Teachers around South Africa will now be able to learn more about how to effectively implement elearning in the classroom, thanks to GetSmarter and Wits University.

ICT in education can bear many good fruits if implemented correctly, but more often than not, the biggest hurdle to running a smooth elearning program is inadequate teacher training.

GatSmarter, the online education course provider has partnered with the Wits School of Education (WSoE) to offer the ‘Strategic Implementation of ICT Integration in Education’ short course in line with the faculty’s Wits Plus part-time class programmes to equip teachers with sufficient technical skills and knowledge.

“We believe that South Africa’s future economic prosperity hinges directly on improving the quality of the teachers already working in our schools,” says Rob Paddock, chief academic officer at GetSmarter. “In order to do this, we need to revisit the ongoing education models for our educators, and re-imagine a system that can help teachers develop their practice in ways that will benefit students.”

Primary, secondary and tertiary educators who already know their way around a computer and have access to the internet will be able to take the course wherever they may be in South Africa.

The course will focus on developing effective teaching methods using technology. Teachers will also have to do various assignments and tasks and achieve a minimum of 50% to pass the course. All successful participants will receive a certificate of completion from the WSoE.

“Our vision is that the partnership will allow WSoE to extend and diversify the reach of their current offerings through GetSmarter’s industry-leading online education competencies. By leveraging the unique competencies of these two respected institutions, it is our hope that this partnership we will prove a new model for effective, accessible and research-driven teacher education in Southern Africa,” concluded Paddock.

[Source – Kobus Van Wyk]