The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) is committed to making inclusive learning and teaching a reality by partnering with Bona Africa to train educators teaching visually impaired and blind learners in coding and robotics. This initiative is part of the Teacher Union Collaboration (TUC) programme, which aims to complement the Department of Basic Education in training teachers on skills for a changing world.
Sadtu has already successfully trained almost 16,000 teachers in mainstream schools in coding and robotics. Now, they are extending this training to educators in schools for the visually impaired. Through their Curtis Nkondo Professional Development Institute and Ubuntu Africa, Sadtu is conducting a series of 16 workshops in September, aimed at reaching 600 teachers from schools for the visually impaired across all nine provinces.
The workshops have already been conducted in special needs schools in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape provinces, and have been well-received by visually impaired teachers. This training will not only benefit the teachers but also have a positive impact on the visually impaired learners by opening up a world of opportunities for them.
Sadtu’s general secretary, Mugwena Maluleke, highlighted the importance of providing coding and robotics training to teachers and learners from schools for the visually impaired. He emphasized the need for an inclusive education system that ensures no one is left behind. The aim is to ensure that all learners, regardless of their abilities, benefit from innovation and the ever-changing skills required for the future.
The content for this training is provided by Bona Africa, a collaboration between Tangible Africa and Bona uBuntu. The training materials have been designed to be accessible to the blind, with tactile tokens and braille materials for the visually impaired learners.
Tangible Africa, the organization behind Bona Africa, is committed to bridging the digital divide and making coding more inclusive for visually impaired young people. Professor Jean Greyling, the founder of Tangible Africa and head of the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department, believes in the power of coding education to empower all learners, regardless of their physical abilities.
Sadtu and Bona Africa will be hosting a workshop at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni on Thursday to demonstrate this inclusive training. By equipping teachers with the necessary skills and resources, Sadtu is taking a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and accessible education system in South Africa.
Sources:
– Article: The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) is making inclusive learning and teaching a reality.
– Image: Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni.