On a rare snowy day in Joburg Thokozoli Mokwena and Josine Overdevest had a wonderful conversation with Hans van der Veen on the Klein Karoo Connect radioshow Ons Sit Koppe Bymekaar, meaning Asikhulume or Let’s talk. They stressed the need to work together to integrate 21st century and digital skills in education. Maybe it was snow-inspired but they talked a lot about bringing fun and magic wands to the classroom!
We invite you to listen to the whole conversation and share some highlights below.
Young teacher Thokozile shared how her dad encouraged her to learn to work on a computer which ignited her interest in digital technology. She is now already teaching her 8 year-old daughter to code. She realises that not every parent is in a position to do the same but she does call on parents to become involved in teaching their children 21st century skills in a fun way by getting lego and puzzles in the house.
If Josine had a magic wand she would prune the curriculum so it would less content heavy and she’d have plenty of time and money available for an impactful implementation of the DBE’s Professional Development Framework for Digital Learning.
When asked for a digital learning success story Thokozile shared the OUP Reading Safari project and the enormous impact it had on the teachers Flying Cows of Jozi coached to implement this digital platform in the classroom. The teachers were amazed at how quickly their learners improved their reading results with the use of Reading Safari.
In closing they both passionately agreed that we all need to get involved to ensure that our children are adequately prepared for a meaningful future in our ever-changing, increasingly digital society.
