has been sponsored by Juta Publishers

Web: www.juta.co.za

Phone: +27 21 797 5101

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Dear friends,

This information circular contains a range of snippets, from notices to

upcoming events to information about projects in South Africa. I hope you

find it useful.

Please note that there will not be another TAD Consortium meeting in 1998.

The next meeting will take place in the new year, on 27 January, between

09:00 and 13:00 as usual. Please diarize this meeting now! 1999 promises to

be an exciting year, as many projects start to get off the ground in more

meaningful ways.

Minutes from the most recent meeting will follow in the next week.

Regards

Neil Butcher

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The Power of Online Learning

On each Wednesday in November,(4th, 11th, 18th, 25th) Square One will be

hosting breakfast seminars on On-line Learning. Neil Butcher from The South

African Institute of Distance Learning will be giving the main address:

'On-line Learning: the Opportunities and the Pitfalls.' Products from

Asymetrix Learning Systems Inc and the Net It Software Corp. will be

showcased. Advance information on the products showcased can be obtained

from the international web sites at : www.asymetrix.com and www.net-it.com

The seminars are free of charge and attendees can choose any one of the

They will be held in the Showroom at Square One, First Floor, Eastgate

Contact Emma on 011 - 321 5900 or e-mail on emma@sqm.sq1.co.za to reserve a

place. Numbers will be limited.

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The National Survey of Multi-Purpose Community Centres is now ready for

distribution. This survey provides valuable information and contact details

of over 450 community centres in South Africa.

R50 to cover postage and handling. Tel Gordon Cochrane at (011) 313-3296 or

A major MPCC conference is currently being planned for late November,

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WORKSHOP ON A SOUTHERN AFRICAN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

RESOURCE CENTRE

You are cordially invited to a workshop to be held at the Foundation for

Research Development (FRD), Meiring Naude Road, Pretoria on 28 October 1998

from 09h30 to 12h30 on the abovementioned topic. This is a personal

invitation to you or a suitable representative from your organisation. The

FRD has been requested to facilitate this workshop.

The objective of the workshop is to discuss the feasibility of a project

initiated by The Knowledge Initiative (TKI) chaired by Mr William Kramer to

establish a resource centre based in South Africa to serve the needs of the

wider information and communications sector in southern Africa. A short

background document is attached for your information.

P R O G R A M M E

09h30 - 10h00: Registration and tea

10h00 - 10h45: Presentation by Mr William Kramer, Chairman, TKI

10h45 - 12h15: Open discussion chaired by Dr Ben Fouche of Ben Fouche and

Associates, Knowledge Management Services

12h15 -12h30 : Closure

As space is limited please RSVP to Francisca Howie at the FRD before 20

October. Fhowie@frd.ac.za, Tel (012) 481 4160, Fax (012) 481 4005.

Although we would prefer to have only the one session, should the demand be

there, we might run a repeat session in the afternoon of 28 October from

14:00 - 17:00. When responding to the FRD, please indicate if you are

available in the afternoon AS WELL AS the morning, and what your preference

would be.

BACKGROUND TO THE KNOWLEDGE INITIATIVE AND RESOURCE CENTRE

Objective:

To create the Resource Center (RC) which is envisioned as an

industry-specific, state-of-the-art, world-class facility, starting with,

and built upon, a comprehensive library containing both print and

digitally-based materials (books, journals, databases, Internet tools)

across all of the academic and practical disciplines which comprise the IT

sector (for brevity's sake, this description will use this shorthand

description to encompass the much broader reach of the RC). This

catalysis that is a natural by-product of bringing good minds together from

multiple disciplines, will create the pre-conditions for the RC to develop

programs of education, training, and research.

The first, and most immediate, impact of the RC will be to bring new and

previously unavailable (or severely limited circulation) knowledge

resources - textbooks, monographs, scientific treatises, journals in both

print and electronic formats, digital format databases - into the South

African IT industry, and make such material broadly available. All else

flows from this simple fact.

The second clear and immediate benefit is the unique opportunity to

foundations and multilateral institutions. The RC will be developed as a

collaborative effort among all components interested in the health and

future of the IT industry in the RSA - including the private sector

companies, universities, government agencies, non-profits, and multilateral

institutions. It will be designed from the outset to be economically

self-sufficient. Its governance will be in accordance with rules

knowledge resources at universities, private companies, and government

agencies. The education, training, and research programs will be utilized

with, and on behalf of, its shareholders.

