.

Eventually the course was rescheduled and eleven participants attended. They complained that the dates had not been well chosen by school management as they were in the middle of the time when teachers were busy marking end of term papers. By the follow-up training, school had closed and the trainer reported that this session went better than the initial training as the teachers were no longer distracted by their marking. In fact, at the follow-up training the teachers were saying that the


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computer skills that they were learning were going to make their CASS (continuous assessment) files look very well organised. The participant evaluation forms include praise for the trainer and a comment that “the workshop opened my eyes. It was really empowering.”

Siloam Primary – Vhembe District (29 -31 March and 8 -9 May 2010)Only nine participants attended this training session and the trainer reported that on the first day he sensed that those present had been compelled to attend the session. Once he explained the benefits of acquiring ICT skills and once the participants started to see what the course was about, he noted that their attitude changed and by the end of the initial training the group was looking forward to the follow up session and receiving their certificates. As the training progressed the teachers became more confident about navigating through the scenarios on their own. As one participant reported, “The training is useful and relevant to me as an educator. I found it outstanding as it improved my knowledge of computer skills. I would strongly recommend SchoolNet to any educator for the course is useful to their day-to-day work at school.”

Basopa High (17 - 19 September and 23 and 24 September 2010) On the first day of training most of the sixteen participants were computer illiterate and relied heavily on the trainer for support. By the second day the trainees were eager to work more quickly and wanted to acquire the skills to type a letter and a test. The trainees completed work in pairs and individually and were keen to show off what they had created as presentations. Members of the school management team were present and were particularly interested in how they could use a database to track records at the school.

Gija-Ngove Secondary (10 -12 September and 17 -18 September 2010)This school had enough computers for each of the fifteen participants to have his or her own computer, however the computers were old and used either Office 2000 or Office 2003 and there was no internet

connection or data projector. Many of the teachers were already computer literate, however they were each able to use the list of scenarios to find an activity to do that would be new and useful. In particular the group was interested in mail merge and they planned to use this function when designing the end of term progress reports. As one participant reported “I am computer literate, however I gained more confidence since there were a lot of new things I did not know before – all in all the training was very helpful.”

Hivuyeriwile High (17 -18 September 2010)Twenty one teachers benefitted from this initial training session. They found the examples and scenarios to be useful and relevant to their professional work. The session followed the correct training approach whereby the trainer demonstrated a scenario to the group and then allowed the participants to select their own scenarios. Follow up training will be scheduled for these teachers before the end of 2010.


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Lephai Secondary (8 -10 October and 15 -16 October 2010)On the first day of training – a Friday afternoon – the participants informed the trainer that the principal had not told them about the training in advance. There were only ten participants present – but these teachers were cooperative and willing to learn. Technical issues at the school resulted in both the training materials and the work that the teachers had produced being wiped off the computers and the computers switching themselves off automatically – a frustrating experience for the participants and the trainer. Despite this, the participants enjoyed the session with one teacher commenting “The training was excellent and I am now ready to implement the skills I acquired.”

Laerskool Messina Primary (9 -10 October 2010)Unfortunately only ten staff members attended this training however those present enjoyed the sessions and felt that they benefitted from them. It was also encouraging to have members of the management team in attendance. One teacher reported that she would have liked to have seen the list of scenarios before the session to decide if the course would cover skills that she was not familiar with.

M.K Khambani (8 -10 October 2010)

This session began with only ten trainees in attendance – and whilst the trainer reported that these teachers were “passionate” it is disappointing that so few members of staff made use of the opportunity to improve their computer skills. The school did not have sufficient computers and supplemented the computers that they had available with borrowed laptops. The teachers promised to implement what they had learnt and the principal said that he was most appreciative of the scenario on using publisher to create certificates as this was something he would now be able to do for the school.

Mpandeli Secondary (7 -9 August and 23 -24 September 2010)There were twelve trainees at this training session as other staff members had gone to a teachers’ union briefing. Those that were in attendance were cooperative and eager to follow the instructions to work through scenarios that they had chosen. The trainer was supported by the computer teacher who helped to prepare the computer room and he reported that the learners who had attended the HelpDesk course were on hand to assist with any problems related to the hardware. One participant remarked “I really enjoyed the training session. The workshop was an eye-opener since I have learnt many things which I was not knowing.”

