“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”.

Alvin Toffler

Overview: a work in progress

Legislative mandate: the White Paper on e-Education

National Curriculum Statement

Skills for 21st Century

Thutong and Web 2.0

Communications

Information searching

Space types

The future

Broad Principles of the White Paper

improve systemic efficiency

redress inequalities

widen access to high quality, relevant and diverse resources and

learning opportunities to all teachers and learners

expose all learners, in advantaged and disadvantaged areas, to

enriched educational experiences

provide to all learners and teachers the means of communication

and collaboration to enhance teaching and learning

give all learners the opportunities to excel in a 21st century

environment

Six Pillars of the White Paper

infrastructure in all schools and for all support personnel including maintenance, sustainability, security, technical support and initial training

connectivity to all schools, FET Colleges and district offices to a closed network linked to the Internet

ongoing professional development (teacher training and teacher development programmes) for teachers, principals and support personnel

maintenance and further development of the Education Portal and content development

research, monitoring and evaluation

Community involvement

Operational principles of the White Paper

long-term growth

responsive to curriculum and teacher/learner demands

relevant, quality learning and teaching support material

content that is relevant to the lives and learning context of South

Africa - content for learners and educators from disadvantaged

schools and particularly rural areas

safe space for communication and collaboration

at no cost to end-users

Principles of the National Curriculum

Social transformation

Outcomes-based education

High knowledge and high skills

Integration and applied competence

Progression

Articulation and portability

Human rights, inclusivity, environmental and social

justice

Valuing indigenous knowledge systems

Credibility, quality and efficiency

Critical Outcomes in the National Curriculum

Problem solving, decision making, critical and creative thinking

Work effectively in a team

Organise and manage themselves and their activities

Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information

Communicate effectively

Use science and technology effectively

Understanding that the world is a set of related systems

Variety of learning strategies

21st Century Skills: (enGauge)

Digital-Age LiteracyBasic, scientific, economic, ICT and technological literacies

Visual and information literacies

Multicultural literacy and global awareness

Effective CommunicationTeaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills

Personal, social, and civic responsibility

Interactive communication

High ProductivityPrioritising, planning, and managing for results

Effective use of real-world tools

Ability to produce relevant, high-quality products

Inventive ThinkingAdaptability and managing complexity

Self-direction

Curiosity, creativity, and

Risk taking

Higher-order thinking and sound reasoning

What is the Thutong Education Portal ?

To provide teachers, school managers and administrators, and national and provincial education officials access to high quality resources and information of direct and specific relevance to the South African National Curriculum Statement and associated education policies.

To ensure ease of use, enabling users to find what they need in the most intuitive ways possible.

To create strong and vibrant online communities of practice amongst the above target audiences.

To facilitate discussion and sharing of information and ideas amongst peer networks.

To encourage South African teachers to develop and improve education by sharing the country‟s common intellectual capital.

New vision and Web 2.0

dedicated spaces in ways that are intuitively logical to the primary

target audience of teachers

communication tools

comprehensive search facilities

resource sharing opportunities

Communication Collaboration Creativity

Thutong Resource Statistics

April - 10 816

May - 11 366

June - 12 575

July - 12 716

August - 13 020

1081611366

12575 12716 13020

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Thutong Member Statistics

April - 1117

May - 1893

June - 2314

July - 2721

August - 3436

September - 44001117

1893

2314

2721

3436

4400

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Home Page and registration

Curriculum and Examinations

Typical Learning Space

Communication tools

This facility displays a list of main topics for that learning area/subject,

with the ability to view results for that topic or filter further by selecting a

sub-topic to view linked resources.

Topic Search

Users have the option of choosing one of the resource types to filter

results, after which the search moves on to searching by Topics.

Resource Type Search

This searches keywords defined for individual resources. It uses what

is known as a „folksonomy‟, or collaborative tagging, where users can

collaboratively create and manage tags to annotate and categorize

resources.

Keyword (tag) Search

This search facility displays a list of outcomes specific to the

subjects/learning areas in an identified learning space.

Learning Outcomes Search

Search results

1 The Name/Title of the resource, which acts as a hyperlink to the Resource itself.

2 A truncated version of the document‟s abstract or description. No more than 200 characters are

revealed in the results summary.

3 The URL if it is a link to a resource on another web site.

4 A link to „View Resource Details‟

5 Media type (.doc; xls, ppt, link)

6 Resource Pool (DoE acquired resources, approved resources, non-assured resources)

7 Ability to “Add to Favourites”

8 Ability to “Add comment”

9 Star rating

Resource Sharing

Only available to

Learning Space Manager

Professional Development

Education Administration

Education Management

Other spaces – we are growing!

Enviro Space

Kids Space

Foundations for Learning Space

Matric Help Space

Dinaledi Schools Space

School Safety Space

Enrichment Space

Reading and Literacy Space

Rural Schools/Multigrade Classroom Space

2010 Soccer Space

Correctional Services Space

Early Childhood Development Space

Subject Advisors ICT Space

Curriculum Management Committee Space

School Governing Body Space

Partnerships Space

Gallery Space

Non-Official Languages Space

Special Days Space

Overview: a work in progress

Legislative mandate: the White Paper on e-Education

National Curriculum Statement

Skills for 21st Century

Thutong and Web 2.0

Communications

Information searching

Space types

The future

So… please become part of the Thutong Community

Joy Rosario

Department of Education

rosario.j@doe.gov.za

http://www.thutong.org.za