Unlike some private schools that introduced e-learning pilot projects per grade, we were the first public/government school to do a 100% digital migration. The Provincial Minister of Education (Member of the Executive Committee responsible for Education) in Gauteng, Mr. Andrek Panyaza Lesufi, has now recognized Sunward Park High to be the blueprint for the roll-out of e-learning to 21 schools in Gauteng, South Africa, by January 2015.

SPHS negotiated with publishers (Macmillan/Pearson) to become part of the education revolution by providing 4-year licenses for textbooks at a fraction of the cost of printed books. Parents over the 5-year school cycle will have saved approximately R4300 on textbooks. SPHS had to find a Wi-Fi infrastructure that could stream video to 1500 children simultaneously without imploding at an affordable cost to the school We did not realize at the time of implementation that the ability to stream to this size of user base simultaneously had not been done before.

With most of our kids not having internet access at home to be able to log onto the portal, we enable the system to allow learners to copy and save any digital resource required for the course from the portal as and when required. The SPHS  model has motivated the government to revise and improve on their e-learning strategy and we have now become a training center for hundreds of other educators. Innovation has been ongoing at SPHS. We have identified that in order to drive academic change; we need continuous, automated assessments. However, the limitations of a free resource LMS did not meet our expectations, and this has spurred SPHS to create a unique LMS (learner management system).

The idea of tablets was born after Mrs. Nirvana Skeepers (Financial Controller) had spotted an article in the newspaper about MIB Technology that was doing wonders in rural areas in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN ) Province of South Africa with their offline educational portal using Wi-Fi connectivity. After receiving almost 100% backing from the parent body, during an Annual General Meeting held in mid-October 2012, the actual roll-out plan started. MIB Technology provided us with a holistic solution which included the following:

•Wi-Fi Setup – the company, UC Wireless, installed Ruckus Wi-Fi with 25 Access Points (APs), 3 switches and the zone director. (Cost: R 300 000)

•Server and TYB Portal – the server was installed in an identified server room with its temperature kept around 15 oC using an air conditioner. (Cost: R 90 000)

•Sourcing e-Textbooks – after liaising with different publishers, MacMillan became our main e-textbook supplier while Pearson supplied us with the rest of the books. Both companies were kind to offer us a 4-year license for usage of their e-books. We applied for an LTSM deviation (R400 000) from our GDE Allocation with our district (Ekurhuleni South – D16) which was granted by our District Director (Mr. Jerry Bhagaloo). The School Governing Body ‘loaned’ us R800 000 to cover the R1,2 million needed for the purchase of e-books. Wamark supplied us with Grade 8 & 9 EMS books. Research conducted in 2012 showed that parents were paying between R1 800 – R2 500 each year. To sustain the initiative and to repay the SGB ‘loan’, we introduced an R300 per learner per year e-license fee which then resulted in a big saving on the parents’ side. First downloading of e-books took place within the first week after schools had reopened in January 2014.

•Tablets – we sourced tablets from Asbis and decided to sell them from the school premises. 7–inch tablets were sold at R1 000 and 10-inch at R2 000.

•Internet access for teachers – we dedicated one of the three school’s ADSL lines (8MB) for teachers’ internet access.

•Teacher training – the teachers were trained on the basics of using the portal by November 2012. MIB Technology also provided us with an ICT Champion for one year to ensure maximum usage of the system. Moodle, as a Learning Management System (LMS), was only installed at a later stage after we had done research on it. It is used by teachers to prepare and deliver their lessons. This process involves linking or embedding all the resources to be used in a particular lesson on one platform. To force everyone to use the system we introduced compulsory 5-minute pre-tests. This means that all our daily lessons start with these tests, marked by the system and results immediately available after 5 minutes. The initial moodle training was attended by our own 5 ICT Champions who then came back and trained the rest of the staff. Whenever training needs arise, this team trains the staff.

