In a bid to bridge the existing digital divide in Africa, Intel is gradually enabling an educational revolution that will ensure that Africans enjoy the benefits of a mobile e-learning environment. After a successful launch of the Intel powered classmate PC in Nigeria last year, and a commitment to train over 150,000 Nigerian educators this year, Intel has further taken a similar bold step in driving e-learning in South Africa. According to a statement made available to THISDAY, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka joined by the Gauteng Department of Education MEC Angie Motshekga will usher an innovative world of mobile e-learning and at the same time plot the course for the future of corporate social investment in South Africa.


The sttaement disclosed that a township school in Mabopane ,Gauteng ,South Africa will take the first tentative steps into this programme. The Abel T Motshoane High School in Mabopane is the site of a pilot project for the Intel-powered classmate PC mobile e-learning solution, a collaborative initiative between the Gauteng Department of Education and key industry players. This will be the first deployment of a mobile e-learning environment in South Africa using the classmate PC as well as the first school in the country to make use of the new WiMAX wireless broadband access technology. Two Grade 8 classes of the school, which serves a total of about 1000 students, will receive specially designed classmate PCs, providing students and teachers with access to technology in an effort to improve the education process and enhance the skills of learners. The classmate PCs are completely mobile units that that are capable of networking wirelessly both with the school's network infrastructure as well as with the Internet via WiMAX, providing students and teachers with access to a rich set of tools for enhanced learning.


It will be recalled that Nigeria had emerged as the first point of call for the unveiling of Intel's pilot project geared at making ICT available for Nigerian students with the provision of a fully-functional electronic classroom by Intel. The project which took off in Abuja featured the newly developed Intel Classmate PC helping Nigerian pupils to benefit from an e-learning environment which is both collaborative and affordable. The project was considered so important by Nigerian authorities that it received the support of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Capital Territory Authority which decided to collaborate with Intel on the project. At the launch of the project back then , the Ministry of Education had described the Classroom PC project as an opportunity to be cultivated and encouraged to assist the country in bridging the digital divide in Nigeria .

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The Classmate PC is designed by Intel's Platform Definition Centre. A complete solution with integrated software and hardware delivers an end-to-end solution for education involving students, parents, teachers and schools in a student-friendly form that will enhance learning with minimal IT infrastructure and at an affordable price. Key to the Classmate PC is Teacher Control which allows teachers to assemble and take control of a wireless virtual classroom.

Features of the classmate PCs include rugged design, teacher and parent control to monitor the students' activities and theft control which render the units unusable should they be removed from the school's network environment. The units are powered by Intel processors, full networking capabilities, Microsoft Windows XP operating system and access to rich educational content. The Gauteng Department of Education will appoint and place up to 1000 Learners and Interns over a three-year period. Fifty young IT people across the Province have been given an opportunity to be part of this ground breaking programme by being offered internships up to now. These young people will provide IT support to Abel T Motshoane High School, already seven of them have been allocated to the school.

Says Devan Naidoo, Intel South Africa Country Manager, "What is particularly unique with this project is not only the fact that it is the first time that the classmate PC pilot has been launched in this country but also that it is the first collaborative corporate social investment (CSI) project in South Africa." In the case of Abel T Motshoane High School, the Gauteng Department of Education partnered with D-Link, EMS Industrial, IBM, Intel, LearnThings Africa, Microsoft, Mindset, Pinnacle Micro and Telkom Foundation to roll-out a complete end-to-end solution that encompasses all aspects of ICT and education from the hardware, connectivity and educational content all the way to providing teachers with the training to gain the most benefit from the solution. The Country Manager of Intel Nigeria , David Ibhawoh, noted that the Intel World Ahead Programme, is "accelerating access to uncompromised technology for many people in Nigeria and indeed the entire African continent. We are holding hands with Government to integrate technology into the classrooms.