THANDI XABA
Equipping each school in the province with iPads and tablets will not happen overnight and may require more resources than anticipated.
This is according to National CEO of FEDSAS (Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools) Paul Colditz who adds a solid budget and technicians would have to be considered before schools take up gadgets over textbooks.
"It should be more economical to have textbooks on tablets so that children would not need to carry around x-number of textbooks. But you would have to budget for proper training for these teachers; you would have to a technician or two on site who can help with these gadgets. Also if you want to use technology optimally, internet connectivity is an important issue, “he says.
However he says it can take a school up to two years for proper planning and budgeting for learners to use gadgets. Rural schools might not afford this luxury as electricity and internet connectivity isn’t available. Colditz says future learners might not be using hard copy and textbooks anymore.
"It is not going to happen overnight and won’t happen in all schools in two years time, we are very quickly moving into a digital era, where books, hard-copy, newspapers and the likes may disappear," says Colditz.
