05 August 2004
Students magnify SA's telecommunications history on the web
Multimedia is the teaching tool of the future, Phumelele Ntombela-Nzimande, the Acting Director General of Communications, said today.
Speaking at the launch of Telkom's ''10 Years of Dialogue website,'' Ntombela Nzimande said the use of audio, video, text, animation and graphics would in future be tools that engage learners and help individuals and organisations achieve communication objectives.
''In the African context, multimedia allows ordinary South Africans to relay stories to the world, and improve global perceptions on Africa,'' Ntombela-Nzimande said.
Telkom commissioned the Department of Journalism at Rhodes University to develop a website to celebrate the role that telecommunications has played in South Africa's first ten years of democracy. The project, which has been called ''10 Years of Dialogue,'' will go live on Wednesday next week. It took eight weeks to complete.
As a market leader in the ICT industry, Telkom achieved many milestones over the past decade. Telkom invested in a digital network, which brought communication to millions of South Africans. Telkom was the first in the world to introduce fixed-line prepaid services to its customers. Telkom also spearheaded the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE submarine cable project - known as Afrolinque - connects Africa with Europe and Asia.
The scope of the website project required students from journalism and computer disciplines to work together. This provided the students an opportunity to develop a much wider knowledge base than just the chosen discipline. The challenge was to develop rich multi-media content that could be viewed over relatively narrow band access to the Internet.
The students said multimedia helps communicators improve the authenticity of stories and the potential of reaching larger audiences.
Student Vincent Maher said: ''Multimedia breaks down the traditional notion being a journalist. The multimedia environment, which deploys Internet-rich applications in a variable bandwidth environment, allows the storyteller to develop new narrative forms and retell stories.''
Design Lecturer Brian Garman said working in a multimedia environment teaches learners teamwork, and promotes an understanding of how programmers and their audiences work. It also retrains students about the nature of story-telling and challenges them to offer the best combination of media for a particular story.
Garman said:''The website is pitched at a youthful audience who enjoy enlightenment on communications technologies. It is active, lively, fun, interactive and contains interesting historical facts.''
Amanda Singleton, Group Executive: Corporate Communication at Telkom SA Limited, said: ''The website serves as an added platform to highlight Telkom's achievements over the past decade, reflecting the company's transformation from a parastatal to a world-class communications company.'' ''10 Years of Dialogue is a major contribution to the story of communication in South Africa, Singleton concluded.
<hr noshade size="1">
Umm from the first paragraph, Phumelele Ntombela-Nzimande says Multimedia is the teaching tool fo the future [:0] Its being widely used today... thats right TODAY!!! Many surgical procedures are being conducted using this technology as well... come on, WAKE UP... we need good affordable broadband internet to be able to make use of this technology... NOW
Students magnify SA's telecommunications history on the web
Multimedia is the teaching tool of the future, Phumelele Ntombela-Nzimande, the Acting Director General of Communications, said today.
Speaking at the launch of Telkom's ''10 Years of Dialogue website,'' Ntombela Nzimande said the use of audio, video, text, animation and graphics would in future be tools that engage learners and help individuals and organisations achieve communication objectives.
''In the African context, multimedia allows ordinary South Africans to relay stories to the world, and improve global perceptions on Africa,'' Ntombela-Nzimande said.
Telkom commissioned the Department of Journalism at Rhodes University to develop a website to celebrate the role that telecommunications has played in South Africa's first ten years of democracy. The project, which has been called ''10 Years of Dialogue,'' will go live on Wednesday next week. It took eight weeks to complete.
As a market leader in the ICT industry, Telkom achieved many milestones over the past decade. Telkom invested in a digital network, which brought communication to millions of South Africans. Telkom was the first in the world to introduce fixed-line prepaid services to its customers. Telkom also spearheaded the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE submarine cable project - known as Afrolinque - connects Africa with Europe and Asia.
The scope of the website project required students from journalism and computer disciplines to work together. This provided the students an opportunity to develop a much wider knowledge base than just the chosen discipline. The challenge was to develop rich multi-media content that could be viewed over relatively narrow band access to the Internet.
The students said multimedia helps communicators improve the authenticity of stories and the potential of reaching larger audiences.
Student Vincent Maher said: ''Multimedia breaks down the traditional notion being a journalist. The multimedia environment, which deploys Internet-rich applications in a variable bandwidth environment, allows the storyteller to develop new narrative forms and retell stories.''
Design Lecturer Brian Garman said working in a multimedia environment teaches learners teamwork, and promotes an understanding of how programmers and their audiences work. It also retrains students about the nature of story-telling and challenges them to offer the best combination of media for a particular story.
Garman said:''The website is pitched at a youthful audience who enjoy enlightenment on communications technologies. It is active, lively, fun, interactive and contains interesting historical facts.''
Amanda Singleton, Group Executive: Corporate Communication at Telkom SA Limited, said: ''The website serves as an added platform to highlight Telkom's achievements over the past decade, reflecting the company's transformation from a parastatal to a world-class communications company.'' ''10 Years of Dialogue is a major contribution to the story of communication in South Africa, Singleton concluded.
<hr noshade size="1">
Umm from the first paragraph, Phumelele Ntombela-Nzimande says Multimedia is the teaching tool fo the future [:0] Its being widely used today... thats right TODAY!!! Many surgical procedures are being conducted using this technology as well... come on, WAKE UP... we need good affordable broadband internet to be able to make use of this technology... NOW
