In 2018, we can safely say we are no longer on the brink of a technological revolution, but part of it. Known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, this is the new industrial era where technologies fuse to blur the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. What this means for the future of today’s’ graduates is uncertain. What roles will they need to fulfil and how will their studies equip them for the unknown? 

While there is no one correct answer, there are ways to prepare today’s students for the 21st Century Workplace.  In the learning environment this would include developing the core skills students will need to adjust to the new workforce challenges, known as the four C’s: Communication (acquire the skill to explain ideas), Critical Thinking (learn how to solve problems), Creativity (applied thinking that is outside the box) and Collaboration (understanding how to work with others effectively).  

But besides developing these skills, there should be practical support for the transition from graduating to working. Jeff Selingo is an expert on the topic of preparing students for this new dynamic work working environment.  Author of the New York Times best-selling book “There is life after college,’ Jeff Sellingo was a keynote speaker at Symplicity’s CSM Symposium this year. Here he shared very specific points on how to prepare students for the 21st Century workforce. His recommendations for preparing students for jobs of the future included increasing access to employment opportunities, provision of hands-on vocational training and helping students to develop a career narrative. A more in-depth discussion of these points follows below: 

Increase accessibility to career services from the start 

“We really need, as institutions, to start treating career services as the next big student amenity. We need to treat it like we do student success and retention efforts, and spend the amount of money and effort on it that we’ve done on student retention over the last couple of years.” 

Students attend a higher education institute to get a job one day. This means it is essential that career centers at these institutions guide students toward the careers that will be fulfilling. For students to get a better idea of what type of job they would enjoy, they need to gain experience in various fields. It is also important for students to learn how to sell their strengths in the best way possible, to potential employers. Career services are the perfect resource for career guidance, resume building, internships, job opportunities, and salary expectations. If students learn to identify their needs early on in their studies, they can start making the right decisions sooner, achieving their goals faster. 

Provide hands-on vocational training

“It’s not about picking a career at that young age but it’s about exposing students to the options available to them and the pathways that lead to those jobs. That’s the key to integrating career planning from day one.” 

While a formal education will always be the main focus for higher learning institutions, it is important to expose students to multiple skills before they enter the workforce. This should not just be part of their qualification requirements, adding credits to modules to tick off, but also about gaining knowledge from real-life situations. Yes, students can follow a syllabus and complete hands-on tasks to pass, but learning from day-to-day experiences should be a stand-alone exercise with no credit awards. Career planning at an early age is extremely important, so students are exposed to what suits them and what doesn’t. 

 Help students develop their career narratives

“We need to help students craft their story so that they are able to articulate their skills and how these could transfer to a job.” 

CV’s are important, but being able to elaborate on what those bulleted items on a CV in an interview situation are crucial. Students should know how to share more about their work experiences, explain what skills they’ve developed and how they can apply those skills to the position they are applying for. A candidate should be able to tell their own personal story, explaining where they come from and where they see themselves in five years. 

Symplicity CSM can help career centers at higher institutions achieve these goals. Symplicity CSM offers the tools to connect skilled students with potential employers. It further gives departments the ability f to ‘talk’ to each other and ultimately helps students find value and relevance in their studies and increases the employment success rate of institutions.  

Want to understand how Symplicity CSM can work for your institution? Get in touch with us for a demonstration. 

“There is nothing wrong, with getting it wrong…you learn so much more through the process.” Wendy Horn, Global Teacher Prize Nominee 2018 

Inspiration comes in all shapes and forms. Many of us would agree that we had that one teacher who influenced us to set life goals and achieve our best. That one teacher who made us pursue our tertiary studies or who pushed us to achieve more than we knew we could in school. And for many, Wendy Horn is this teacher. It is therefore no wonder that this school principal and science teacher from Protea Heights Academy, was recently nominated for the Global Teacher Prize (February 2018). This means Wendy Horn is recognised as one of the top 50 teachers in the world! 

Speaking about her passion, Wendy explains that educators can “shape the future.” For Wendy, being a teacher is a calling, “when you stand in front of that class, those children must be your everything.” She adds that “the school, through the innovative use of technology, is preparing learners to be creative problem solvers that will be able to make a positive contribution to society in the future.” As part of their strategy and digital toolkit, Protea Heights Academy uses Staffroom Software. We asked her to share her experience with Staffroom Software: 

How would you explain to a friend what Staffroom Sofware does? 

“It makes data sharing, reporting and communication easy. It also cuts down on the workload of educators and administrators.” 

What were your processes like before using Staffroom Software? 

“Time-consuming and cumbersome. We also found errors creeping into the data and the processing of data was frustrating!” 

How does Staffroom Software improve your processes? 

