In chapter one of this report, we described the physical infrastructure and resource capacity of primary and secondary schools. Although the description did not focus on infrastructural realities of communities surrounding schools, the combined effect of school and community disadvantage means that a significant percentage of students will not be able to access or synchronously use broadcasts during the course of a school day. The extension of physical infrastructure and resources to schools is thus of critical importance, not just in relation to this initiative but for education and equity in general. Of course, successfully extending physical and infrastructural resources does not necessarily mean that physical and infrastructural access will automatically lead to educational benefit.

The relationship between resources, access, and education is articulated clearly in a report on electrification of rural schools. Eskom’s School Electrification Programme initiated in the early 1990s aims to supply electricity and connect all schools to either the grid network or provide alternative power source supplies by the year 2001(EDRC. (1997). Facilitating education in rural areas of South Africa: The role of electricity and other sources of energy. Cape Town: EDRC of UCT). With regard to initiatives to extend electricity provision in schools:

It is clear that where schools are inadequately resourced, the impact of electricity on teaching and learning tends to be minimal. A primary reason for this is that schools do not have the requisite skills and resources to manage the service. Capacity building programmes are therefore an essential part of any project, which deals with electrical installation. These must develop relevant skills and knowledge about the use and maintenance of electrical appliances; safety features of the system; and associated costs. Security is also paramount and the department must ensure that all equipment is safely kept.(EDRC 1997)

Extrapolating from this, physical and infrastructural resources provision requires the following:

•    Research on the educational impacts of that infrastructure on learning and teaching processes;
•    Development of skills and resources to manage the infrastructure;
•    Capacity building programmes for users;
•    Development of skills and knowledge about use, repair and maintenance;
•    Development of skills and knowledge about costs directly and indirectly related to the infrastructure; and
•    Provision of resources within the environment (school buildings or community) that ensure that equipment is securely and safely stored.

The type of service provided and sites of consumption will affect how capacity is developed, whose capacity is developed, and what management processes are most appropriate. It is important to discuss this in relation to what type of service is provided and who provides it.

In chapter five, we outlined in detail the in-principle conditions of a school broadcasting service, and this impacts on strategies for extending physical and infrastructural access. A school service is not simply a school-based service, but is a coordinated and integrated service consisting of a range of broadcast and non-broadcast support strategies. School-based broadcasts are only one part of the overall service. In 1999, this part of the service will consist of two hours of television broadcasting targeted at teachers and students in Foundation Phase classrooms, and will be intended for both synchronous use and recording of programmes. A school service therefore assumes that there are multiple sites of use – the home, teacher centre, and public library – hence physical infrastructure and resource provision process must by definition be extended beyond schools.

The schools broadcasting service can function as a catalyst to motivate schools (or teacher centres and district offices) to purchase televisions, videocassette recorders, radios, and audiocassette recorders. For this to work effectively, it is essential to have high quality resources readily available, as an incentive for making particular technological purchases. In this way, the service as a resource – rather than the technology required to access it– is given more emphasis, and is likely to inform decision-making processes around purchasing audio and video equipment. Given that the provision of a school service is assumed to encourage purchase of technological equipment by schools, it is critical that the broadcaster be aware of the impact this will have on school management processes. We discuss one issue, educational space management, and the implications this has for school governance strategies.

Effective integration of various technologies and media into classrooms depends on a range of factors. For the sake of brevity, only one is discussed here, namely, educational spaces. Designing educational spaces is of critical importance because it demands convergence and compatibility of architectural design with technology resources and the curriculum. Central questions include: to what extent does the design of the building enhance or inhibit the attainment of educational outcomes? and to what extent is the design of the classroom conducive to use of television, radio, and videocassette recorders in lessons?

The process of integrating technological equipment into the classroom is part of a shift towards resource-based learning, where students and teachers select ‘best fit’ options from a variety of educational resources. The educational spaces within which these processes will take place must enhance rather than inhibit the attainment of outcomes. The reality, however, is that in both policy and practice, the link between space and technology-enhanced teaching and learning has been ignored.