Realedisha Secondary (8 -10 October 2010)The trainer remarked that 40% of the 17 trainees who attended this session were computer literate at the outset. The nature of the ICT Skills for Teachers course, however, is such that there are scenarios to accommodate computer users at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Some of the more advanced members of the group impressed the trainer by completing the dynamic mark-book scenario and others volunteered to assist their colleagues in the creation of a simple mark-book.

Shingwedzi Secondary (17 -19 September)This training session was well attended – with 25 educators benefitting from the course. The trainer noted that approximately 90% of the trainees were computer literate and that they were able to use the tip sheets to work independently. The computer lab was functional to some extent however it would be beneficial to the teachers to have their software upgraded and for Encarta to be installed.


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ICT Skills for Teachers: KwaZulu Natal

Luthuli High (23 – 25 April and 1 – 2 May 2010)Because the computer room at this school was not well cared for, it was fortunate that the trainer arrived in the morning for this training session, even though the session was only scheduled for the afternoon. The trainer spent the morning trying to get enough computers to work so that each participant would have a working computer, and she cleaned the computer centre which was covered in dust and used as a store-room for sports equipment. During the training session the teachers reported that they are hardly ever allowed to enter the computer room and they asked if someone from SchoolNet could call their principal to request that they be allowed to use the computer room to practice their computer skills. Whilst many of the ten participants on this course were computer illiterate at the start of training, the training ended on a high note with many of the participants reporting that they had gained a huge amount of confidence and requesting more training.

Ithongasi Primary (28 June – 2 July 2010)The trainer reported that the donated computers at this school were well maintained with up to date software however there was a variety of machine types, and the computers were not networked or connected to the internet. She noted that the principal was very supportive of the training and this may have contributed to twenty one teachers attending the course. Of the teachers in attendance, some, particularly the younger teachers were eager to learn and readily progressed towards the more advanced scenarios. Others were more apathetic, arriving late and expecting the trainer to provide continued support without reading the notes or consulting the tip sheets.

Siphapheme Primary (21 – 23 April and 4 – 5 June 2010)Whilst some computers at this venue were not functional, the trainer reported that “the venue is clean.

The computers are networked. It has two air conditioners, data projector, smart board, network and printer.” Thirteen teachers attended the training and judging from their evaluation forms they all enjoyed and benefitted from the sessions. Comments included: “The workshop enlightened me on the areas of difficulty and the resources supplied will be useful even in the future” and “The workshop was fruitful to me; I can now work independently using the computer. Really the computer makes work easy and fast”.

Jamengweni Primary (15 – 16 May and 14 – 15 June 2010)

The fourteen participants at this training session were described by the trainer as being “older, well mannered teachers” who were likely to continue to work their way through the scenarios in the trainer’s absence. The trainer reported that the whole school management team including the principal attended the follow-up training session and reported that they had tried to practice their computer skills during the break. Whilst the school’s administration computers (which had been sponsored by Vodacom) were new, the computers in the lab were very old and operating on Windows 98 and Office 97. There was no internet access and the trainer encouraged the school to invest in internet access for teachers so that they could use email and the Internet for research purposes.

Zakhele Primary (14 – 18 June 2010)One of SchoolNet SA’s most experienced trainers conducted this session and remarked that “this has been the most trying workshop I


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have ever managed”. He noted that although there were some donated computers that were only a year or two old they had no software installed. There were also other computers that were so old that they were running Windows 95 and did not have CD ROM drives. Much of the first day of training was spent with the trainer attempting to occupy the group whilst simultaneously getting software and the training materials loaded on to the computers. He remarked “it is clear when computers are donated without knowledge of what is required... a good gesture can be turned into an almost worthless donation”. He suggested that the school be guided to acquire applications software, network the workstations and connect a printer and projector so that the computers could be used effectively.

Siyaphambili Secondary (31 July and 6 -8 August 2010)The trainer reported that “teaching skills through scenarios was a great help as the teachers found it exciting.” He noted that many of the participants were reluctant to integrate ICTs into their daily teaching activities, but that by the end of the course all of the participants were able to present a PowerPoint showcasing how they planned to use ICTs in their administration and curriculum delivery. He reported that “I worked with a very good group of people. There was mutual respect and this provided a conducive environment for their learning.” The group reported that the times of the course had not been well communicated with them and the trainer had to negotiate with the group to agree on dates and times. The training was also complicated by one day without any electricity that needed to be rescheduled. Despite these challenges one teacher remarked “the workshop was very successful and I have learnt a lot. Our trainer was very patient and helpful. This workshop was excellent.”