“The product saves time. We are able to work from any place that has an internet connection. It also speeds up processes, allows us to collaborate and share data seamlessly.” 

Is Staffroom Software worth the investment? 

Yes, we save time! It makes the workload less per educator. We can communicate easily with parents and learners. Staffroom allows us to share data so that we can analyse our performance and suggest suitable intervention strategies.  We also cut down on the use of paper and files and can share information effortlessly. The digital archive allows us to store marks, reports and learner information which means we can share these documents with every staff member, as well as parents. Without Staffroom I would ‘freak out’ – it would be as if we were back in the dark ages and would mean more work!” 

Define teacher and learner success?

Wendy’s approach to teaching is not about imparting knowledge only. Wendy explains, “We are preparing our learners for the fourth Industrial revolution, which means learners will have many jobs as they progress through their lives…” She humbly adds, “Children don’t need teachers for information, for that they have Google. They need us to teach them skills and to guide them.” This is why Wendy believes it is important to teach learners how to problem solve.  

According to Wendy, Staffroom Software adds to the success of her team, “it adds to our brand in that we communicate with parents effectively. It allows educators to work smartly and saves time. The product allows easy and effective data analysis. It just makes the admin a little bit easier – which in turn means we can use our time more efficiently.” 

We are proud to know that Protea Heights Academy has found a digital solution in Staffroom Software! One that makes inspirational teachers like Wendy Horn’s life a little easier!  

Interested in learning more? Contact us for a demo or learn more here. 

Celebrating Women in Education: Clare Reilly 

A group of women demonstrating during the march on 9 August 1956. Image: Twitter 

South Africa celebrated its first National Women’s Day in 1995. This day was declared a holiday as part of the remembrance of all women who united as one voice on 9 August 1956. Their motivation? To protest the norm, to speak up against injustice and to show the power of joining hands to do so. Today we celebrate this day in remembrance of these brave women, but also all brave women who have made a difference and are still contributing to positive change in our society.  

With Women’s Day in mind, we are celebrating women in Education. Those who strive to make a difference through their work within the Education sector. Through their daily contributions, they inspire us to be the best we can be, no holds barred. And where better to start than at home! Eiffel Corp’s General Manager: Marketing and PR, and creative brain of our team – Clare Reilly. 

Clare Reilly – Sales and Marketing Manager at Eiffel Corp

Clare has been with Eiffel Corp for half a decade! Motivated by her interest in the world of educational technology, she ventured into unchartered territory to learn about and understand the impact of technology on education.  

She found her passion in the opportunities Education offers in reaching one’s potential, “Education is the door to opportunity, without this foundation a person will never know what they are capable of and can achieve.” 

While working within the digital world, Clare enjoys working with people, especially meeting new people and teaching them about this fascinating sector. Driving thought leadership through Eiffel Corp resonates with her, with the hope of making a “small” difference in the world. 

And this difference is clearly visible through the impact of Eiffel Corp’s products has had on the clients Clare has worked with over the years. “In my time I have seen numerous lecturers and teachers become champions in the digital learning sector and engaging students in ways they never thought possible.” 

As a woman in a leadership role, Clare believes it should be a priority to empower and teach young girls of today. 

“We need to band together to support and empower one another. Education is a gift that no one should be without…” 

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” – Nelson Mandela

A lot can be done in 67 minutes. A quick lunch, final edits on a report, a few sales and perhaps your week’s grocery shopping. But what if those 67 minutes were spent in a more meaningful way? And could this have a positive impact on society in the long run?

On 18 July 2018 organisations, office teams and individuals around South Africa go out and spend 67 minutes in meaningful ways. Why? To celebrate the late Nelson Mandela’s vision and his legacy. He said, “It is in your hands to make of our world a better one for all.” And so, through acts of service, South Africans spend 67 minutes on Mandela’s birthday (Mandela Day) serving others to respond to this call for positive change. The number 67 signifies the 67 years Nelson Mandela fought for social justice.

This year, Eiffel Corp spent some time at two different learning institutions, Iphutheng Primary and Ubuntu Football Academy. We specifically chose institutions that are making a difference in the lives of youths through Education, because we believe Education is vital to any child’s future and therefore our nation’s future.

Iphutheng Primary School is located in Alex, Johannesburg. It was founded by missionaries in 1923 and currently has approximately 1200 students from Grade R to Grade 7. The school strives to be an innovative school where every learner and others feel valued, safe and inspired. They are also committed to providing a “functional and modern school that enables quality teaching and learning to protect and promote the right of every learner to quality equitable and relevant education.” They are making such a big difference in the lives of children, who most likely would not have had the same access to this standard of education, were it not for Iphutheng. We commend them for their impact they are having in South African youths’ lives.

