Satisfaction and the pleasant smell of success filled the hall as PJ Olivier High School celebrated their official crowning as winners of the Via-Afrika competition with the handing over of digital tablets.
Satisfaction and the pleasant smell of success filled the hall as PJ Olivier High School celebrated their official crowning as winners of the Via-Afrika competition with the handing over of digital tablets.
A two-minute video clip prepared by Grade 8 learners earlier this year paved the way for the massive digital boost.
Representatives from Via Afrika and attended the event Thursday 13 November. Erika Esterhuizen, a teacher at the school, said the fire in February 2012 that destroyed the computer equipment just four months after they had acquired it had been a setback, but they could not be stopped.
"It is a great honour today to formally confirm that training will be starting and tablet education will be implemented in the school," Esterhuizen said Thursday 13 November.
The school will receive free Wi-Fi and training for a year. The implementation of electronic textbooks worth R750 000 will officially begin once the pupils connect to the school's Wi-Fi, the information is backed up on the school's server and into the cloud, which means that if a pupil loses their tablet, all the notes can be restored without incurring any additional costs.
PJ Olivier High School's story is one of courage in the midst of trials and a vision of excellence. A video presentation showed the school's journey, highlighting that it started with four computers in1999.
Headmaster Piet Snyders applauded Rotary Club member Bill Mills, acknowledging him as a leader and advocate of computer literacy having birthed the idea in 2009. Snyders said that Mills has been an integral part of the school. Carl Van Blerk from IT Solutions congratulated the school.
"Education is of utmost importance and I look forward to being a long-term friend at PJ Olivier," he said. An advantage of using digital material is that the pupils' textbook, in the form of an e publication on their tablet, can be easily updated by the teacher with any necessary additional material. Pupils can make their own personal notes, sketches and highlights in their own e book.
"We hope that other schools get this opportunity as well," Esterhuizen said. A member of the audience said well done to the school.
"We are now beginning to see a tree that is bearing fruit."
The event was in collaboration with IT Schools Innovations, Mustek and Always On.
