Flee or fly?
Less than 40% of South Africa’s 25,000+ public schools have a functional computer centre, broadband access to the Internet isn’t available in large parts of the country, data costs are high and the majority of teachers are not skilled or confident enough to actively use digital tools in the classroom.
This Digital Divide means that during the COVID-19 pandemic remote learning was practically impossible. I’m devastated at the millions of learners struggling to catch up with huge backlogs and to keep their dreams of a meaningful future in our 21st century society alive.
Now imagine……..
Flocks of passionate young teachers with digital skills, flying to schools all over the country activating digital resources and guiding older teachers to confidently use these in their classrooms.
That’s how I see Flying Cows of Jozi transform the future of education!
And make it fly!
I would love to send my Flying Cow teams on rescue missions to schools in rural regions that have been particularly hard-hit by the COVID- 19 lockdowns. They will actively guide teachers on the use of online Maths & Science platforms so they can support their learners to improve their results in these important subjects.
Each 6-month rescue mission for about 90 Maths & Science teachers and thousands of learners costs €25,000 in salaries, digital tools, transport and communication. The more Flying Cows of Jozi rescue missions we send out, the bigger the bridge we build across the Digital Divide and the more learners graduate with better chances for a bright future.
Will you join us and make it happen?
Please donate here:
| GoGetFunding: | https://gogetfunding.com/flyingcows/ |
Our approach
We believe that “practice makes perfect”: for learners when revising subjects like Maths & Science ánd for teachers when learning to confidently use digital tools in the classroom. In our rescue missions to schools and districts, we bring the online Digital Maths & Science Practice Platform from our partner Siyavula . This platform is free for learners to access on their smartphones and data usage is free on the majority of South Africa’s mobile networks. Basic teacher access is free on a trial basis and on our rescue missions we’ll arrange for advanced teacher access to the platform .
Our Flying Cows are passionate young teachers with digital skills. They guide teachers to create online classrooms on the Siyavula platform, download reports on learners’ progress and set assignments & tests which are then marked by the platform. This is especially useful when learners only come to school on alternate days as is currently the reality in the majority of South African schools.
Until the end of the school year we organise dedicated school visits, weekly online sessions and daily WhatsApp teacher practice groups. The user statistics of the platform in combination with pass rate statistics from the District provide insights on the impact of the project on the maths & science results of the learners.
From experience we know that ongoing guidance on digital skills creates excitement; teachers begin to understand how these skills support their teaching and save them time. Working with the online Siyavula platform opens the door to using many more digital tools and devices.
To the rescue!
There are many rural regions in South Africa where teachers and learners have suffered huge setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On a daily basis we receive emergency calls for assistance from all over the country. We only send our Flying Cows teams when the education officials in the district, like ICT coordinators and Maths & Science subject advisors, have agreed to our Flying Cows of Jozi rescue approach and have committed to the participation of their Maths & Science educators. We’ve chosen Greater Taung, North West province and Frances Baard district in the Northern Cape province as the first two regions to support.
Greater Taung Local Municipality is the fourth-largest local municipality in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality in the North West Province. Taung means Place of the Lion in Setswana, the language spoken by the majority of its inhabitants. Agriculture is the main economic activitiy in the region. Unemployment sits close to 50% for the overall population and over 60% for the youth. Watch the video to hear Physical Science teacher Bathandwa Ngcepe share more about life in Greater Taung and the dreams of his learners.
The Greater Taung Maths & Science subject advisors are convinced of the opportunities their subjects offer learners in the district and frustrated by their low pass rates. We’ve agreed to guide their 44 Physical Science and 47 Maths teachers on the use of the online Siyavula Maths & Science Practice platform to improve their results at the end of year exams.
Frances Baard is one of the 5 districts of Northern Cape province. Originally called Diamantveld, the district was renamed in 2001 after Frances Goitsemang Baard. She was an educator and domestic worker who was a leader of the ANC Woman’s League and the Federation of South African Women. Main languages spoken in the district are Setswana and Afrikaans. Only 41% of the economically active population is employed, 75% of them were in the formal sector and 12% were in the informal sector. The majority of the employed are in the community and government services sector.
In collaboration with the education officials for the district we’ll support 40 Maths & Science teachers who together are responsible for about 3,000 learners.
