{"id":229227,"date":"2022-06-20T10:36:13","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T08:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=117279"},"modified":"2022-06-20T10:36:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T08:36:13","slug":"first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"First primary school embraces SA-born ed-tech solution"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1 \">\n<aside id=\"republication_tracker_tool-2\" class=\"republication_tracker_tool clearfix\">\n<h5 class=\"adtitle\">Republish for Free<\/h5>\n<div class=\"license\">\n<p><button name=\"Republish This Story\" id=\"cc-btn\" class=\"republication-tracker-tool-button\">Republish This Story<\/button><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"license\" rel=\"noreferrer license noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution.png\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"message\">\n<p>Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<figure id=\"attachment_117280\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-117280\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?attachment_id=117280\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"wp-image-117280 size-thumbnail lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-117280 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution.jpg\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"169\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-117280\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Things are looking up for the Grade 5 class at Phuthumani Primary School \u2013 the first primary school in the country to embrace the e-learning platform specifically developed for South African pupils by local ed-tech business, Odin Education, and co-sponsored by Sage Foundation and Attacq Foundation. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A Thembisa-based primary school has become the first in the country to embrace the e-learning platform specifically developed for pupils in South Africa by local ed-tech business, Odin Education.<\/p>\n<p>Coinciding with National Youth Month celebrations, the full Grade 5 cohort of Phuthumani Primary School received their new Omang e-learning devices, which were sponsored by Sage Foundation, in partnership with the Attacq Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>This sponsorship represents a three-year commitment to equipping 196 learners with the digital learning tools they need to progress successfully through to Grade 7. It forms part of a holistic programme of support for the school, which has already included building three new classrooms, and the donation of 125 pairs of school shoes and uniforms.<\/p>\n<p>The renovation of 10 classrooms is currently underway, with a measurement and evaluation project also implemented to track the overall impact on the school and surrounding community.<\/p>\n<p>Currently used by more than 2 500 high school learners from 12 schools in five provinces, the Omang ed-tech tablets will be a welcome addition to the academic arsenal of the Phuthumani Primary pupils as they undertake the mid-year examinations.<\/p>\n<p>According to Phuthumani Primary deputy principal Thando Mbelwa, most of the school\u2019s 1 400 learners hail from poverty-stricken families and rely on the national school nutrition programme for one nutritious daily meal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am passionate about using ICT [information and communications technology] to enhance education. Technology plays a big role in teaching and we are currently far behind,\u201d said Mbelwa.<\/p>\n<p>He said both learners and teachers were excited to receive their Omang devices as the system would allow teachers to share essential resources like educational videos and learners to do more of their own research.<\/p>\n<p>Each learner received a personalised device pre-loaded with mobile data, curriculum-aligned content, educational apps and learning platforms. Over time, the underlying Odin Education ecosystem will gather data from each user\u2019s interactions with their device and serve them more of the academic and extramural content in which they are interested.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Sage Foundation, we work closely with leading partners like Odin Education and Attacq Foundation to drive digital equality and knock down societal barriers so everyone can thrive,\u201d said Sonia Tshabalala, People Director for Sage Africa and Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis programme will make a significant contribution to digital inclusion and equity by supporting ICT-powered learning at Phuthumani Primary School where, until now, learners were excluded from the benefits of digital technology in the classroom. It\u2019s important to Sage to tackle digital inequality to ensure everyone has equal opportunities to access life-changing data and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The secure Omang devices are locked for educational purposes only \u2013 they do not provide access to any public social media platforms, making them safe for younger learners.<\/p>\n<p>According to Attacq Foundation transformation manager Danny Vermeulen, the foundation had concluded a three-year \u201cadoption agreement\u201d to provide Phuthumani Primary School with the resources needed to meet its educational objectives and remain a place of hope and learning in the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Attacq Foundation focuses on sustainable education and training, and the role it plays in our society as the incubator for the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and innovators. We believe that bringing technology into schools will bring a positive change as learning will not be limited by time and space,\u201d said Vermeulen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe integrated technology will contribute to successful results in the classroom by supporting learners and teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Head of Odin Education, Ajit Gopalakrishnan, said the commitment of corporate partners was key to ensuring the rollout of digital devices to more schools countrywide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis programme has a real, measurable impact. It offers a win-win solution for both under-resourced schools and those corporates looking to invest sustainably in their communities while improving their B-BBEE scorecard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"post-views-icon dashicons dashicons-chart-bar\"><\/span> <span class=\"post-views-label\">Press Release Views:<\/span> <span class=\"post-views-count\">47<\/span> <\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-pagination pagination\">Pages: <span class=\"post-page-numbers current\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>1<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>2<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\">Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republish for Free Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Things are looking up for the Grade 5 class at Phuthumani Primary School \u2013 the first primary school in the country to embrace the e-learning platform specifically developed for South African pupils by local ed-tech [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":229228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-229227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/first-primary-school-embraces-sa-born-ed-tech-solution.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}