Swanvale Primary (30 -1 August and 7 and 11 September 2010)This session got off to a challenging start. Firstly the computers that were described by the trainer as “ancient”, were running Windows 98 with only Word and Excel loaded. They also lacked USB ports or CD drives from which to load the training materials. Whilst the trainer had initially been promised that sixteen teachers would attend the session, when she arrived only a handful of teachers were present. When she told the group that she was not prepared to train fewer than ten teachers those that were present went off to persuade their colleagues to join the session until there was a reasonable amount of participants. The participants completed common activities during the training session as the trainer was unable to load the courseware. However many of the participants have computers at home and promised that they would access the courseware using their own computers. The trainer remarked, “I really enjoyed this training and felt that I have made a difference in the lives of these teachers from what they kept on saying to me.” This was echoed by a participant who commented: “Sincere thanks to our sponsor Vodacom for an educational experience. An excellent presentation was done – Mrs Hlengiwe proves to be an outstanding teacher. Being a double graduate, it was refreshing to uplift me further. Thanks”.


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Isipingo Beach Intermediate (15, 23 and 30 October 2010)This school had ten computers that had been donated by Vodacom that were fully functional (although running Office 2003). Most of the computers had an expired trial version of Office 2007 which the participants could no longer use. About ten more computers had Open Office installed however this was confusing to the participants as some of the functionality is not the same as in Microsoft Office which is the software referenced in the tip sheets. The computer room did not have internet access or a digital projector, however the trainer was able to use her own projector and 3G modem. The principal informed the trainer that only five teachers had shown an interest in attending the course. The trainer asked to meet with the teachers; she showed the whole staff a PowerPoint presentation and was able to motivate a further fifteen teachers to attend the session so that in total twenty teachers attended this training session. Although most participants had only basic computer skills the trainer reported that “they had a very positive attitude towards the course. They were impressed and amazed by the activities that are contained in the CD. They mentioned that they are very relevant to their needs as educators.”

Amagcina Primary (10 -14 October and 17 -18 October 2010)This training session involved eleven teachers – most of whom could not hold a mouse when the session commenced. In the beginning the group appeared shy and scared but soon the trainer had them laughing and by the second day they were gaining independence. By the final day the group was looking forward to the showcase session when they would be able to present the artefacts they had created. They were also fascinated by the internet which the trainer demonstrated using her 3G modem. In particular, they were in awe of Skype and how it was possible to chat to someone else. Three educators from this school will be attending HelpDesk training and they committed themselves to forming a committee. A district official also attended the showcase session and he motivated the teachers to seek out donations of additional computer equipment.

2010 ICT TRAINING ROLLOUT - CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONSWhilst on the whole the training provided through this programme has been well received and has been beneficial to the teachers who have received it, SchoolNet SA has faced a number of challenges in implementing the training programme and attendance at many of the training sessions has been less than ideal. Firstly, whilst the schools that were selected to receive the Vodacom funded training have all received some prior support from Vodacom, the computer facilities differed vastly from school to school. Some schools had fully equipped computer labs however the vast majority of schools had only a limited number of working computers – often consisting only of the three or four computers that Vodacom had donated. In others schools the computers are very old and running outdated software or they were beset with a range of technical issues including viruses, a lack of networking and in most cases no internet access.

Secondly the level of commitment shown by the teachers and indeed by school managers to the training programme has also differed vastly from school to school. Some schools have eagerly embraced the opportunity to receive training – teachers have readily committed to training dates and the full staff complement have arrived for and participated in every training session. In other schools training dates (which the schools suggested in the first place) have been cancelled and rescheduled numerous times. In other cases – despite obtaining commitment from the school principal that the full staff would be in attendance very few teachers have arrived on the day of training citing numerous excuses as to why they have not attended. The principals themselves have often been very reluctant to attend the ICT Leadership for Education Managers course which helps to set the tone for the whole programme. By them failing to arrive or sending a class teacher as a substitute, principals fail to set a good example to other staff members and they fail to fully grasp the benefits of getting their teachers ICT literate and able to integrate ICT into their teaching and learning.

