Mobile Learning in Southern Africa January, 18 - 2014 Vol.1 A LAWW Publication

Developing Innovators Mobile Educator Solutions

Beijing Royal School Visit to Ilanga East meets West in Africa

Country Focus Lesotho School defy odds

Journey of Reformers Principals set pace for innovation

This is a Learning Academy Worldwide (LAWW) publication. We welcome donations for our Literacy Improvement Initiatives in Southern Africa. Donations can be made via the website: www.m-ubuntu.org.za. LAWW is a Swedish-based registered Non-profit Organization and may also receive donations directly into its banking account in Stockholm, SWEDEN. Details are available on the website: www.lawwfoundation.org.

Special Mention Sonlig Every Child Deserves Light Page 22

2014

p. 4 p. 8-11

p. 6,7,14p. 12-13

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!!Learning Academy Worldwide

Founded 2001, Stockholm SWEDEN !

Registered in Sweden as a Nonprofit Organization - Org. # 802463-7731 !

Donations: Learning Academy Worldwide - IBAN #:

SE0280000816959142351098, !Swift/BIC SWEDSESS Sweden:

Swedbank, Oskarshamn, 816959142351098 !Finances Contact Kenneth Lindzter !!

Founder: Theophilus van Rensburg Lindzter !!

Projects: !M-Ubuntu Mobile Learning !

Learning Aid Project !Millennials as Mobile Educators !!

Address: !Largo Temistocle Solera, 7-10

Rome, 00199, ITALY !theo@m-ubuntu.org !

www.lawwfoundation.org www.m-ubuntu-org.za !!

Pictures: Darren Stewart

Dieter von Willert James Williams Kylie Janssens

Theophilus van Rensburg Lindzter !!Layout:

Theophilus van Rensburg Lindzter !Proofreading:

Jeanette Lindzter !!!!!+27-72-924-0116

+39-366-726-2513

A Big Thank You to Mr Guangfa Wang and Beijing Royal

School for making

2013 possible

As one of the earliest non-government funded schools to blaze the trail in international education, Beijing Royal School (BRS) has vigorously developed a model that meets international standards. While introducing advanced internationally-recognized teaching resources and exploring new ways of teaching and learning, BRS sets a precedent for private schools to be a vibrant force in international education. !Over the past 10 years, BRS overcame the challenges that a pioneering journey brings, staying committed to building a solid foundation for its National, Medium and Log-term Plan for Education Reform and Development - allan that spans 2010-2020. !At this stage, BRS leads international education reform in China having successfully integrated basic education, international education and traditional teaching models with innovative pace-setting by deploying its own revolutionary Satellite Video Teaching, Mobile Education while staying resolutely committed to school-wide and personalized courses of study. All these reforms are pervasively present in Kindergarten, Primary School, Middle School and High School, making BRS a comprehensive solution for change in Chinese and International Education.

BRS is amongst the leading international schools in China with a 10-year track record filled with outstanding awards.

In order to provide students with an internationally competitive edged, BRS provide state-of-the-art facilities.

Thanks also to Sprint Foundation, US, our donors, family and

friends who believe in our vision for quality

education.

More Beijing Royal School Pictures on Pages 23-25

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Contents

More… p.5 - Creating a Climate of Learning p.18 - Outreach Initiatives for 2014 p.21 - Reflection: What's the word?

Beijing Royal School Principal Inspires South African School Staff and Students

Mr Guangfa Wang

Developing Innovators

p.4

p.12-13

Defying odds - Lesotho School’s Journey of

Innovation

p.8-11What is …..... ?

Durban University of Technology, South Africa, hosts 1st

Annual Innovation in Education Summit

p.6-7

Mobile Learning from Teachers’ perspective at

Beijing Royal SchoolLucy Haagen

Beijing, CHINA

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p.16-17

Mr N.P. Hlakanyana Principal Ilanga Secondary School

Reformed-minded Principals

Mr M.E. Langa Principal Mogakolodi-Masibi Secondary

p.14

p.22

Every Child deserves Light

Theophilus van Rensburg Lindzter

p.19-20

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One of the first actions we took in 2013 was to develop our young people by creating an environment where they could serve schools in their communities.