In chapter one, we described the space allocated by three provincial departments to classrooms. Given teacher-student ratios in many schools, insufficient space is clearly allocated to the number of students occupying overcrowded classrooms. However, a second consideration is whether or not this space is adequate to support use of certain technologies in classrooms. For example, does 39m² allow a teacher to organize students to move around, gather close enough to a television or radio, and see or hear a broadcast? Criticos estimates that classrooms of 75m² are required to allow for effective technology use in classrooms, and to achieve the types of activities envisaged by Curriculum 2005. It may be possible to argue for space and finances to be made available for specialist rooms intended for television and radio use, but this may perpetuate the inadequacies of class sizes, as valuable space is given to specialist rooms that do not have high occupancy levels. Criticos argues that specialist rooms should be kept to a minimum or eliminated completely, to allow for reasonably sized multi-purpose classrooms.

Designing school buildings is, therefore, of critical importance, and design teams (whether or not these include teachers) must base their designs on educational principles and priorities for technology-enhanced initiatives and Curriculum 2005 implementation objectives. Clearly, there is a need for information on these issues to be distributed to educators, educational stakeholders, or designers of educational buildings. The types of information required include:

•    The need for design of educational spaces to be sensitive to current policy recommendations and flexible enough to incorporate design elements of multi-functional, multi-user classrooms;
•    The need to make options available for how classroom spaces can continue to evolve and change, or to allow technological resources such as televisions or computers to be integrated into a safe, secure and learner-friendly environment;
•    The need for physical security and storage capacity of spaces used to house technologies to be emphasised. For example, what types of rooms are required to store and use technological equipment?

This information is of critical importance to parents and governing body representatives, because, as mangers of school budgets, governing body members will need to consider the impact of financial factors on the design and use of educational spaces. It is, however, incorrect to assume that design of educational spaces in schools will be negatively affected by budgets. The factors likely to have a negative effect are lack of imagination and critical reflection on the relationship between technology use, curriculum, and space.

As the public broadcaster, the SABC is not directly responsible for increasing the number of physical and infrastructural resources in schools. For example, the provision of signal distribution infrastructure is the responsibility of Sentech. A range of processes might influence Sentech’s extension of broadcasting footprints. They include the catalytic role of the broadcaster, which, by providing high quality programming on its channels, stimulates a demand by consumers for the signal to be distributed to wider areas. Sentech, may also, under policy directives, extend physical infrastructure so that universal penetration can support the achievement of equity in information distribution.

SABC Education is responsible for contributing – in a meaningful and effective way – to this process by providing information about resources and the importance of those resources for schools. Distinguishing between SABC Education and other agents’ respective roles and responsibilities is essential, and informs the recommendations made in this report.

Provide an Excellent Service
SABC Education, by providing a high quality service, will act as a catalytic agent in the sense that its resources and services can potentially motivate schools (or teacher centres and district offices) to purchase televisions, videocassette recorders, radios, and audiocassette players. A school’s decision to purchase this equipment, diversify its resources, and develop a plan for supporting technology enhanced learning and teaching, can therefore occur within a resource-intensive context, rather than a vacuum. In this way, the broadcaster’s services and resources – rather than the technology – are emphasized, and will inform the decision-making process around purchasing audio and video equipment.

Set Targets
The rationale behind setting targets for growth in physical and infrastructural resource provision is based on the assumption that access will grow in the medium to long-term. Thus, if a service (a school service) is available, the process of resource provision necessary for accessing this service will, theoretically at least, grow exponentially because the service functions as a catalyst for resource acquisition or diversification. SABC Education, with the Department of Education, needs to set targets for three periods: 18 to 24-months; five years; and fifteen years. This will allow for measurement of real growth, especially in primary schools and Foundation Phase classrooms. In this way, it will be possible to test the above theory against identified targets.

Track Initiatives
Tracking the progress of a wide variety of initiatives intended to extend physical and resource access to schools is important. SABC Education has a number of roles to play in this process, and additional responsibilities, which are enhanced by its role as public broadcaster. This includes supporting and enhancing existing initiatives.

SABC Education, in consultation with national and provincial departments of education, should contribute to existing research activities on data collection on physical and infrastructural resources in schools. This will mean that the SABC will need to be part of a process ensuring that provincial data collection processes actually collect information on technological resources in schools, early childhood development centres, and teacher education institutions. Possible partnerships would need to exist between SABC Education and the School Register of Needs consortium, particularly the EduSource’s Geographical Information Systems Mapping unit. Partnerships to build accurate information will need to be made with Eskom, Telkom, Sentech and Orbicom, the National Film Library (audiovisual resource databases), among others. Collation of this information is essential, and SABC Education should encourage the Department of Education to ‘track’ infrastructural and resource provision in terms of educational broadcasting and schools.