The RC is a neutral platform for access to the best knowledge and best

practices gathered from every appropriate source world-wide. Its "open

architecture" is an invitation for collaboration and the discovery of

mutually-reciprocal benefits. The RC will create an environment which

encourages cross-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral collaboration on issues

directly impacting the health and growth of the IT industry. The success of

such "out-of-the-box" thinking is best exemplified by Bell Laboratories,

whose innovative approach to research and development led directly to major

advances in many academic and technical areas. The RC supports, by action

and philosophy, the sharing of knowledge among all sectors. By generating

opportunities for workers from differing sectors to work collaboratively on

projects, it will create the proper environment for relationship-building,

Although designed to be led by the need for profit-making among private

sector companies by increasing the supply of highly-skilled technical

expertise, the RC should appeal equally to organizations with quite

different missions. For government, serves a the civil society by adding

significantly to the ability of industry to create skill-sets and generate

jobs; for foundations, it offers opportunities to develop fully indigenous

skills and capacity and to extend the benefits of knowledge to previously

disadvantaged populations; for multilateral institutions, it utilizes South

African infrastructure to the benefit of its less-developed neighbors. It

Project History

The industry-specific, collaborative RC concept was developed by William

Kramer, founder and president of The Knowledge Initiative (TKI), in

Washington, DC. Mr. Kramer, 52, spent over 30 years in the book business in

the United States, as a bookseller, publisher, wholesale distributor,

author's agent, and author. He entered the book business full-time in 1968,

when he assumed managerial responsibility for a family business, Sidney

Kramer Books, the leading specialist worldwide in economics, development

issues, area studies, political affairs, and military affairs. In 1976, Mr.

Kramer created Kramerbooks & afterwords, the first modern bookstore/cafe in

downtown Washington.

In 1997, Mr. Kramer established The Knowledge Initiative. The South Africa

IT RC developed out of initial contacts Mr. Kramer made through one member

of his board of advisors, J. Daniel O'Flaherty, Executive Director of the

US-South Africa Business Council. Mr. Kramer has visited South Africa twice

in the past year and made numerous contacts among private sector companies,

universities, and government agencies.

To date, virtually all those contacted have expressed serious interest in

the project, and would wish to participate in any future feasibility study.

TKI is developing relationships with many potential funding resources,

including The World Bank and various foundations. TKI has working

relationships with a variety of professional scientific and technical

organization which can bring expertise to bear on particular projects,

including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the

Library of Congress, the National Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy

of Science, and the Special Libraries Association.

At the present time, TKI is awaiting a decision from the InfoDev Program

(Information for Development) at the World Bank, to fund a planning and

feasibility study for this RC. The World Bank money, should it be approved,

will be contingent on raising additional funding from other sources.

The project has been selected by the US Trade & Development Agency as one

featured in a TDA conference in Cape Town, October 20-22.

The Cape Town conference and the Workshop to be held at the FRD will, it is

hoped, provide the necessary commitments from RSA shareholders to lead

InfoDev to approve the present grant application.

For further information on The Knowledge Initiative, please contact William

Kramer, at wjkramer@juno.com

******************

Stephen Downes from Assiniboine Community College wrote an essay titled

***************

I'd like to recommend a report on media (radio, television, and Internet)

Jamie McClelland spent a couple of months recently visiting a number of

local organizations in Bogota, Medillin, and Cartagena that are working

compelling account of his experiences. The site includes plenty of links to

those who want more information, and the photos are an excellent addition,

but if you don't have a good Internet connection, you may want to turn off

the image option in your browser.

***************

JUST RELEASED--TECHNOLOGY COUNTS '98

since the first personal computers were plugged into schools, policymakers

and the public are finally starting to demand evidence that their

investments in education technology have been worthwhile. In particular,

they want to know: Is it effective? Find out in: TECHNOLOGY COUNTS '98, a

comprehensive report on the state of technology in education today.