Thirty-five student teachers from the Durban University of Technology have received training in the basics of using mobile devices for learning. They form a very important part of implementing mobile learning in the schools where we work.

Dr Sylvia Zulu, senior lecturer at the Durban University of Technology, is committed to her students’ use of innovative approaches to learning. She provided opportunity for us to show the students the power and possibilities of inexpensive mobile technologies for learning, as part of her Language Practice program at the University.

These 35 students will complete their teacher qualifications at the end of 2014. They are fully committed to work with the project during the teacher training in September, the conference in November and the school implementation plan for 2014

May, 2013, Durban, SOUTH AFRICA

Developing Innovators

Creating a Climate for Learning

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“Learning,” says Sir Ken Robinson, “is not about command and control, it is about climate control - creating the right climate wherein learning can take place.” !The Beijing Royal School’s support for Teacher Development meant that we could demonstrate to teachers what “class climate control” looks like in tangible ways. !We spent valuable time at Iwetane Primary School in the Kwazulu-Natal province with Grade 6 students and teachers, showing them how very small and simple tools can be used to teach valuable lessons to young minds. It is not always about the lack of resources, but how the little resources become tools in the hands of a master teacher.

When Learning Academy Worldwide started its work at Ilanga Secondary School in Durban, South Africa, upon the invitation of Durban University of Technology, we communicated our desire to walk the distance. That was then, at the outset of 2011, this is now, the onset of 2014. !It is not easy, but extremely necessary to build foundations of trust and cooperation with teachers and principals in formal learning environments and we were ready for a long journey. !Several professional development and mobile !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Building upon strong foundations - the unfolding Ilanga Secondary Story

learning conferences later, signs of an increasingly brighter future are emerging. !During the first bright days of the South African summer of 2013, just before the start of the National examinations in November, the structures of this bright light in the Kwazulu Natal Province were clearly tangible as the relationship between the Academy and Ilanga enabled national and global partners to converge in Kwadabeka. !The consistent support of the Durban University and the extended partnerships have now shown clearly that patient labour and commitment to quality education are capable of drawing others with kindred minds together. !Beijing Royal School, the University of Michigan (Flint), The Institute of Innovation in Education (USA) and Parkview Primary School from Cape Town joined hands to celebrate Ilanga’s commitment to its community and help set the stage for the future. !The gathering at the school on November, 8th 2013, formed part of the Innovation in Education Durban Summit hosted at the Durban University of Technology campus in the city.

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Thank you … for giving me the opportunity to welcome Ilanga Secondary friends and partners to our co-ed school which opened its

doors in 1988. ! Our school has 23 classrooms, a learner population of 1162 and it

starts from grade 8 to grade 12. We have 41 educators, one administration clerk, one cleaner and two government body

employed guards. We are a fee-paying school. Our school fees are currently R350 per annum. !

Well, on behalf of the Ilanga secondary school governing body, the learners, the educators, the Department of Education and the Kwadabeke community at large, I would like to welcome the

dignitaries that have decided to visit our school. !We are truly blessed, honored and humbled to be visited by such a

high-powered group of people. It is my strong belief that no school in South Africa has ever been visited by dignitaries from two world

leading super powers, America and China, on the same day. ! We as Ilanga really got petrified when Theo, or Mr van Rensburg

Lindzter told us that were going to have such visitors. We are currently busy with the end of year examinations but we couldn’t

forgo this opportunity of witnessing a rare historic event of the East and the West converging at Ilanga - even for a prestigious occasion

like tea drinking in China. ! Normally the Ilanga rises from the East and sets in the West, but

today the East and the West have converged at Ilanga. ! Maybe I should remind you that we as Ilanga, Ilanga is the sun, a

celestial body in the sky, not son as in a boy. ! Well, I’m not going to pretend to know these prominent revered

visitors but will leave the introductions to be done by Mr van Rensburg Lindzter. !

Again I want to say, you are most welcome to Ilanga. Now you know that it is the sun. Have complete freedom of the school and enjoy

light and warmth from Ilanga.