Disseminate Information and Promote Physical Infrastructure Campaigns
Initiate a Schools’ Resources Awareness Campaign
SABC Education can play a role in keeping the public informed about the extent to which targets of different initiatives have been met, through public dissemination of information about these initiatives. For example, existing corporate initiatives such as the Edgar’s Club Competition might be supported by the SABC. Monthly Club winners are allowed to donate several thousand rands to schools of their choice. SABC Education Television could support this initiative by donating audiovisual packs, guides, calendars, and other resources to the ‘winning’ schools, thus stimulating the growth of technology resources in that school.

The SABC will need to develop its own campaign on schools’ resources, which could form an important theme cutting across a range of its programmes and non-broadcast support resources. This campaign should raise awareness about the importance of a wide range of resources – human, technological, infrastructure – which schools require in order to be effective. Emphasis should be placed on bringing parents and community members into whole school development processes: In this way, the SABC can potentially prevent ‘hand-out’ relationships being established between schools, communities and service providers. An example of how this resource campaign can be creatively and successfully integrated into the school service is provided below.

A recent initiative by READ and McCarthy Motors focused on distributing books to rural schools. This initiative provides a wealth of content that can be included in various programmes making up the school service, which are produced by SABC Education and other departments. For example, an insert on using luxury four-wheel drive vehicles to distribute books to remote rural schools can be featured in Drive Time, focusing on the merits of particular makes of four-wheel drive vehicle. Similarly, an insert in Educator Express might tackle the issue as a discussion on the role of organizations such as READ in promoting literacy in rural areas. Take 5 could pick up on the initiative, and reinforce the importance of reading as fun, but still support the fact that as a skill, reading requires practice. Additional possibilities exist, such as a travel documentary on this journey of four-wheel drive vehicles through difficult rural terrain, which, in any other form of vehicle, could not be reached.

Develop Sponsored Public Announcements
SABC Education must look to obtain sponsorship, especially from the private sector, to develop public awareness and information announcements about the importance of providing resources to schools. This sponsorship should cover conceptualization, production, and airtime costs. It is envisaged that this might take the form of a range of entertaining, but informative, 30-second broadcasts, which would be broadcast at a range of times and on all television channels and radio stations.

This sponsorship could also include covering the costs of the SABC convening and hosting a national convention for teachers on audio and video resources, technology-enhanced learning, and teaching process in schools. Obviously, this is an activity that would cut across the SABC Education’s roles in extending physical access and supporting professional development networks.

Include Information in SABC Educational Resources
Information about physical infrastructure, technological equipment and other resources (for example, community involvement) should be included, where appropriate, in SABC non-broadcast support and promotional resources.

For example, resources developed and intended for distribution to teachers could include information about the importance of resources and education. The message included in these resources should encourage teachers to set up groups that support effective use of audiovisual resources and equipment in classrooms. Clearly, this is linked to other SABC Education activities, such as supporting professional development networks and promoting the school service.

SABC Education, and research coordinators in particular, will need to commission and collate research information on audio and video resources and technologies in schools. This would include research on educational impact, educational architectural design principles, repair and maintenance strategies, security, storage, and cataloguing activities. This information should be disseminated to the general public as well as to teachers and other key educational people. The information generated by researchers could then be reversioned by SABC Education into useful and appropriate strategies for using and managing technological equipment and resources in schools, which could form the basis of other print support strategies (see chapter twelve).

Develop a Audio-Visual Resource and Media Management Booklet
SABC Education could usefully develop a ten to fifteen page guide on resources, which could be distributed to teachers and other educators at a range of levels and sites. This guide might consist of two sections, with information on: how to use audio and visual resources in the classroom and manage resources in schools. A more detailed description of the booklet is provided in chapter twelve, but this booklet is an important indication of the SABC’s commitment to supporting extending access to physical infrastructure and to professional development of teachers.

In sum, then, SABC Education’s roles and responsibility are to provide information about resources and the importance of those resources for schools, and can be achieved by:

•    Supporting and enhancing existing initiatives;
•    Setting targets for growth;
•    Initiating a promotion campaign;
•    Developing sponsored public awareness announcements;
•    Obtaining sponsorship for a national teacher convention on audio-visual resources;
•    Including information in SABC non-broadcast support and promotional resources; and
•    Developing an audio-visual and media management guide for teachers and educators.