Cowan High School headmaster Qaqambile Ngcayi (centre left) and head of department Silulami Yeye (centre right) were delighted to take delivery of the school’s new e-learning tablets, delivered by Odin Education’s Kirsty Geyser (left) and sponsored by Aveng Trident Steel. Picture: Supplied
A steel company is helping build e-learning capacity for South African schools as it invested R1 million in a locally developed e-learning ecosystem available to more than 200 learners recently.
Steel company Aveng Trident Steel has assisted in building the country’s access to digital education after investing R1m in e-learning ecosystem Odin Education.
The investment paid off as the company recently handed over more than 200 dedicated educational technology tablets to the Grade 11 class at Cowan High School in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, as the learners started the second semester countdown towards their critical matric year.
“Currently used by almost 3 000 school learners in six provinces, the tablets are locked for educational purposes only and do not allow distracting social media or entertainment platforms,” the company said.
According to Odin Education, the New Brighton school achieved an 87% matric pass rate last year, which the class of 2023 will be hoping to improve with the aid of their devices.
Each learner received their own personalised tablet pre-loaded with mobile data and curriculum-aligned content that matches their subject choices and interests, as well as educational websites and resources to augment the learning process. Odin Education added that a live help desk, providing access to technical and content support, is included in the ecosystem.
Odin Education’s business development manager, Dean Gurney, said the tablets will over time use artificial intelligence and analytics to learn each pupil’s unique interests and capabilities and push more of this content to their device.
“As an educational technology company, we are driven by the idea that, through education, we can provide each and every child with an ecosystem to better themselves, their communities and wider society,” said Gurney.
“We welcome support from forward-thinking partners like Aveng Trident Steel, who are looking to make a significantly greater social impact.”
Aveng Trident Steel’s financial director, Raven Brirajh, said the company was pleased to assist the country’s future leaders with technology that would enable learning.
“It is equally important to provide support in the areas in which we operate. We wish the Grade 11 learners at Cowan High all the very best in their studies,” Brirajh said.
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