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Ilanga - Where East and West Meets

Welcome Address on the occasion of the visit of Beijing Royal School &

University of Michigan, 8

November, 2013, Kwadabeka,

DURBAN, South Africa

Mr N.P. Hlakanyana Principal Ilanga Secondary School

Mafeteng L.E.C. Primary school, situated some 60km south from the Lesotho Capital, Maseru, where 38 teachers serve 1700 students each day, became the latest home for M-Ubuntu when a 3-day conference on mobile learning was conducted from 16-19 September. !All teachers from Grade 1-7, together with the school leadership, ably led by principal, Mrs Seitlheko, gathered for 3 days to source best practices in Mobile Learning in an attempt to add to the quality of learning at Mafeteng L.E.C. Primary School. !The only single room at the school with electricity was turned into a hive of activity as teachers were not only introduced to Mobile Learning, but also coached on how to conduct a project by using the mobile devices. !The phones have been sponsored by the SPRINT FOUNDATION in the US and the 3-day support provided by Learning Academy Worldwide, was funded by the Beijing Royal School. Funding also came from Chief Mogakolodi Masibi from Disaneng in the North West province of South Africa. !"We think this is the beginning of an exciting new start," said principal, Mrs Seitlheko. !The school serves a very poor community and the infrastructural needs are immense. Yet, despite the odds, the teachers maintain a

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Lesotho Primary School Explores

Mobile Learning

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healthy pride in what they do and the seriousness in their commitment to the students' needs is very evident. !The teacher conference marked the beginning of the professional development phase that will extend into implementation in all the grades starting March 2014. !"I have never seen such commitment as I beheld over these last days," said visiting principal, Mr Mabidika Langa, from Mogakolodi-Masibi Comprehensive School. !Mr Langa's school has been host to M-Ubuntu projects for 3 years and he attended the conference on invitation from Learning Academy Worldwide in support of the Lesotho initiative. Mr Langa was particularly impressed with the fact that none of the teachers objected to participate in the program despite the fact that some sessions went well into the early evening. "It's a rarity to see such commitment; that they do not watch the clock - they are so eager to learn," he continued.

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One of the children’s first duties of a school day includes fetching water at the one tap that services the whole school. The water is accessibly placed at

various points on the school premises.

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One observation, made by Prof Dieter von Willert, from the partnering initiative Learning Aid Project, highlighted the character of the young children displayed in taking ownership of the needs at the school. !This was clearly shown when the small therapy room for

special needs and traumatized children was transformed with the students taking the responsibility upon themselves to make a difference. ! Grade 7 girls and boys filled cracks, replaced a broken window, painted the walls and tiled the floor. Toys were donated by the Rotary Club from a South African small town, Colesberg, and the Learning Aid Project, which also donated shelves to display the toys. Total costs amounted to €220. !

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BEFORE AFTER

Grade 7 girls and boys filled cracks, replaced a broken window, painted the walls and tiled the floor.

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Lesotho Quick Facts !The LEC Primary School in Mafeteng, Lesotho has nearly 1696 pupils and 39 teachers. There is only one water point at the school. Electricity is only provided to the PC room !Mafeteng has app. 60 000 citizens. The majority of the households lack water and electricity. !Lesotho is a small country [30 355 km2] and has about 2 million citizens. It borders South Africa, entirely encapsulated. !More than 40% of the population live on less than 1,25 US$ per day. !The GDP per capita –current prices is US$ 1,355 !The governmental expenditure for education is 12.4%

We need your help. !We welcome all the help we can get, yet we are not afraid to do things ourselves and get done what is needed. !At this early stage of the year, our student total is standing at 1595 students, but that figure could change any moment. !Our biggest need at the moment is infrastructural. !While we are disappointed at not succeeding in our application to the Japanese Embassy to build an ablution block, we are thankful for the promised assistance from the Learning Aid Project. !Last year, we received a quotation of about R700 000 (US $64 333) to build 6 classrooms. Thankfully, the Learning Aid Project provided an assurance of R100 000, raised by the students from the Goetheschule in Kaiserslautern in Germany. !Clearly we need more help. !The classrooms are an absolute priority and we will appreciate your kind consideration to help us. !Now that we have embarked on the Mobile Learning initiative, the possibilities for improving the quality of the learning process for our students are greatly enhanced. !We hope that the network around Learning Academy Worldwide can benefit our work here in Lesotho. !Please donate to the link on the M-Ubuntu website and mark your donation - MafetengLEC. !Principal Mrs Seitlheko

