A true contrast - Sept 29th

The first school - Roseline our intern.

As we work through our assignment, we need to fully understand the breadth of differences between the urban and rural schools and the facilities they work within.

The Girls hanging out!

Awesome!

Last day of school before break!

IBM's KidSmart Centre

Today our assignment has taken us to 2 different schools in Sekhekhune.  The first school was amazing.  Although this school is in a rural area, they had two computer labs in place one for the junior learners (grades 3 – 5) and one for the senior learners (grades 6 – 9).  They also had IBM’s KidSmart centre set up in their Grade R (kindergarten) classroom.  The school principal and staff were very motivated to incorporate technology into their curriculum.

Next we moved on to one of the Special Schools.  This school had just been signed up as a school in the Province and at this point had not been provided with any materials or programs.  This school also had no electricity or running water but operated two separate classrooms of programs for special needs young adults.

The new school - to be upgraded

The new school

The contrast between these two schools truly illustrates some of the challenges ahead of the province for delivering a quality education that includes technology.  The task may seem daunting but I see such a spirit of hope and determination – I have little doubt they will achieve their goals in time.