Last year our Digital Skills Coaches brought their expertise to the VVOB BLEND project, an 18 month pilot project for Promoting Learning Through Play in Foundation Phase Mathematics Through Blended Learning Approaches and PLCs. This project was implemented with the support of the LEGO Foundation and in partnership with CASME.
Close to 1 000 foundation phase educators in four districts in KZN learned more about the power of play in teaching and learning mathematics. To participate in the course and obtain a certificate on completion, the educators had to onboard the online VVOB course platform for professional development.
During the Educator Onboarding Sessions in August our Digital Skills Coaches assisted the educators with their online registrations and demonstrated the functionalities of the platform, where to find the BLEND course, how to engage in the social feed and how to download course certificates.
Following these face-to-face sessions the Digital Skills Coaches continued their support of the educators in WhatsApp groups and encouraged them to complete the course modules, take the quizzes and participate in online discussions with their colleagues.
For many of the participants this was the first time they did an online course but when they overcame their fear of technology it turned out to be an eye-opening experience. They realised that their smart phones, which they previously only used to make calls or send WhatsApp messages, are actually powerful tools for learning.
This blended teacher development project is a great example how teachers can be taught digital skills as a matter of course. Having to do the self-study for Learning Maths Through Play online, teachers learn digital skills as a by-product of learning the course content. This perfectly matches our push for teaching and learning Digital Skills Across the Curriculum because the more you practice a skill the better you become at it.
Our Flying Cows of Jozi Digital Skills Coaches on the project are BEd (Honours) graduates and 4th year BEd students who were selected based on their understanding and application of the 21st century skills and specifically digital skills.
In addition to experienced Flying Cows, Thokozile Mokwena, Maxwell Maribeng and Koketso Moropana, we completed the team with 4th year BEd students from UKZN who specialise in Foundation Phase teaching to closely align with the educators in the project, Nkosikhona Hlengwa, Andile Ngidi, Khethukuthula Bhengu, Nosipho Ndaba, Xolani Methula, Sinethemba Zulu, Qhawe Ngcobo and Nduduzo Thusini.
The team enjoyed being exposed to the Educator Orientation Session where they got to engage with educators and collaborate with the rest of the VVOB Blend team. The continued online support gave them further insight into the issues educators deal with when participating in and completing an online course.
What can Flying Cows of Jozi do for you?
Whether in online schools, hybrid classrooms or in traditional schools with limited resources, Flying Cows of Jozi coaches teachers to embrace the 21st century learning strategies and digital skills that best support the success and well-being of the learners.
Please contact us at info@flyingcowsofjozi.co.za to find out how Flying Cows of Jozi can assist you to activate your digital education project.
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