For Mandela Day, they identified specific projects that would help their learners, which included covering school books. Our team covered 70 books in 67 minutes. Along with covering books, we also handed out 61 blankets to a selected group of children from the Grade R and Grade 1 classes. We learnt that covering books can be quite the challenge! To learn more about how you can support this school, please see their wish list here.

Ubuntu Football Academy is a professional soccer academy based in Cape Town. This non-profit organisation was initiated in a response to fatherless youth in South Africa. Statistics show that 60% of our children are growing up without a father in their homes. Through professional soccer coaching, Ubuntu aims to mentor and educate the next generation of great African leaders, society-changers and footballers. It was inspirational to learn more about their work.

We joined other local teams and spent time at their residence based in Kommetjie, helping with household chores (cleaning) and garden work. We also collected food donations that were contributed to the residence’s pantry – a big thank you for all the contributions. Our team certainly worked up a sweat in our yellow gloves, scrubbing and weeding away! We also have to thank Freedom Foods who supplied  our team with well-deserved lunches. To learn more about Ubuntu Football Academy and how you can be involved, please visit their website.

Spending time with institutions that have such a direct impact on the future of our nation, we are forced to reflect on whether our 67 minutes were “enough”. It is only normal that these kinds of acts of service would evoke a ‘feel-good’ emotion in all who participated, but then we go back to our normal schedules and life carries on. In short, the answer is no. We did not do enough! But as with all things in life, the answer is not as simple as this. If it were, we may as well not participate in these kinds of activities.

But while 67 minutes is clearly not enough to have an impact of positive change – the repercussions of these actions could be. It is the start of change in all who participate. Getting away from our desks and what is important to us and placing ourselves in the shoes of others – this is where the impact lies.

For 67 minutes South Africans roll up their sleeves and work to improve the lives of others. For some this won’t make any difference. But for others this has an impact on how we see others. For organisations, it brings awareness that could open doors to new opportunities. But not only that, these acts of service (hopefully) show gratitude towards their daily efforts to making a difference. And if this small act of recognition gives some motivation to those who need it the most, we are contributing (even if it is in a minor way) to positive change.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON EDUCATION IN RURAL SA

South Africa’s education system faces many challenges. This is true especially for our rural areas, where basic infrastructure is often lacking and combined with socio-economic circumstances, these remotely based learning institutions are kept at a disadvantage.

While access to information and communication technology may often be limited, digital teaching and learning solutions could potentially contribute to improving access to better quality education.  In fact, as Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka so memorably stated at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2015, “With technology, we can achieve universal access to secondary education within a generation.” We believe technology can do the same for access to higher quality primary education.

We live in an exciting era, where technology increasingly contributes to solutions in education. But what impact can these digital teaching solutions have on some of the problems faced by rural learning institutions? Let us look at some of the specific challenges these institutions face.

As already mentioned, infrastructure is a major challenge. Often schools do not have access to running water, a proper physical space or electricity. The remoteness of these areas also leads to isolation and consequently curriculum structuring and planning are often neglected.  As a result subject choices are also limited.

There is no denying that one of the biggest problems is poverty and the circumstances caused by it. In some cases, families move often, renting accommodation on per day or per week basis. This high mobility, along with other factors lead to low attendance rates at schools. Often parents cannot support learners with homework and teachers also limited access if any to a support system. Then there is also the language barrier created by not teaching or learning in a mother tongue, causing even further gaps in learning.

While this is by no means an extensive list, it is quite clear that these problems limit access to quality education and learners not completing school. Research shows that teachers play the largest role in boosting learners’ success rates. Herein lies a big opportunity for technology to impact education in rural areas – through upskilling teachers. Access to information and support through an online education community can equip teachers to feel more confident in their teaching methods. It can also provide them with the tools they need to enhance classes.

For learners, digital learning solutions offer opportunities beyond their physical location, such as distance education programmes and links to learners across South Africa or abroad even.  Learners can also access learning materials remotely, which means they could carry on learning despite being absent. Further opportunities include access to different subject fields that would otherwise be inaccessible. The more familiar and skilled both teachers and learners become with these tools, the greater the opportunities become.

Despite the potential positive impacts, there are still various factors that limit these opportunities. Areas, where there is no electricity, the high cost of data and of course limited technological knowledge and resources, are obstacles that can hinder these kinds of solutions. But with the potential of something as simple as a tablet or a smartphone to implement some of these solutions, the possibilities to tackle these problems suddenly grow. By no means is technology the all-encompassing solution to the education in rural areas, but it certainly offers exciting prospects and hope for progress within the near future.

Learn more about digital solutions in education – visit www.eiffelcorp.co.za or contact us for more information.

Reference:

D Plessis, P. 2014. Problems and complexities in rural schools: Challenges of Education and social development. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. September Vol 5 No 20,