Mrs Seitlheko Principal

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This morning, at the very moment that I stepped out of the car and I arrived here at Ilanga Secondary School, I had a sense of excitement and I felt deeply moved. !Firstly, because it is good to meet the team of the University of Michigan, Flint, here in South Africa. Secondly, I have been dreaming to come to South Africa for a long time and I am truly happy to be here with you. !There is another reason for my excitement. I am honoured to be meeting some of the students that are here at the school. It is all about you. !Also, I could make this trip to South Africa because of all the hard work of Mr Theo van Rensburg Lindzter, who also made it possible for me to be here with you this morning. I appreciate his connections and network to help make this possible. !The two of us met at the Unesco conference in Paris earlier this year during the Mobile Learning Week there. Our discussions in Paris focused on how we could come up with a solution to help you here in South Africa. Today, I am here, after making a lengthy journey from China via the USA to keep that commitment.

Inspiration under the African Sun!Supporting the Case for Action for Mobile Education in Africa

移动教育非洲行动

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Keynote Address on the occasion of the visit of Beijing Royal

School & University of Michigan, on 8th

November, 2013, at Ilanga Secondary

School in Kwadabeka,

DURBAN, South Africa

Mr Guangfa Wang CEO, Founder Fazheng Group Beijing Royal School

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There are no boundaries in education. It does not matter where in the world you are. You are entitled to, and can get the best that is available in the world today. Today, China, South Africa and our good friends from the United States of America are all here to make our contributions to open doors for that education - for you. !I agree with the Principal, Mr Hlakanyana when he said earlier that the East and the West meet here today – under this beautiful African sunlight. I would like to add that I consider that what is happening in this room, is immensely more meaningful than the great weather we have on the outside. !I came here today with a mission. My goal is not only to get to know you and share some support, but it is also to encourage you to think about new ways to learn and to motivate the maximization of new mobile technologies for effective learning and teaching. On that specific, I am very interested to donate some mobile devices, tablets, for you to use here at Ilanga Secondary. !Since China and South Africa have such a good relationship and we have a long history together and since we have the presence of the USA represented through the University of Michigan here today, I am convinced that Ilanga has a bright future ahead. !I want to say something to the students here today. I assure you of my commitment to provide financial assistance to those students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievements. They’ll be able to come and visit the Beijing Royal School in China. !Thank you so much to everyone for making it possible to be here today and I want to particularly thank our good friends from the USA, the University of Michigan, Flint, for being here with us today. Please join me in giving them a hearty applause of thanks. Most of all, a hearty thanks to you all. !Thank you so much. ’’

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A Rural School, A Chief, and

A Reform-minded Principal The Mogakolodi-Masibi Story Continues

Mogakolodi-Masibi Comprehensive School opened its doors to the M-Ubuntu project in 2011. !School principal, Mr M.E. Langa, guided the introduction of Mobile Learning at the school with the goal of increasing the number of Grade 12 students who passed with eligibility to enroll in a University. The matriculation examination is a high stakes final exam for South Africa’s Grade 12 students and it is the yardstick, albeit complex, for measuring school quality in the country. !The school is named after Chief Mogakolodi-Masibi of Disaneng in the North West Province and his inspiring support of innovation in learning is a major reason why the school is steadily changing the culture of learning in the region. !Learning Academy Worldwide, spent its annual visit to the region with both Mr Langa and Chief Masibi when they talked through next steps. New Mobile phones were handed to them at the September, 2013 meeting in Johannesburg. !Mogakolodi-Masibi Comprehensive School is the only school in the province, or most likely in the country, that issues a mobile phone to their Grade 12 students at the beginning of the year to help them “learn-on-the-go”, for use in preparation for tests and for helping to review learning during the school day. The phones are pre-loaded with curriculum-related content in video, audio and text formats. !Students are allowed to take the phones home, with them, during the year and return it at the end of the academic year. !In three years, the school has lost only one phone. But, School Principal Mr Langa does not believe the phone is lost. “It is just used at a location unknown to us,” he explained.

