Page 3 - RE-EVALUATING THE ICT EQUATION: Meeting the digital divide halfway

INTRODUCTION

“We cannot wait for Government

to come up with solutions”

(S.L. Chalufu, personal communication, July 4, 2020)

Words of wisdom from an esteemed colleague during a recent critical discussion. Conversation
elaborated further, that various options exist within the realm of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) that can indeed answer our call to deliver effective and impactful remote Continued
Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) that is within reach of educators in rural Mpumalanga with
limited digital access. A barrier to computer and internet access does exist, but most South Africans
have a television, radio and mobile phones, with over 60% owning smart phones (South African
Institute of Race Relations [IRR], 2020).

COVID-19 has certainly exposed the information gap that exists in our country (IRR, 2020), but we
cannot allow this to detract from our positive forward momentum. It is up to us as a Non-profit
Organisation (NGO), in service of both our educator beneficiaries and our corporate donors, to
expand our awareness of ICT, embracing the full scope of devices and resources available to us. We
need to collaborate in finding innovative ways to maximise the resources at our disposal right now.
Not all ICT possibilities are available to all of us, but I propose that we fully utilise what we do have to
realise a new learning ecosystem where a culture of optimism exists - where people are empowered
and engaged, where technology is embraced and relevant content comes to life.

(Source)