Thirdly, 2010 had two challenges external to this project that have had a great impact on it. The World Cup Soccer Tournament in June and July bought about a five week long school holiday however SchoolNet SA Report on Vodacom Foundation Project (November 2010)

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teachers were reluctant to commit to training that would keep them away from watching the soccer action. In some cases training took place but it was not as well attended as we had hoped and the trainers had to negotiate the start and end times with the group to enable them to still be home in time to watch the games. After teachers returned to school in July we hoped that we would be able to continue with the training programme however many teachers joined in the industrial action that took place from the end of July until the beginning of September and they would not attend training while they were on strike. At other schools, staff members were keen to proceed with training however intimidation from striking teachers meant that they were not prepared to jeopardise their safety to attend training sessions. In fact at one school in KwaZulu-Natal numerous staff members who did attend training during the strike had their car tyres slashed which led to us cancelling other sessions in this province until the strike was over. Although the industrial action has ended, many schools are now involved in catch up programmes which are keeping teachers occupied over weekends and school holidays – which ordinarily would have been used to offer courses.

To overcome these challenges, we have implemented a number of solutions. In some cases in KwaZulu-Natal, schools that were initially scheduled to be part of the training rollout that consistently failed to commit to training dates were replaced by other, more committed schools. The rationale of this decision was that forcing unwilling teachers to participate in training that they did not want to attend led to poorly attended sessions and wasted funding that could be more prudently spent on training teachers at schools that would fully commit to the training sessions. In making these substitutions we worked with provincial and district officials as well as full-time SchoolNet personnel based in KwaZulu-Natal to source schools that were more likely to commit to the programme and found that this has helped to ensure better commitment to the programme. It is unfortunate that so few principals attended the ICT Leadership for Education Managers course as on the whole the schools where we have been able to secure the buy-in of the principals have been the schools where we have run the most successful training sessions. To get the buy-in of more principals, in KwaZulu-Natal two SchoolNet SA staff members visited schools and explained the programme to the school principals and in some cases staff members. These personal visits and the opportunity to have a face-to-face discussion with school managers have helped principals to better understand the programme and the benefits of participating fully in the training. These visits were not budgeted for in the original training programme however they have been an invaluable addition to help ensure the long-term success of the programme.

In some cases, to compensate for schools with inadequate computer facilities, we have included well-resourced schools into the training programme. This meant that there would be at least one well-equipped school per cluster that could serve as a host venue for the centralized clustered training. In other cases, we have included some additional schools in HelpDesk training courses to ensure that we have had sufficient participants to run a course. For schools beginning the programme in 2011, clustering the schools around the Vodacom ICT Resource Centres will mean that there will be an excellent host venue for clustered training.

For the schools that are part of the programme in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo these solutions have meant that we now are working with schools that are committed to the programme and we will continue to work with these schools in 2011 to complete their training rollout. We hope to complete the outstanding courses by the end of 2010, or early 2011 at the latest. In many cases, the initial reluctance to attend training has been overcome once the participants attended some sessions and realised that the training would be beneficial. Next year, when Peer Coaching training begins we hope that having dedicated Peer Coaches based in each school will help to motivate other staff members to ensure that they continue with the courses and to apply what they have learnt.

2011 ICT TRAINING ROLLOUT - RECOMMENDATIONSThe challenges and setbacks of some of the 2010 training sessions in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo have reaffirmed our belief that ICT training rollouts are most effective when:


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there is an adequate number of working computers for the number of participants, ideally networked, with up-to-date software

there is internet connectivity. It does not reflect well on Vodacom initiative when connectivity is absent

school management is well prepared, committed to training and supportive of the programme the staff want training – they see the value of acquiring computer literacy and ICT integration

knowledge; are prepared to give up their weekends and school holiday to acquire training; and are keen to implement what they have learnt. In other words when school selection is needs-driven rather than the project being imposed from outside.

With these factors in mind, we propose that the way schools are selected for the training rollout due to commence in 2011 be different to the way schools were selected in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces. Instead of us seeking out schools that have had some prior Vodacom support and imposing the training programme on to them, instead we suggest that schools be invited to apply to be part of the training rollout. This should help to ensure that the principals and staff want the training and are more likely to attend the sessions. Furthermore, to be eligible to apply to be part of the training programme a school should complete a questionnaire in order for us to establish that it has suitable computer resources for effective training. Thirdly, to maximise the use of the Vodacom ICT Resource Centres in NorthWest and Mpumalanga we propose that the schools invited to apply to be part of the programme be drawn from the communities around these resource centres. This will ensure that the resource centres can be used as hubs for centralised training and that teachers from schools in the area that don’t have internet access can still make use of the facilities at the centres to prepare for their lessons and to access resources.