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1st Annual Innovation in Education Summit hosted in Durban brings solutions for

learningNovember, 2013, DURBAN, South Africa !The first annual innovation in education conference at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) campus in Durban from 8-11 November, reached its conclusion at the Ritson Campus in Durban on Monday afternoon, 11 November, 2013. !Participants from several Faculties within DUT, University of Michigan (UM), Flint , the Beijing Royal School, principals from M-Ubuntu schools in South Africa, representatives from the Institute of Innovation in Education (Michigan, USA) and students from DUT and UM’s Global Masters Program, spent 4 days formulating projects for implementation at University and School levels within several provinces in South Africa. !The summit brought together educators, researchers, students, and entrepreneurs working at the forefront of technology and learning.  Part un-conference, part "startup weekend," part showcase, the Gathering helped individuals and teams meet new collaborators, work on project development and planning, and share ideas. !Project teams, their folders, submitted conversations, extensive media and other resources are available HERE.

Dr Rev Delysia TimmDUT

Ms Pagan MacKayIIE

Dr Sylvia ZuluDUT

Mr Guangfa WangBeijing Royal School

Dr Bob BarnettUMConference participants came

from South Africa, Italy, USA and China, with remote Skype

participation from Israel and the UK.

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Beijing Royal School Durban University of Technology Sprint Re-Cycle USA MacArthur Foundation Institute of Innovation in Education, US

University of Michigan, Flint,, USA Tribal Foundation (UK) Anonymous individual donors Chief Mogakolodi Masibi

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•Mogakolodi Masibi Comprehensive School

•ILanga Secondary School

•Kannemeyer Primary School

•Iwetane Primary School

•Hodisa Technical School

•Parkview Primary School

•St. Peter’s Academy

•Cape Academy of Maths, Science & Technology

•Lamula Primary School

•Ramosadi Primary School

•Isizinda Secondary School

•Meetsetshehla Secondary School

•Waterberg Academy

•Umlambo Foundation Schools

•Riebeeck West Primary School

•Mafeteng Primary School, Lesotho

•The Spirulina Project

•The Loeriesfontein Mobile Learning Initiative

•KZN Mobitech Internship

Learning Academy Worldwide Outreach Initiatives for 2014

for Southern Africa

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Mobilizing the Middle Kingdom The Promise and Possibilities of China’s Non-Negotiables

For more than a decade, technology pundits have been predicting that M-learning is poised to transform education in China. This prediction is grounded in a mobile device penetration rate approaching 90 percent, a culture where education is universally prized among citizens across the socio-economic spectrum, and a government willing to fund technological innovation. As early as 2003, “Hello China” pioneered the use of mobile phones for large-scale training by sending words to learn to the mobile phones of participants throughout China. In 2007, Nokia and New Oriental, China’s mammoth edtech provider, collaborated to launch Koolearn, to bring entertaining English language instruction to the handsets of tech-loving learners across China anytime, anywhere.

Fast Forward to 2013 - Hello China and Koolearn have not catalyzed a wave of m-learning in China, even among the legions of IPhone-sporting digital natives. Like their counterparts around the world, Chinese teens use their digital devices to socialize, play games, and consume entertainment media. In the informal learning space, predicted by many to be new global classroom, educational content barely registers on the radar.

Perhaps that is because the future of M-Learning in China lies within the formal, rather than informal, learning sphere. Unlike in nations where many never go to school, China’s investment in universal education has dramatically expanded access to formal education. 95 percent of children in even the most remote and poorest Chinese villages enroll in government primary schools where they follow the same curriculum, or its rough equivalent, as their mainstream peers.

