Distributors of Large Format Imaging and Educational

Hardware and Software Solutions in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

News 2004

 

 

Text Box: Teachers will find their work more rewarding and productive with the new tools. KHANYA TECHNOLOGY IS ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION ANNE TAYLOR Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me and I'll understand. - Chinese Proverb Among the most important applications of technology in South African schools today is connectivity, giving teachers new ways of communicating information, linking schools to each other so that they can share teachers, linking learners to schools in other countries and linking educators, to allow them to confer and exchange information. Most of us grew up with chalk and blackboards or the green boards which replaced them and the whiteboards which took over the wall when felt pens arrived. Now we have ‘interactive white boards’ which sounds like an impossibility until we see they are really huge television screens acting as video and computer monitors and that teacher and pupils can manipulate the images on them by touch or from a distance. A map on which mountains appear and rivers run, colours change and cities can be made to appear at the tap of a wand, is much more exciting and informative than a roll-down paper map. The classroom screen is already revolutionising classroom teaching. In a typical lesson, the teacher conjures up a display, say weather patterns in a geography class, and asks a child where the rain cloud will form. Instead of answering with a learned phrase – “Against the mountain, Miss”, the seven year old will touch the screen, move the cloud to the mountain to see the rain fall. And that will stick in his mind as an observed effect with all the vividness of a picture book. The whole class will participate. And that educator may be talking to children in her own classroom and to another class in a room next door or in another school, who can see her via a small camera, giving her a class of 100, all riveted by her words and images. It’s cheaper than having teachers in several small classes, says Kobus van Wyk of Khanya. “The cheaper option is to take a bunch of lessons and a good teacher using a video machine and TV.” Conducting lessons will never be the same again. During a lesson on the interactive board no one stares out of the window in boredom or disturbs a classmate. Lessons are lively, everyone wants to work on the whiteboard and at the end of the lesson the sound of the bell is met with a groan from the class. Teachers agree that the learners remember the lesson material much better than when the same lesson is given in a conventional classroom. Colour, sound, movement and active participation stimulate all the senses. The interactive whiteboard has also acted as a catalyst to teachers, challenging them to incorporate technology in the curriculum. Awareness of the power of the computer in enhancing lessons was definitely heightened!” says Fredeline Engelbrecht, manager of the media and activity centre at Welgemoed Primary School. Keith Phipps of King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys feels that his interactive whiteboard has enabled him to provide a dynamic learning environment. “Used effectively, the interactive whiteboard can cause a real sensation in the classroom.” Its strong visual and multimedia capability enables teachers to prepare lesson material that creates real theatrical tension, with pupils leaning forward in anticipation of what is coming next whenever either the teacher or especially one of their peers approaches the whiteboard to use it. This enables the teacher to present material in an impactful way that helps pupils retain information. It can be incorporated into all stages of a lesson, from warm-up activities through practice exercises to closing plenary sessions. The most rewarding aspect of interactive whiteboard use is seeing pupils grow confident in its use, and correspondingly, confident in sharing and exploring ideas in the classroom. This means that it allows pupils to take centre stage, and becomes an effective tool for pupil-centred learning. Its potential to involve the whole class through individual interactive devices, such as the slate and stylus, takes the interactive element to its ultimate extension. An outline can be accurately conjured on screen, ready for annotation and the slate and stylus can be passed around the classroom, enabling pupils to annotate and use the whiteboard remotely from their seats, involving pupils quickly and easily. Images can be exported as JPEGs to save flipcharts in a format that can be stored and emailed to pupils for revision. Saving flipcharts means time spent on preparation is a useful investment for future lessons. Teachers may save material for re-use at a later date, share resources with other teachers, and build their own library of lesson plans and digital images. Every school has a computor now, so teachers can research the Internet, looking for information and images to use in class. To return to the geography lesson, the latest information on the eruption of Mount St Helens, which children may have seen on television, can be used to make a lesson on volcanoes exciting. Deputy Director General, Peter Schreuder, says: “It is not our intention to replace teachers with technology, but to provide technology as a set of tools for teachers.” From 2007 there will be a compulsory subject in all secondary schools, called Mathematic Literacy. It will prepare school leavers to cope with the basics of this day and age, like running a bank account, buying on hire purchase, paying taxes. The department fears that there will not be enough teachers for every child to do the subject, so Chas Arends is experimenting with video conferencing, in its simplest form so that one maths teacher can teach two classes, responding to children asking questions in the second classroom. All the second classroom needs is someone, an unemployed parent for instance, to facilitate. The second step, is to incorporate the interactive white board and the step after that is to link two schools via satellite. Already, a school in Rylands has video conferencing with which the learners share ideas with a school in England. Recently, they discussed slavery and emancipation, apartheid and post-apartheid. Both sets of children were fascinated by what they learned from each other. This has been very beneficial, opening their eyes to the world.

