St Alban’s College Pretoria, South Africa Africa’s First Virtual Classroom Brings Education to Underprivileged Learners

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Overview

St Alban's College is a private Anglican School for boys from grade 8-12. The college is well-known for producing top students in the fields of science and computer science. St. Alban's is also known for helping communities access education through innovative outreach programs.

Challenge

Teachers at St Alban's wanted to help nearby schools overcome the problems caused by a shortage of qualified teachers and resources through distance collaboration tools. The school wanted to help students avoid spending up to two hours a day commuting from underprivileged schools to more privileged institutions for extra classes.

SMART Solution

SMART Board interactive whiteboards, a private broadband wireless network and other distance education technology.

Result

Students at an underprivileged school will no longer need to travel to St Alban's for science, biology, English and math classes. Students can see, listen to and interact with qualified teachers from St Alban's without leaving their own school. As a result of their success, teachers at St Alban's hope to use distance education to prevent other students in the area from sacrificing time traveling to other schools for classes.

Visit the Ulwazi Project: www.ulwaziproject.co.za