SA’s top ICT teacher named
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – A LIMPOPO teacher has been named the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) Super Teacher of the Year for 2015.
Tinny Molepo of Mothibedi Combined School was she was adjudged the teacher who had used newly-acquired ICT knowledge in a way that had made the most positive impact on learners, her colleagues and her community.
Molepo’s project, called “Techno reading goes viral through Skype”, is about teaching Grades 3 to 6 learners how to use ICT skills to boost their command of the basic but key skills of reading and writing.
According to judges, the project was especially worthwhile in that it enabled learners to communicate in real time with an American philanthropist who had previously donated books to Mothibedi Combined School.
Fiona Wallace, CEO of organisers and ICT in education advocates, CoZa Cares Foundation, Molepo continued the proud tradition of Limpopo teachers featuring strongly in one of South Africa’s leading ICT in education awards.
“”Tinny, as the well-deserved ISPA SuperTeacher of the Year, and her ISPA TechTeacher and ChampTeacher colleagues, are an inspiration to the national teaching community. The three winners demonstrated that technology alone doesn’t produce winners – their perseverance and creativity helped power them right over the finish line,” said Wallace.
Meanwhile, other winners were ISPA TechTeacher of the Year, Matthew Hains of Woodlands International College, and ISPA ChampTeacher of the Year, Mabore Lekalakala of Toronto Primary in Limpopo.
Debbie Schäfer, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education, congratulated the winners.
“We place great value in awards like this as the provincial education department is trying to create an entirely different ethos that is centred on IT in education, and also acknowledges the kind of creativity that we have seen here tonight,” Schäfer said.
Prizes for the competition’s three winners include trophies, sponsored attendance at a national education conference in 2016 and Mustek’s donation of an ES500 BenQ projector and an eBean classroom tool. Teraco and the Foundation for Internet Development sponsored the awards evening in Stellenbosch.
The long-running ISPA SuperTeacher Competition is acknowledged as the foremost ICT in education competition for South African teachers and has been held annually since 2001.
– CAJ News
