Stellenbosch University
Welcome to Stellenbosch University
Education through technology
Author: Christina Harvett
Published: 11/11/2020

The Telematic Schools Project is a joint initiative of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and Stellenbosch University to implement education through technology. The main idea behind the project is to provide learners with the best-quality teaching that speaks to the vision of the WCED: quality teaching to every learner in every classroom in every school. The project provides lessons via satellite and live streaming to learners in Grades 10 to 12. The broadcasts do not replace teaching in classrooms; they support everyday teaching by revising and consolidating what teachers have already taught. Teachers are also exposed to new teaching methodologies, thereby improving the teaching in many classrooms. 

 

Live lessons are broadcast between 15:00 and 17:00 during the weekAll schools across South Africa benefit from the interactive afternoon broadcasts, which focus on difficult concepts in fifteen key subjects. Learners can ask questions to the presenter in the studio via WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger and e-mail.  

The extra classes are all arranged and scheduled by the Western Cape Education Department in line with the countrywide CAPS curriculum. The presenters explain core concepts and address problem areas in which learners had experienced difficulties in previous examinations. The whole curriculum is thus not dealt with during the broadcasts. 


A monitoring and evaluation plan is part of this project. The survey for this has been conducted over the course of nine years in the three Cape provinces, although not all concurrently, and over the course of the thirteen surveys feedback was received from 31 609 learners. 

Overall, the learners agreed that the Telematic Schools Project offers them valuable resources that have made a difference in their learning.