Mamelodi Broadband E-Learning
Pilot Project = Connected we learn

The Ulwazi E-Learning Partnership (ULWELP)

A Day in the life two Grade 10 Mamelodi Student involved in the Ulwazi Project

Thembe and Vusi from Mamelodi High are keen to get to school for a number of reasons. Their class has spent the past two weeks being trained on how to use email and the internet and they are dying to see if they have any replies from the pupils of Mamelodi Technical College, Mediri High, Gatang High or St Alban’s College. Their English teacher gave them an assignment of identifying cultural differences in family activities between the time they get home from school until they go to bed at night. Once the information has been compiled with at least five families from each of the five schools participating in the Ulwazi Project, they will have to compile a web page with their findings. This will be coupled to a comparison of the similarities and differences in the information gathered from other families.

Vusi and Thembe log onto the Ulwazi educational portal and they are pleased to have received at least twelve emails and they read each word with delight. Their teacher is even more excited that learners are using the computer centre on a daily basis and that real learning is taking place. A session for the development of web pages has been organized with the staff and pupils from St Alban’s College leading the workshop.

A web cam has been set up on the computer in the corner, which also shows a picture of the activities in each of the other four computer labs. Vusi and Thembe wave to the other pupils and stop to use the IRC chat to pass on a message to their friends at Mediri and Gatang. Suddenly the friendly face of Stembi from Mamelodi College is recognized on one of the screens. They will use the same web cams to capture a picture of themselves to include in their own web page. Some schools have access to a scanner, which will allow them to scan some pictures of their families and paste these on their web pages.

Thembe and Vusi take a moment to see if the Grade 10 Science lessons using the Smartboard have been posted on the St Alban’s College web page. As they log in they find the following lesson notes: An introduction to Chemistry, Metals and Non Metals, and the History of the Atom, and finally they come across Chemical Bonding. It is a difficult section but the diagrams that the teacher from St Alban’s was using when he presented the section made it so much easier to understand. More importantly, the material developed during the actual lesson is available. Once they have reviewed the material together with the lesson they missed they are instructed to use the Encarta Class Server to check for further lesson materials and to complete an on-line test.

Thembe and Vusi decide to post an electronic notice on the web page. They are keen to start a virtual club with learners from the Ulwazi community. They compile the  advert, giving a brief introduction and the time and date for the meeting. Thembe logs onto MSN Messenger, which they learnt how to use when they were taught internet skills. The message is posted but they forget to include their email addresses. In no time Vusi has instructed Thembe how to complete this simple task and they now have to be patient to read their first messages. While they are still logged on to MSN Messenger they decide to see if there are any other groups being formed. The bell goes and they have to rush off to class.

Vusi comes back in the afternoon to work on the Formula One in Schools Project. He is the Team Manager and he has to coordinate the efforts of four other learners in his team. He bumps into John, who is the Design Engineer, and they discuss the CAD design, looking specifically at the rules of the competition. They have to reduce the surface drag on the vehicle, especially around the wheels. John has done some research on the internet and has included some of these ideas in the current design. Vusi sends out an email to the other three partners at Modiri High asking them to report back as soon as possible.

Thembe also managed to stay for some time in the afternoon, as she wants to participate in the extra lessons that the Science teacher from St Alban’s College is offering. The two SmartBoards, one at Mamelodi High and one at St Alban’s College have been linked and a web cam captures the picture of the teacher. Thembe is able to direct questions during the lesson using the IRC Chat software installed. Her teacher asks her to go to the SmartBoard and to draw a picture depicting the arrangement of the electrons in a Nitrogen atom. Her teacher asks her to rearrange two electrons to correct the model and she is very pleased with the outcomes. She will not forget this important lesson, which was also posted to the web. The lesson has to be terminated as the English teachers from the five schools have scheduled a meeting to discuss further projects using the Ulwazi network.

Vusi and Thembe can be pleased with the ‘real contextual zed learning’ that they have been exposed to. In the past their teachers were involved in mere information transfer and there was very little new knowledge generated. They decide to write to Motorola, the Department of Communication, the Department of Education, SmartBoard, Formula One in Schools, SchoolNet South Africa, the University of Pretoria, St Alban’s College and ICASA to thank them for making a difference in their lives.

Ron Beyers
August 2003