***************

The article below was provided by Rob Merkus from the University of the

North. Anyone interested in helping in this work can contact him at:

MERKUSR@unin.unorth.ac.za

A SCHOOLNET IN THE NORTHERN PROVINCE

INTRODUCTION

There are some 1300 secondary schools in the Northern Province, many of

curriculum is being drastically revised in the next few years when the

Curriculum 2005 is being introduced. There is an urgent need for upgrading

of teachers as well as supporting the introduction of the new curriculum.

The need is province wide and of a large scale.

This proposal tries to contribute to a solution of the problem by enlisting

modern electronic networks as a means to quickly communicate at great

distances. It should be seen as an activity supporting other initiatives

NEED FOR TEACHER SUPPORT

--- Isolation of Teachers

It is a well-known fact that teachers in secondary schools are quite

isolated from modern developments. This is especially the case in small and

remote schools. This isolation inhibits their professional development and

the lack of such development can be seen as a root cause of poor teaching

methods. In-service activities show that teachers welcome meeting and

communicating with their peers. The great distances in the Northern

establishing a fraternity of teachers who feel less isolated and who are

more up-to-date on developments elsewhere.

--- Upgrading of Teachers

In the Northern Province a large number of teachers are under- or

unqualified in their subject, especially in science and mathematics. There

is an urgent need for upgrading their formal qualifications. The training

capacity in the Province is limited and training the widely scattered large

numbers makes it necessary to utilise this capacity efficiently and

effectively. Training through the Internet may be a tool to do this.

--- Communication between and with Teachers

Due to the spread-out nature of the Province communication is difficult.

Teachers therefore are seldom in contact with each other and their support

organisations. For instance professional teachers associations, such as

AMESA (Association of Maths Educators in South Africa), can not quickly

reach its membership. Subject advisers from the Department of Education and

from the 2 universities in the Province would be much more efficient in

their school support work if email was available. Co-operation between

teachers from different schools is hampered by distance and poor

communication means. Joint activities such as exchange of tests, materials

development, or, simply, consultations on day-to-day problems between

teachers of different schools across the Province is not possible at

present.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS USING INTERNET

--- Email

Email is the most popular application in the Internet. It has a low demand

on bandwidth and therefore is cheap to apply and uses relatively simple

telephone dial-up lines. Some examples of basic email exchanges are:

--- 1 to 1 Communication

Teachers can communicate quickly with each other and is this way form

working groups that develop joint materials or solve joint problems. They

can consult each other and exchange teaching materials such as reading

materials, tests, practical activities, etc. They can easily communicate

with outside organisations such as suppliers of materials, organise

fieldtrips to distant places, make enquiries, etc. Centres of expertise

accessible.

Reversely outside agencies can contact teachers quickly and organise

--- 1 to many Communication

Email allows, through email lists, easy and quick distribution of textual,

and with more modern software, visual materials.

Teachers can subscribe to and participate in the many free listserv

discussion lists in their specialisation, either provincially, nationally

Teacher support organisations would be greatly assisted if they could

easily, cheaply and quickly send information in the form of regular

newsletters to schools. The provincial Dept of Education can send

inservice training providers can send out learning materials.

--- (Inter)national Newsletters

Internationally and more and more nationally electronic newsletters for

educators and subject specialists are being produced and very often

distributed freely. Email access would make these newsletter available to

--- Collaborative Work

Quick, cheap and easy communication through email opens the opportunity for

teachers and curriculum developers to work on and test teaching materials

national or international projects in subject areas such as English

language, geography, science, etc. The usual pattern is that students

collect data locally and share it (inter)nationally. In return they can

--- WWW access

The World Wide Web is a relatively recent development, but its growth is so

large that it plays a dominating role in the Internet already. WWW access

lines than email. This will be a major problem in many of our rural

locations. On the one hand on-line access means for them usually an

expensive trunk call, on the other hand many of these remote connections

education of the WWW also needs advanced teacher skills.

--- Information searching

When WWW can be accessed it is an important source of information for

teachers as well as for students. Teachers find much information on special

websites, such as the sites from professional associations, university

departments. Through the WWW international and up-to-date information is

available with a few mouse clicks.

--- Course provision

The WWW can also easily be used for inservice and part-time course

provision. For example, the Centre for Science Education of the University

of Pretoria offers already a FDE in the use of the computer in science and

mathematics teaching. This course runs over two years and teachers need not

attend any on-campus sessions for it, all study can be done at the place of

work or at home.

OPERATION OF THE NORTHERN PROVINCE SCHOOLNET

--- Types of Uses

A SchoolNet is generally used to support the work of teachers and the

learning of students. The typical school environment in the Northern

Province does not at present make the large scale access by students

possible. We simply do not have the human skills, the hardware and the

communication channels available for such a wide spread use. Therefore it

phase of this proposal will concentrate on this kind of use.

--- Information Provision

There is generally great lack of information among our teachers of national

and provincial initiatives and activities to improve teaching and learning

in the schools. Through the proposed provincial school network information

can be distributed quicker and cheaper then at present. This makes planning

and execution of plans much more efficient and effective.

--- In-service Training

There is a great need for in-service training of under-qualified and

out-dated teachers, who need to upgrade their qualifications or update

large numbers is neither feasible nor desirable. On the one hand it will be

difficult to replace such in-service trainees, but on the other hand

in-service training will be that more effective if the learnt lesson can be

applied immediately on the job. So in-school training will be the most

desirable form of in-service training.

Through the SchoolNet NP the trainees can be reached and communicated with.

Assignments and readings can be distributed and trainees can respond back

and receive feedback from lecturers through email. In a more sophisticated

mode readings and assignments can be placed on the WWW and trainee response

and lecturer feedback can be through email.

This mode of training is both efficient and effective. Efficient in terms

the sense that training can be applied immediately on the job as part of

course work.

--- Information searching

Teachers may need to look for information. They may want to consult

curriculum guidelines, look at example lesson plans, consult catalogues of

educational suppliers, etc. This can all easily be done through the WWW.

PROVIDERS OF INFORMATION

Provision of information can be initially done through email messages, but

when WWW access is getting more common, providers will want to place

information of a more permanent nature onto WWW pages for teachers to

consult on an as-needed-basis.

--- Department of Education

The National and Provincial Departments of Education need to disseminate

information of all kinds to schools. Using email or WWW this becomes a very

speedy and cheap exercise. The Departments can communicate through the

SchoolNet NP to distribute circulars, to request for information, exchange

enrolment figures, up/download financial information, etc. This will

strengthen the management of schools. Curriculum subject advisers and

inspectors will be able to co-ordinate activities much more efficiently

faster that at present.

--- Teachers’ Associations

Professional Teachers’ Associations must play an important role in the

professionalisation of their members. Through the improved communication

Teachers’ Associations will be able to be in much closer contact with their

members, members can co-operate easier at larger distances, and joint

activities are simpler to organise. In this way it will be easy to organise

in provincial chapters, which can promotes more grass root level

short notice, joint curriculum development activities undertaken. The

services of Teachers’ Associations can be published on WWW sites, and

support materials be made available.

--- In-service Training Providers

Universities, colleges of education, non-government organisations want to

play a role in the in-service training of teachers through informal

workshops or formal courses. Due to the large distances in the province,

short and regular face-to-face contact is time consuming and inefficient.

Contact teaching therefore is usually limited to vacation periods. Due to

the long time lag between meetings this method is not so effective. The

Internet allows much more regular contact. It is likely that in-service

teacher training providers will seize the opportunity of a SchoolNet NP to

offer formal courses at a distance. The University of Pretoria’s Centre for

Science Education offers already through the Internet a Further Diploma in

Education in the use of Computers and Telecommunications in Science,

Mathematics and Technology Education, see

www.up.ac.za/science/scieduc/smttop.htm. The distance education mode of

the University of Pretoria to offer similar FDE’s. The University of Venda

offers similar programmes on a part-time basis. The MASTECollege works with

30 increasing to 60 secondary schools in the upgrading of staff and

facilities. Internet communication would be a great help for them as well.

--- External Sources

There are numerous international education support WWW sites and

discussions

lists. The SchoolNet NP could play an intermediary role in making these

available in the province.

--- Other Information Providers

There are many other organisations that would like to provide information

sites to make data about their products available. Teachers would find it

easier to collect more complete information about schoolbooks, school and

laboratory equipment they need to order.

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Telematics for African Development Consortium

P.O. Box 31822

Braamfontein

2017

Johannesburg

South Africa

Tel: +27 +11 403-2813

Fax: +27 +11 403-2814

neilshel@icon.co.za

www.saide.org.za

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