{"id":30617,"date":"2020-04-01T07:06:38","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T07:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/news\/?p=30617"},"modified":"2020-04-01T07:06:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T07:06:38","slug":"e-ready-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/e-ready-app\/","title":{"rendered":"E-ready app set to be launched in 26,000 South African schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

An<\/span> E-ready app <\/span>has<\/span> been<\/span> created<\/span> to<\/span> evaluate<\/span> education<\/span> institutions’<\/span> ICT<\/span> readiness<\/span> in<\/span> South<\/span> Arica<\/span>.<\/strong> The<\/span> software<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> project<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> education<\/span> department<\/span> in<\/span> tandem<\/span> with<\/span> schools<\/span>\u2019 commitment<\/span> towards<\/span> the\u00a0delivery<\/span> of<\/span> competitive<\/span> learning<\/span>. The<\/span> pilot<\/span> phase<\/span> for<\/span> rolling<\/span> out<\/span> the\u00a0usage<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> app<\/span> was<\/span> set<\/span> for<\/span> March<\/span> 2020<\/span>, an<\/span> exercise<\/span> that<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> postponed<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> outbreak<\/span> of<\/span> COVID<\/span>–19<\/span>.
\nAccording<\/span> to<\/span> professor<\/span> Darrelle<\/span> Van<\/span> from<\/span> the\u00a0University<\/span> of<\/span> Nelson<\/span> Mandela<\/span>, E<\/span>–schools<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> trend<\/span> more<\/span>–so<\/span> with<\/span> uncertainties<\/span> like<\/span> viral<\/span> outbreaks<\/span> cropping<\/span> up<\/span> any<\/span> moment<\/span>. Professor<\/span> Darrelle<\/span> contributed<\/span> towards<\/span> the<\/span> building<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> software<\/span> with<\/span> inputs<\/span> from<\/span> the\u00a0basic<\/span> education<\/span> ministry<\/span>.
\nThe<\/span> South<\/span> African<\/span> Government<\/span> has<\/span> laid<\/span> much<\/span> emphasis<\/span> on<\/span> schools<\/span>\u2019 ability<\/span> for<\/span> e<\/span>–learning<\/span> with<\/span> the\u00a0delivery<\/span> of<\/span> free<\/span> internet<\/span> to<\/span> every<\/span> south<\/span> African<\/span> school<\/span> by<\/span> 2030<\/span>. The<\/span> importance<\/span> of<\/span> e<\/span>–readiness<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> recently<\/span> hastened<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> coronavirus<\/span> outbreak<\/span> that<\/span> led<\/span> to<\/span> the\u00a0disruption<\/span> of<\/span> normal<\/span> schooling<\/span>.
\nDarrelle<\/span> pauses<\/span> to<\/span> remark<\/span> that<\/span> progress<\/span> milestone<\/span> is<\/span> far<\/span> from<\/span> reach<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> many<\/span> South<\/span> African\u00a0schools<\/span>. He<\/span> reiterates<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> E-ready app<\/span> will<\/span> form<\/span> a\u00a0critical<\/span> stepping<\/span> stone<\/span> towards<\/span> assisting<\/span> institutions<\/span> to<\/span> embrace<\/span> the<\/span> new<\/span> e<\/span>–learning<\/span> age<\/span>.<\/p>\n

E-ready app to be tested in 1000 schools<\/h2>\n

The<\/span> piloting<\/span> test<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> E-ready app<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> conducted<\/span> in<\/span> 1000<\/span> institutions<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> 9<\/span> provinces<\/span> with<\/span> intentions<\/span> of<\/span> rolling<\/span> out<\/span> the<\/span> app<\/span> to<\/span> each<\/span> public<\/span> school<\/span> in<\/span> South<\/span> Africa<\/span>. The<\/span> application<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> available<\/span> for<\/span> any<\/span> individually-<\/span>owned<\/span> institution<\/span> that<\/span> deems<\/span> itself<\/span> fit<\/span>.<\/strong>
\nThe<\/span> test<\/span> project<\/span> will<\/span> create<\/span> a<\/span> test<\/span> to<\/span> identify<\/span> whether<\/span> institutions<\/span> are e-ready<\/span>. School<\/span> heads<\/span> will<\/span> participate<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> survey<\/span> by<\/span> filling<\/span> out<\/span> questions<\/span> with<\/span> Yes<\/span> or<\/span> No<\/span> answers<\/span>. The<\/span> schools’<\/span> evaluation<\/span> delves<\/span> into<\/span> the<\/span> \u2019 ICT<\/span> infrastructure<\/span>, internet<\/span> connectivity<\/span>, administration<\/span>, instructors<\/span>\u2019 capacity<\/span> for<\/span> ICT<\/span> with<\/span> results<\/span> levels<\/span> to<\/span> gauging<\/span> the<\/span> answers<\/span> from<\/span> low<\/span> to<\/span> the\u00a0advanced<\/span> ability<\/span> for<\/span> ICT<\/span> induction<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Students to be equipped with e-learning gadgets<\/h2>\n

The<\/span> idea<\/span> behind<\/span> the<\/span> pilot<\/span> evaluation<\/span> is<\/span> to<\/span> gauge<\/span> the<\/span> school<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> preparedness<\/span> for<\/span> e<\/span>–learning<\/span><\/a>. Furthermore<\/span>, every<\/span> student<\/span> is<\/span> supposed<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> equipped<\/span> with<\/span> a<\/span> tablet<\/span>. According<\/span> to<\/span> Sikwebu<\/span>, a<\/span> computer<\/span> instructor<\/span> at<\/span> Link<\/span> side<\/span> High<\/span>, there<\/span> is<\/span> no<\/span> need<\/span> to<\/span> provide<\/span> devices<\/span> to<\/span> students<\/span> if<\/span> their<\/span> instructors<\/span> are<\/span> not<\/span> properly<\/span> equipped<\/span> with<\/span> skills<\/span> in<\/span> ICT<\/span>. He<\/span> adds<\/span> further<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> academies<\/span> need<\/span> to<\/span> have<\/span> electricity<\/span> and<\/span> proper<\/span> internet<\/span> connectivity<\/span>.
\nMost<\/span> learners<\/span> are<\/span> newbies<\/span> in<\/span> information<\/span> communication<\/span> technology<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> grade<\/span> in<\/span> ICT<\/span> literacy<\/span> is<\/span> vital<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> rolling<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> E-ready app program. Sikwebu<\/span> reiterates<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> E-ready app<\/span> will<\/span> contribute<\/span> positively<\/span> to<\/span> both<\/span> primary<\/span> and<\/span>\u00a0tertiary<\/span> education<\/span> levels<\/span> and<\/span> drive<\/span> technology<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> rural<\/span> towns<\/span> of<\/span> South<\/span> Africa<\/span>.<\/strong>
\nMr.<\/span> Sikwebu<\/span> concludes<\/span> by<\/span> quipping<\/span> that<\/span> if<\/span> the<\/span> education<\/span> department<\/span> and<\/span> government<\/span> stakeholders<\/span> embrace<\/span> the<\/span> center’s<\/span> assessment<\/span> seriously<\/span>, then<\/span> real<\/span> technological<\/span> progress<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> realized<\/span> in<\/span> South<\/span> African<\/span> schools<\/span>.
\nFeatured image credits: Bing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An E-ready app has been created to evaluate education institutions’ ICT readiness in South Arica. The software is a project of the education department in tandem with schools\u2019 commitment towards the\u00a0delivery of competitive learning. The pilot phase for rolling out the\u00a0usage of the app was set for March 2020, an exercise that has been postponed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":30618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}