MASTER TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY ICT RESOURCE CENTRES One of the two main components of the Vodacom Foundation project that SchoolNet SA is working on is to provide master training for individuals involved in running two community ICT resource centres supported by Vodacom located in Mpumalanga and NorthWest Province. The intention of this training is to enable the centre managers to offer training to teachers and community members living in the vicinity of the resource centres. At the same time as the centre managers are being trained to offer the ICT Skills for Teachers course, the HelpDesk course and the Sizanani ICT Skills for Community Members courses, other people who have been identified as potential trainers in the area will also be trained. This will maximize the training opportunities and hopefully will allow more schools and community members to benefit from the courses.

The SchoolNet proposal to Vodacom Foundation originally allowed for only one round of training for one manager per centre to take place in Johannesburg. Upon reflection, it was decided that limiting the training to one person per centre would mean that should that staff member resign, he or she would take the skills and knowledge gained on the course with him or her and there would be no one else at the centre to continue with the programme. It was then decided that instead of running one centralized course that a course would be held at each centre and that along with the appointed centre manager, other departmental officials and other suitable participants would be trained at the same time. This would help to develop capacity amongst people associated with the ICT resource centres and it would mean that there would be other people within the community who had benefitted from the training should the original centre manager leave the centre. Microsoft kindly agreed to sponsor the additional costs associated with running two rounds of training instead of one centralized training and it is also hoped that the respective provincial departments of education will cover the costs of sending additional participants to the training sessions.

It is unfortunate that to date neither the Mpumalanga nor the Northwest Departments of Education have appointed the ICT Resource Centre staff. This has delayed SchoolNet SA being able to offer the ICT Resource Centre Manager training as well as the train the trainer courses for the other the courses. The reason for this delay is that we cannot justify running the courses until we can be sure that the SchoolNet SA Report on Vodacom Foundation Project (November 2010)

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people who have been formally employed to run the centres have been appointed and will be present when the courses are run at the two centres.

The NorthWest Department of Education has faced budget cuts and the people who were formerly running the Ganyesa ICT Resource Centre have been seconded to other posts. The centre is currently reliant on volunteers to run the ICT Resource Centre. The Provincial ICT Coordinator, Emily Sebolai, would like SchoolNet to proceed with training a group of people who work for the NorthWest Department of Education in December 2010. However none of these people have been formally employed to run the Ganyesa ICT Resource Centre. We seek the Vodacom Foundation and the National Department of Education’s guidance on this matter. On one hand – we would like to proceed with the training to equip

people (even if they are volunteers) with the skills to manage the centre to ensure that the centre starts to be used. On the other hand, it would be preferable to wait until someone is formally appointed into the post of Centre Manager as funding does not allow for the courses to be repeated.

In Mpumalanga, the people who we originally thought were going to be running the Witbank ICT Resource Centre and offering training were fulfilling the posts in a temporary capacity. The Mpumalanga Department of Education reported in October that they had now decided to second a teacher or teachers from the area into these positions but that their appointments had been delayed by the industrial action. When we spoke in early October it seemed as if the official appointments were imminent, however it is still unclear whether the appointments have been made and who the appointees are.

SchoolNet SA is continuing to follow up with the two provinces and Leila Goosen of the National Department of Education is also attempting to find out from the two provincial Departments of Education when they expect to have their centre staff finalised. As soon as the staff members are confirmed the ICT Resource Centre Manager will take place and shortly thereafter the other three train the trainer sessions can be held. Whilst we understand that in the interim the centres are being used by community members and Matric students in preparation for their final exams, it is hoped that once the centre managers have been appointed and empowered to run sessions at the centres that these centres will be used more effectively.

CONCLUSIONSchoolNet SA was proud to be part of the launch of the Vodacom ICT Resource Centre in Ganyesa, NorthWest and we will be even more proud when we know that we have contributed to the Vodacom centres being well used as the valuable community resources that they have the potential to be. We are confident that combining the two components of this project so that the centres become hubs for schools selected to begin the training pathway in 2011 will help to ensure the success of this project. Similarly we look forward to completing the training rollout with the schools in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal in 2011 and trust that now that the process is underway that the teachers will be more receptive to acquiring ICT skills and integrating ICT into their teaching and learning.

Megan RademeyerProgrammes Manager - SchoolNet SA November 2010


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lesotho training report - schoolnet sa web viewreport to vodacom foundation on schoolnet sa ....

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