Driven by the Sustainable Development Goal number 4, which aims to help even more learners access their fundamental human right to quality education,the Snapplify Foundation,iSchoolAfrica and award-winning mountaineer Saray Khumalo are setting up nine digital libraries for disadvantaged schools across South Africa’s nine provinces.
Libraries are portals to knowledge. They give people the opportunity to find jobs, explore medical research, experience new ideas, get lost in wonderful stories. Hence, the not-for-profit organisation foundation will provide digital books and e-resources for the libraries, selecting content according to each school’s unique needs.
Thousands of students will now have access to their own fully-functional school e-library thanks to mobile iPad labs provided by iSchoolAfrica. Each digital library uses Snapplify’s award-winning technology and comes with curated content that targets learners’ particular age group, reading level and interests.
The Snapplify Foundation has also worked closely with its local publishing partners in order to provide mother-tongue language resources for the schools in the programme.
“We know from the research that children are able to grasp concepts easier when they encounter it in their first language and that students find their learning more meaningful when content reflects the world around them. For this reason, the Snapplify Foundation is especially proud to have provided these schools with access to a broad range of local African content,” said Debra Ogilvie-Roodt from the foundation.
Saray Khumalo, Momentum Multiply, Vumatel and Planet Fitness broke the Guinness World Record for the most money raised during an eight-hour stationary cycling event. The funds will go towards the iSchoolAfrica library project.
“iSchoolAfrica focuses on bringing the world’s best technology and classroom practices to under-resourced schools. Our exciting partnership with the Snapplify Foundation, therefore, makes sense, as we strongly believe that our learners deserve the skills and quality support to reach their potential and succeed,” said Michelle Lissoos, Director at iSchoolAfrica.
Earlier this year, iSchoolAfrica supplied iPads to disadvantaged matriculants who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Snapplify Foundation provided e-reading software and a digital library with over 50 000+ free ebooks to the matrics, enabling them to continue learning with easy access to key educational resources.
“The digital skills that these learners will gain while using our technology is an essential part of preparing these students not just for the 21st-century workplace but even more broadly, for their roles in society as digitally empowered citizens. We’ve been excited to be working with a partner like iSchoolAfrica who, like us, recognises the power of technology to impact the future of our youth dramatically,” added Ogilvie-Roodt.