Text Box: Kobus says: “We are trying to use the video conferencing technology to address the educator shortage. It costs about R60 000 per classroom. But the returns are massive.” In January, Kobus was invited by the British Council to an exhibition in London of educational technology where the Secretary for Education announced that each year for two years, 50-million pounds sterling were to be spent for electronic white boards (that’s half a billion Rands). A million boards a year are to go into every classroom of every British school. “I visited schools that had been using it for two years, where it had become the focal point of the classroom and changed teaching styles,” he said. Having recognised the significant benefits of collaborative teaching solutions in the UK, the Mexican government recently put out a tender for 4 000 computers, whiteboards, data projectors and printers, linked to the Internet. “It is taking off around the world and we are scratching the surface, finding a cost effective way. “By end 2005 we shall have a computer lab in every high school and every school will be linked to the Internet.” The country has a growing need for scientists and engineers and universities provide the training for them. But they demand that schools ensure enough matriculants pass with maths at higher level and that’s where the system falls down. Fortuately, industry is aware of the need for improved education and that if they do not contribute now, there will not be an educated workforce in future. “We don’t just dump the stuff,” says Kobus. "We also train teachers to use them. We are looking at electronic white boards with laptops and digital projectors. This combination allows for all kinds of options, slide shows, videos, the multimedia use is unlimited. I want a richness of experience for learners.” In the past, science was often taught via a teacher’s demonstration, seen from a distance. Now there is an option of seeing it close to. Now the teacher can spend more time teaching the physics or chemistry, using simulation and the learners can try any number of What Ifs to see what happens. Some experiments are too dangerous for a school situation, but can be simulated. Kids want to see what happens if they mix certain chemicals and can’t be allowed to do that in the lab. They can try via computer and see the result, even if the result is disaster. The department is determined that all learners should leave school with exposure to computers and information technology. Not only literacy skills but the ability to manipulate the programs with Word, Power Point, Excell and so on. Not only does every career demand it, but these skills open up amazing entrepreneurial jobs. “I want our learners to have access through computers to the all the riches of information so that they can read and roam. The biggest challenge is to teach them to sift through the rubbish on the internet, make their Internet engagements meaningful. I want them to be readers on the Internet, use Encarta and Wikipedia, use search engines meaningfully. There are amazing educational websites,” says Brian. Every year, more teachers are embracing computer technology, he said. “My message to teachers is that they don’t have to worry about kids overtaking them. I’ve always found it rewarding to indicate to kids that they know something I don’t and they can teach me something. It’s a tremendous motivator.”

 

 

Imaging Innovations wins Best Small Stands Award at Futurex 2004

 

Imaging Innovations (Imaging), distributor for Promethean products in Sub-Saharan Africa, exhibited the product set at the Futurex ICTE Exhibition which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg from 18 - 21 May 2004.

 

The exhibition, attended by some 16 000 visitors, is the major showcase for ICT in South Africa, and the Imaging stand was the largest educational display, being overwhelmed by visitors all day, who were fascinated by the power of the ACTIVboardTM and ACTIVstudioTM software– in particular the use of the ACTIVslateTM for remote control. This high activity, coupled with the enthusiasm and commitment of the Imaging staff, resulted in Imaging receiving the Best Small Stands Award (for stands up to 24sq m) – see picture below of Imaging Staff with the award.

