The iSchoolAfrica project aims to bring the best available education technology and practices to schools in South Africa, with its target being under-privilege schools in the country.

Michelle Lissoos, managing director of the iSchoolAfrica project said the most popular gadget for pupils at the moment was the iPad tablet computer.

She said iSchoolAfrica works in partnership with corporate sponsors, ministries and schools to set up sustainable, curriculum-integrated technology programmes.

Schools in rural parts of the country are the major beneficiaries of the project.

“My students don’t want to miss iPad classes,”  said Nonhlanhla Zonda, a teacher at Ndlelenhle Primary.

“I connect with them more easily than before and I can move freely around them while they are using the tablet computer. For me it has opened a whole new world,”

Each participating school in the programme is issued with one mobile iPad lab, consisting of  20 iPads, a projector and a MacBook Pro.

 By using the tablets pupils are able create curriculum-based projects, learn different skills and improve their team work.

Lissoos explained that it was not all about just handing schools the technology.

“The key focus of the programme is capacity building. An iSchool facilitator works with teachers in the classroom, ensuring ongoing professional development,” she said.

In order to ensure there is sustainability the facilitator identifies and trains the most committed and capable teacher  in each school to become the iPad school champion who will take over the facilitation and become responsible for lesson plan development and integration.

One of the schools which is benefiting from the project is Lethulwazi Comprehensive School in Vosloorus.

Lethulwazi has had a number of challenges, including ensuring that its current teachers are familiar with the National Curriculum Standards.

In addition, owing to the extremely low literacy and numeracy levels of pupils entering the school, the school had a need for a large amount of remedial work to be done on pupils entering the school.

Since the introduction of the  computer laboratory there has been an enormous change.

Pupils having been enjoying the  mobile labs and have produced effective audio-visual material and posters.

Another is Rivonia Primary, which is a government school that raised funds and purchased their own tablets.

But  they asked for help from iSchoolAfrica and have since been reaping the benefits of having the iPads in their school.

Andrew Crole, a teacher at the school, explained that the tablets give  pupils a chance to enhance their communication, social, presenting skills enabling them to gain more confidence.

“The teacher becomes a facilitator instead of the dictator. We are learning quiet a bit from the kids as teachers also,” he said.

It is expected that the use of tablets in education will improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom.

“Through exposure to specifically created numeracy and literacy apps, pupils will become more motivated engaged and independent in their learning,” said Lissoos.

This is needed in an age where pupils are exposed to digital  technology in the forms of social media, cell phones, television and multi-media content. It was only a matter of time before this type of technology was incorporated in schools using the National Curriculum.