E-Lapa and Free State Department of Education

This project, called the e-LAPA project, is expected to deliver fast gains and should demonstrate best practice for the implementation of e-Education in the province and through the exhibition of the educator and learner web based learning and teaching activities at an international level in London in January 2005.

The LAPA Project contributes to the implementation of e-Education and e-Learning in particular in the following ways: The White Paper on E-Education (September 2003) has the following six objectives and the LAPA project contributes to all of the 6 objectives and the 7th objective that was added by the HEDCOM Sub-Committee on ICT on 26 June 2004.

Training is offered

The e-Lapa Project will contribute to this objective because the principal and educators in the 10 project schools will receive training as well as the district staff that are involved with the delivery of the project. At provincial level there will be a transfer of skills regarding the establishment of Web-based learning and teaching systems. Learners and educators will acquire the knowledge and skills to integrate the use of ICT and other multi media resources into learning and teaching classroom practices. The training model (Annexure C) (basic key board and mouse skills, keyboard competency, white board and note-book use, selected models from the ICDL, basic information research skills followed by INTEL supported with intensive web based training) will be tested.

Web based learning and teaching lesson plans are available

The e-Lapa Project will contribute to this objective because educators and learners from the 10 schools will be developing learning and teaching content through the use of ICT and the sharing of these through the Web. This is also the material that will be exhibited in London in January 2005. Relevant district staff will be involved in these developments and in so doing the office based educators will be contributing and learning in the process.

Hardware and software are rolled out

The e-Lapa Project will contribute to this objective because the provincial office that is responsible for the roll out of software and hardware to schools, will evaluate the existing hardware and software to establish the gaps that have to filled to make existing computor centres adequate for the implementation of e-learning as these centres were established before the White Paper was developed. This will assist in the planning processes for the future roll out of hard- and software and building up a common understanding of best practice models. The hard- and software should accommodate Web based learning and teaching.

Internet and E-mail connections are in place

The e-Lapa Project will contribute to this objective because the 10 project schools need to be connected and this will require a support system from province, to district to school which will build up valuable experience in ensuring connectivity before going to scale with the roll out of e-learning to all Free State schools. Furthermore one school that is lying in an area where access to dedicated lines for Internet and e-mail is a problem will be included so that negotiations with relevant parties can start to ensure that all our schools can be connected in future.

Community has access to FS DoE ICT resources

The second phase of the e-Lapa Project (commencing in April 2005) will contribute to this objective by developing a procedure to get the parents and wider community involved in the use of the school based computor centre, with district and provincial roles and responsibilities clarified, including the ERC’s.

Research and Development

The e-Lapa Project will contribute to this objective because:

• the province, district and schools will develop a monitoring and evaluation system for the delivery of e-learning that should be replicable in the future roll out of e-learning
  
• the project will contribute to testing out the best procedure for ensuring quality of the training programs supporting the roll out of e-learning strategies (proposed model attached as Annexure D)
  
• the project will offer an opportunity to learn systemic lessons regarding the contribution of partnership projects like the Professional Working Groups of the Flemish Project and the role of the Education Resource Centres as modes of delivery for the implementation of elements of e-learning in the 10 schools
  
• the project will assist in developing a framework for a baseline research to inform monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of e-learning.

Implementation of e-learning in classroom practice

The e-Lapa Project will also contribute to this objective because the project will deliver web based learning and teaching content in designated learning areas. The curriculum directorate will be requested to participate at school, district and provincial level in the development of the learning content in the relevant learning areas and the classroom implementation thereof. This will enable the department to design a process that could be used in the implementation of e-learning in all learning areas in GET and the learning fields in the FET Schools. The lessons learnt will be fed in through the ICT Theme Teams and its supporting structures.

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