The City of Johannesburg’s drive to accelerate the use of technology as a means to facilitate and promote learning and literacy received a major boost at the launch of the e-Learning project on Friday, 27 March 2015, at the Sandton Library.
This launch coincided with SA Library Week. The theme “Connect @ your Library” speaks to the Smart Citizen Programme that will see the City, not only connecting people to the library, but also linking them to the global world through WIFI and Internet access at libraries.
The launch of the eLearning project is significant for Johannesburg as it is not only about free access to the Internet, but also supports one of the City’s objectives of supporting schools and lifelong learning.
Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Community Development in Johannesburg, Chris Vondo, says this launch is one of the highlights of the City’s Smart City Strategy.
“The Smart City Strategy is designed to bridge the digital divide in Johannesburg by providing technology and free access to electronic information resources to all communities. It also promotes e-Government initiatives which encourage meaningful participatory governance between the City and its citizens.”
Vondo added that the roll-out of the e-learning programme will be in 30 libraries. He says the programme roll-out, in partnership, with partners such as Think Ahead, is significant because it is an important aspect of human and social development designed to unlock true human potential. “Early Childhood Education, Adult Basic Education and support to schools and libraries are important building blocks to ensure that long-term barriers to education and learning are significantly reduced.”
Therefore, in this sense, the e-learning programme is a platform to bridge the digital divide. E-learning occurs either within a formal classroom environment or virtual access to learning material. It can be self-paced or tutor based, and some of its benefits includes:
* Providing flexible learning – students determine where and when to study, not restricted by physical location and set lessons times.
* Elimination of high material costs for students, and therefore contributes to a more cost effective learning solution. This opens up the opportunity for more people to study and improve their skills, especially those from disadvantaged communities.
* Allows access to learning content from PCs, laptops, tablets and smart phones.
* Supports all learning levels such as pre-school, tertiary, adult basic education, informal skills development and life-long learning.
The target audience is all citizens of the City, with focus on youth and school going children. The goals are to:
* Improve techno-literacy skills of communities so as to bridge the digital divide.
* Empower the communities by providing access to online information resources and other global information resources by all sectors of the community – enabling the communities to participate in the global/knowledge economy.
* Enhance learning by providing additional opportunities for both formal and informal learning.
* Provide e-learning as a vehicle for realising lifelong learning, and increase the scope of learning to everyone from early childhood to adult learning.
This launch further demonstrates the City’s commitment to its citizens, of all ages, to support their need for information, education and lifelong e-learning. The programme’s implementation is a realisation of some of the tenets of the City’s Jo’burg 2040 Growth & Development Strategy (Joburg2040GDS).