Most classrooms in South Africa have over 50 learners per class with one teacher having to give enough attention to each child. This is impossible in most cases resulting in some children being left behind.
2020 has added additional strain to this already tenuous situation with teachers and parents now having to help learners to catch-up on teaching time lost during the lockdown period.
Telkom is proud to announce a complete online education solution n for learners through the Lightbulb Education platform that can be used seamlessly between school and home.
Lightbulb Education focuses on the goals of the learner and creates a path to achieve this goal through a personalised learning journey.
Allan Mushabe, CEO and founder of Lightbulb Education, says that technology is transforming the way we learn exponentially and this partnership with Telkom ushers a new innovative approach to digital education and training.
Currently learners, teachers, and parents are using a combination of platforms and material to continue learning at home and to catch-up on the curriculum. Lightbulb Education combines these learning experiences onto one platform. The platform focuses on mathematics and the sciences for Grade 10 to Grade 12 learners with the addition of Grades 7 – 9 on 1 August 2020.
“True to our brand promise of leaving no man behind, the service is offered for free to Telkom customers and we have also zero-rated data for all Telkom customers which means that all customers can access it for free both on mobile and fixed line products,” says Wanda Mkhize, executive for content at Telkom.
Learners are able to cover specific topics by grade, test themselves, and participate in group tutoring sessions. The platform empowers parents to keep track of their children’s progress through personalised reports and notifications. Teachers can also use the platform to prepare lessons, create tests and assessments, and monitor class progress on learning material.
Telkom has not only partnered with Lightbulb, but has also invested in Lightbulb Education through its FutureMakers investment fund that backs innovative small technology businesses. Telkom believes that entrepreneurs are agents of change and its partnership with Lightbulb Education is testament to this.
The telecomumications giant, Telkom, predicted the future of education and had already started building platforms in response to this. In 2017, Telkom launched BCX Learn; a platform that offered free online educational content and the company believes that Lightbulb Education enhances this offering.
We have long been invested in education as shown by the programmes In the Telkom Foundation where we currently support over 4000 learners. This platform enables us to reach a lot more learners especially after they have lost out on 3 months of schooling due to the lockdown.