The stand (shown below) included a walk-in classroom with the 75” board, complete with school desk and school benches, as well as a 48” board used in a more corporate environment. Many of the visitors obviously enjoyed the “school  ”environment  - as can be seen from the picture below with Karen Lindemann, Education Sales Consultant, highlighting a typical test.

Stanley Schweitzer, Export Development Manager for Promethean International, who visited South Africa to attend the exhibition commented that ” Imaging as our local partner is effectively branding the ACTIVboardTM as the premier solution for whole class education – particularly with the large classes that exist in the Southern African environment . The response from both state and private schools has endorsed this effort – and we see Southern Africa as major growth opportunity for Promethean”

 

 

Text Box: PROMETHEAN AWARDED MAJOR CONTRACT FOR MEXICAN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS INITIATIVE *Children of Mexico set to benefit as Promethean ACTIVboards arrive in their classrooms* London, UK, 5th October 2004 – UK based Promethean has secured a multimillion dollar order through its Mexican distributor, Inteltech, for around 4,000 interactive whiteboards. This volume order has come about as a result of the Mexican government’s ‘Enciclomedia’ initiative, which aims to provide every primary school in the country with the equipment required to access digital resources for teaching and learning. Having recognised the significant benefits reaped as a result of collaborative teaching solutions in the UK, the Mexican government recently put out a tender for computers, whiteboards, projectors and printers, so that it might replicate the UK’s success in its own schools. With its industry leading collaborative teaching solutions in more than 50,000 classrooms throughout the world and a range of major awards to its name, Promethean is an obvious choice to help satisfy the demand of thousands of Mexican classrooms waiting for whiteboards. Working with Inteltech, Promethean will provide equipment and ongoing support to schools and teachers throughout Mexico. Commenting on the order, Steve Brazier, Export Business Development Director, Promethean says: “Promethean is dedicated to making a difference in education, providing enrichment through on-going, collaborative and mutually supportive partnerships. The opportunity to take our technology into a new geography is exciting both for us and the primary schools of Mexico, as they find out for themselves the amazing difference ACTIVboards make to the classroom experience.” Brazier adds: “Being a major supplier for the first phase in this prestigious project confirms Promethean’s status as a leader in the international market for collaborative classroom technology.”

Text Box: Promethean unveils new image and future vision for collaborative teaching By Antoinette Perry Sep 24, 2004, 16:47 Education policymakers around the world are increasingly recognising the benefits of collaborative teaching technology and Promethean’s work in the sector is one of the reasons why – its industry leading collaborative teaching solutions are now in more than 50,000 classrooms throughout the world. On the back of great feedback from teacher users and good independent reviews including a range of major awards, uptake of the technology is growing fast. Against this backdrop Promethean today reveals a new image to promote further its vision for collaborative teaching and learning internationally. Previously TDS Promethean, the Blackburn, UK, based company has dropped the ‘TDS’ suffix, to become known simply as Promethean. The decision to alter its name is part of a wider plan to support its rapidly developing business around the world. Similarly, TDS AV Distribution, a part of the Promethean channel business, will from the 1st of November 2004, be known as Promethean AV Distribution, and going forward there will be adjustments to some product lines. Commenting on the changes, Stephen Jury, CEO, Promethean says: “I am extremely proud of Promethean’s success and the team of talented and committed people that have made it happen. They have driven some great innovations in the sector, and through their professionalism, passion and care have shown people how effective, collaborative teaching can have a great impact on the learning experience. Promethean new image and vision for the future/2 “With the simplified name, which I hope will support and ensure a consistency for our brand around the world, Promethean can reinforce its position as the leader in collaborative teaching solutions. This will help us to ensure these solutions very rapidly become the standard for classrooms and all other teaching environments. Promethean is not just about software and hardware; it also works to support and advise its customers to ensure they can reap the full benefit of their investment. This means recognising the specialist requirements of individual customers, catering for different learning needs, geographies, cultures and industries. “My vision is not only to see Promethean continue its success, but to take the passion and drive that has brought us to this point and build on it.”

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