 Hello, welcome to part 6 of the audio tape. We have examined the educational potential of both popular and the most dominant educational medium textbooks. In the last part, we examine a rapidly growing new medium and that is computer technologies. Computer technologies offer huge potential but also some dangers. Let's listen to Tule Tsenye of SchoolNet, John Gultik, Nicky Roberts and Neil Butcher of CEDI. I read in newspapers at the moment all these amazing promises about what computers are going to do for education in this country. The idea that at very low cost you can put computers into every classroom, every school and through those sorts of things you will actually get education to everyone in the country. Do computers actually offer that kind of magic solution to our problems? I do not think that computers on their own can actually bring about differences in teaching and learning. I think it's more about teachers being able to do their work, teachers being able to teach strategically and facilitate lessons properly, etc. So yes, as much as we would be happy that all classrooms are connected but we still feel there is a challenge out there in terms of ensuring that we develop teachers appropriately in using these technologies effectively, etc. I think if you compare the introduction of all technologies in history you will have seen that when radio was introduced it was going to solve the education problems of all of the world and that within 10 or 15 years there were going to be radios in every classroom and teachers wouldn't be necessary. Now I think there's a similar kind of feeling around computers at the moment where you see adverts of build your IQ power, your child won't cope unless they have a computer at home all that kind of thing is contributing to that sense of euphoria of computers are going to solve everything. But I think one of the things that computers does do that's different to technologies that have preceded it is a lawful communication and collaboration and the strength of being able to use the same technology to be able to communicate with either your colleague to ask a district officer when's the next workshop to be able to share your materials with other people as teachers I think is one of the huge advantages of computers. The second then is the other component of the internet which is access to a whole lot of resources and information that is being generated both in South Africa and in other places in the world and having schools gain access to that library of information I think helps tremendously in trying to redress some of the problems of access to information and good resources. From there we obviously need to unpack what constitutes access because what we've discovered is putting a computer in a classroom or in a school principal office doesn't constitute access. What constitutes access is sustainable integration of that technology into the school in a way in which it can be used by the people who are part of the school. We've been doing some work with an NGO working in the Alexander Township called the DevEd Trust in trying to use information technologies to support administration of schools in Alexandra. What they discovered for example is that by providing the administrators of those schools access to computer facilities not only were those schools able to deliver timetables at the beginning of the year in many cases for the first time ever they also found that the person days required to develop those timetables was reduced from about 20 person days to around about one person day per school. If you think about the fact that people generate lessons and tests and then have to update them every year and have to rewrite them from scratch those kind of things are really helped by having your resources on computer and able to update them as and when you need to. Having it in digital form means that you can do that quickly and easily and use it again and again. I think it's really important for individual teachers to be considering what role they can play. Teachers themselves can't just throw up their arms and say well I'm in a school where I don't have any access to a computer there's absolutely nothing I can do and I think there are specific things that teachers can do. It might mean that you're starting just with teachers being encouraged to buy your own computer and see what that does for your administration in terms of managing your workload. From there you could be looking to introduce one or two computers into a school and planning from there on and I would be encouraging any prospective teachers or teachers to be proactive in their approach to gaining access themselves. The other truth about that is that the ones you are proactive are likely to be the ones that also receive the support from organisations like SchoolNet. Those organisations are going to be looking to invest in projects that have the greatest chance of success and so they'll be looking to work with the keen and excited people not the people who feel as if they're being dragged along by something that they actually want to resist. Your CD-ROM also features this interview as well as examples of some of the resources that the speakers have mentioned. Try this medium out if you can get access to a computer with a CD-ROM drive. Well this is the end of the audio tape but continue working in your learning guide. Enjoy.