While educational quality and outcomes vary as sharply according to income as they do worldwide, with few poor children completing secondary school, China has succeeded in making formal schooling the norm and its completion a serious goal.

In addition, (continue on page 20)

Lucy Haagen Beijing, CHINA

The Beijing Royal School’s state of the art facilities for Professional Teacher Development are used productively during development sessions.

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(continued from page 19)

In addition, China’s centuries old national curriculum and meritocratic examination system produces a relatively high level of “standardization.” At the same time, China urgently recognizes that its education system must change to foster resourcefulness, critical intelligence and global communication skills. To that end, the government supports a network of “Experimental” and “International” programs in both public and private schools. These factors combine to make China especially fertile ground environment for scalable, school-directed M-learning.

Mobilizing the Middle Kingdom is a model of M-learning based on the principle that pedagogy, tech- assisted or otherwise, must be rooted in cultural realities. In China, three realities are non-negotiable : a reverence for the gifted teacher that goes back as far as Confucius, a meritocratic ideal in which examinations serve as the gate-keepers to opportunity, and a political system in which social cohesion trumps self-expression.

We will be presenting at the Unesco Mobile Learning Week conference 2014 and will describe the opportunities and barriers that confronted a team of Chinese and foreign teachers as they designed, piloted, and evaluated a mobile English language program.

Among these are: accessing rich content in a country where the government limits Internet access, selecting technology that is affordable and reliable enough to be scalable to rural schools, and moving beyond customer satisfaction to learner progress as an indicator of project impact.

Looking forward to see you in Paris in February.

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uring the award-ceremony of the US-based MacArthur Foundation-funded 2009 Digital Media Learning (DML) competition, a cautious

buzzword quickly circulated in the rooms of the Chicago venue. !I was there, because M-Ubuntu was one of the 10 winners of the 2nd DML competition. Accompanied by the principals of the two South African schools where the use of mobile phones for improved literacy would be accommodated, the word was almost lost in the excitement of the moment. The word was sustainability. !Later, in 2012, while presenting the M-Ubuntu model of Youth Workforce Development at a MasterCard Foundation-sponsored event, two more words circulated at the Washington DC gathering. !Those two words were scale and impact. The more we listened to the voices at the DC summit, the more we sensed that, if added to the first one, they felt like three swords, three accusations at our small enterprise. All because we had no data to show that the project is sustainable; we had no convincing statement that it could be scaled to millions and could not justify on paper M-Ubuntu’s prospect for far-reaching impact. But we believed it! We believed that it had possibilities for sustainable, scalable impact. We saw it on the faces of the children that we work with every day, the communities who welcome us with open arms, the reform-minded school principals and the enthusiastic young people. !In fact, we only brought one “piece” of evidence to show at the DC debacle in 2012, hoping to convince funders of our model for scale and impact - it was the young South African, Thabang Mogale. !Yet, we received not a single bit of significant interest in our work. In fact, despite being drawn into some kind of a working group, the subsequent report did not even mention the work of M-Ubuntu. I was disappointed. !Then I met Mr Guangfa Wang, Founder of the Beijing-based Fazheng-Group at the Unesco 2013 Mobile Learning Week. He listened, enthused by our passion and acted, absolutely convinced that, “it’s not what’s in the word that matters, it’s what is done that counts. !What happened in 2013 reflects that journey of action.

What’s the word?

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Special Mention

www.sonlig.org

The SONLIG project, a friend of M-Ubuntu, has been instrumental in finding solutions for the energy source requirements for mobile learning in Southern Africa. In fact, they provided 25 solar chargers to the principal of Mogakolodi-Masibi, Mr Mabidika Langa, for the Grade 10 physical science project. !A complete curriculum was designed for Grades 10-12 based on improving knowledge in solar energy, insolation, photovoltaics, power and electricity. !The sixteen young students were guided by Mr Thabang Mogale through a 15-session project where they used the solar chargers to power their mobile phones, used its light for studying and documented their use of the solar chargers for learning.

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BRS responds to the needs of on- and off campus students by employing innovative technology-assisted learning solutions.

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http://iie.icsm

ich.org

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