In June 2012 we had been looking at introducing tablets or iPads when we read an article featuring MIB Technology and some ICT solutions they ’d been installing in rural KwaZulu-Natal Province. We liked what they were doing and invited them to present a proposal for the school. They devised a solution that used tablets and a portal with resources loaded onto a server-a digital library including Learning Channel videos, web books and other digital learning content that would all be fed through a Wi-Fi hot spot covering the school. The digital library also stores past exam papers and marking memos, content from National Geographic, Wikipedia, TED Talks, material from the Massachusets Institute of Technology and further content from the Royal Society of Chemistry and Mindset Learn is on the way. Some parents opted to supply their own devices, in which case they pay only the R300 license fee.

Students were first addressed about the school's intentions and all the parents to vote for innovation which they did in an overwhelming majority for the digital system. Sunward Park negotiated aggressively with textbook publishers and benefited from an early-mover advantage. Macmillan was the first publishing house to agree to send us content in digital format. They agreed to a substantial discount, but to fulfill the requirements of the Gauteng Department of Education catalog we also had to source funds elsewhere. Pearson agreed to fill the holes and we managed to negotiate an affordable complete package. In fact, the publishers offered us a four-year license for each book, which means the price of each textbook is effectively 25% of what it was. Replacing textbooks with eBooks did not only solve the logistics but also provided a green footprint in content delivery.

Both learners and teachers have really embraced the system to such a way that the school has received a nod from the Provincial Minister of Education in Gauteng, Mr. Andrek Panyaza Lesufi. His involvement in the project led to Sunward Park High School becoming a blueprint for e-learning in the country. The school is starting to produce learners with 21st-century skills that will compete globally with the rest of the world. Parents have saved approximately R4300 on textbooks over the five-year school cycle. SPHS also has a Wi-Fi infrastructure that could stream video to 1500 children simultaneously without imploding at an affordable cost to the school. This project has motivated the government to revise and improve on their e-learning strategy; Sunward Park High School has become a training center for hundreds of other educators.

The challenges were immense. We had poor products, in terms of connectivity Wi-Fi Connectivity was an issue, it wasn’t reliable. The tablet quality was also an issue. During the implementation phase; several tablets were broken and had to be replaced. There was a lack of e-books. The school acted on the challenges, though. We have created our own e-books.

Central to the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning is the training of teachers in various ICT competencies. The provision of ICT support has been in the form of connectivity, ICT infrastructure, multimedia content, and teacher training in ICT skills, all of which have contributed towards achieving the goals of the project.

The Sunward Park High School e-learning project has created a stir, not only for the Gauteng Department of Education but the entire country. The Provincial Minister of Education, Mr.Andrek Panyaza Lesufi launched 5+2 schools in January 2015 and 375 schools in July 2015. His vision is that every learner has a tablet, with e-books and e-resources. Soon the entire province and the entire country will embrace e-learning. Some of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member Countries have shown a keen interest in the innovation and many big Corporate’s has shown a keen interest to support the Provincial Minister of Education in schools.

E-Learning is premised on the availability of power and we have learned that a backup power system is critical to ensure no interruption of learning. Currently, Sunward Park High School is investigating solar power and other forms of alternative energy systems. The magic recipe in the implementation of this project is training, training and more training. Technology is the easiest way to bridge the gap between the haves and the have not’s. We can learn from learners as they are naturally techno-savvy. A paradigm shift is required by teachers from the traditional teaching model. We have learned that any dream and the shared idea can be realized through visionary leadership, commitment, dedication and collaboration by all stakeholders - the sky is the limit.

In 2012/2013, for example, the school achieved 98% and 98.5 % pass rate with 60% exemption rate. One of the matriculants achieved 10 distinctions and in 2014 the school had top learners who got 5 distinctions. The university rates were around 55-65% over the 3 years. The school has never gone below the 90% pass rate. In short, the school has had good results over the years. The usage of tablets has allowed and ensured that there is collaborative teaching and learning. Our learners are learning from our teachers and the teachers are also learning from their learners. All staff with internet access at home have access to the school’s educational portal. These are some of few successes of our initiative as a school.