SchoolNet South Africa is a public benefit, not for profit company established in 1997 and acts as an advocate for effective digital learning as a catalyst for positive educational change. Digital learning is at the core of our focus and our work strives to engage learners, to encourage and motivate teachers and senior managers to enhance their teaching approaches and to build an inclusive society through Digital Skills for All.
SchoolNet SA serves the vital function of changing dialogue around technology in education and advocates for change leadership as an essential factor in the success of any technology in education initiative in South African schools. Our rationale is closely aligned to Chapter 9 of the National Development Plan and output goals of the national Action Plan 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025[1]
SchoolNet’s vision is to act as a catalyst for positive change in education and to improve opportunities for knowledge creation through digital learning
SchoolNet’s mission is to harness the power of learning technologies to:
1. create communities of life-long learners
2. to sustainably enhance teaching and learning pedagogies
3. to shift culture around knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation
4. Provide inclusive opportunities to reduce the digital divide and improve digital skills for the world of work
Current SchoolNet activities fall into the category of educator ICT professional development and capacity building for senior management and government officials in South Africa as well as in other African countries. In addition, our work has expanded to higher Education Institutions, TVET Colleges and Community centres to build capacity in digital skills for all.
Our values of People, Innovation, Integrity, Accountability and Empowerment are lived in body, mind and spirit, both internally at SchoolNet and with our external stakeholders.
The methods of implementation used by SchoolNet are effective as it relies on adult learning principles that are deeply rooted in problem based, practical learning. The implementation is dependent on the needs expressed by schools or as articulated by particular projects or initiatives and always, in consultation with the institutions concerned.
Our more than two decades of experience, has caused us to be sceptical of educational software that does not require 21st Century learning skills. Furthermore, we are wary that some m-learning and e-Learning projects merely provide content with little or weak pedagogical design or is limited to access of digital infrastructure without the key threads that support optimal use of digital technologies for learning. The SchoolNet courses are therefore, based on the pedagogical and technological considerations; and most importantly focuses on how the technology can support instructional content or learning objectives. 21st-century teaching and learning as well as project-based learning feature prominently in the SchoolNet philosophy. Our programmes are therefore aligned to the Department of Education policies and frameworks and is SACE-accredited.
We believe firmly that for us to “see the impact in education”, we must change how learners articulate their learning; we therefore do not view a large volume of teachers trained as an indicator of success in itself. In recent projects, impact of success has been measured through attendance of professional development, portfolios of evidence attesting to mastery of skills through implementation and finally through in-classroom support with focused suggestions for improvement in the integration of ICT in teaching and learning activities.
SchoolNet SA serves the vital function of changing dialogue around technology in education and advocates for change leadership as an essential factor in the success of any technology in education initiative in South African schools. Our rationale is closely aligned to Chapter 9 of the National Development Plan and output goals of the national Action Plan 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025[1]
SchoolNet’s vision is to act as a catalyst for positive change in education and to improve opportunities for knowledge creation through digital learning
SchoolNet’s mission is to harness the power of learning technologies to:
1. create communities of life-long learners
2. to sustainably enhance teaching and learning pedagogies
3. to shift culture around knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation
4. Provide inclusive opportunities to reduce the digital divide and improve digital skills for the world of work
Current SchoolNet activities fall into the category of educator ICT professional development and capacity building for senior management and government officials in South Africa as well as in other African countries. In addition, our work has expanded to higher Education Institutions, TVET Colleges and Community centres to build capacity in digital skills for all.
Our values of People, Innovation, Integrity, Accountability and Empowerment are lived in body, mind and spirit, both internally at SchoolNet and with our external stakeholders.
The methods of implementation used by SchoolNet are effective as it relies on adult learning principles that are deeply rooted in problem based, practical learning. The implementation is dependent on the needs expressed by schools or as articulated by particular projects or initiatives and always, in consultation with the institutions concerned.
Our more than two decades of experience, has caused us to be sceptical of educational software that does not require 21st Century learning skills. Furthermore, we are wary that some m-learning and e-Learning projects merely provide content with little or weak pedagogical design or is limited to access of digital infrastructure without the key threads that support optimal use of digital technologies for learning. The SchoolNet courses are therefore, based on the pedagogical and technological considerations; and most importantly focuses on how the technology can support instructional content or learning objectives. 21st-century teaching and learning as well as project-based learning feature prominently in the SchoolNet philosophy. Our programmes are therefore aligned to the Department of Education policies and frameworks and is SACE-accredited.
We believe firmly that for us to “see the impact in education”, we must change how learners articulate their learning; we therefore do not view a large volume of teachers trained as an indicator of success in itself. In recent projects, impact of success has been measured through attendance of professional development, portfolios of evidence attesting to mastery of skills through implementation and finally through in-classroom support with focused suggestions for improvement in the integration of ICT in teaching and learning activities.
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