Mila
Honorary Master
Their books are mostly sponsored
But it was a cold winter and they made "sponsored" fires
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Varsity students can’t read
- Thread starter Balstrome
- Start date
But it was a cold winter and they made "sponsored" fires
I think this report is a bit overly done to be honest, i've never met a varsity student who couldn't read/write. The maths one on the other hand is not surprising.. check with any maths results board at university for 1st yr pure maths.
You sound like a nice rich Joeys person who hangs out at ROSEBANK
WHEN was the last time YOU went to a PUBLIC library
Do you understand that the Libraries have to purchase their books from the same publishing houses that we do ????
Do you understand that they ALSO have to pay the 14% VAT amongst other taxes
Do you understand that their funding for new books has been seriously cut
Do you understand that they are overcrowded because "students" have nowhere else to read and study.
Do you understand that their books are in poor shape because certain "students" take it upon themselves to "scribble" in books -- make notes in books -- tear out pages from books.
This is all true. I had a scheme for cheapo ‘text’ books. Remember the photo magazines of the ‘70’s (Mark Condor, Ruiter in Swart etc.). What about this process? Cheap paper. No colour should be in the master material (more expensive – maybe the cover), rather different patterns of cross-hatching to emphasize contrast in illustrations. The content is generated by the education department (it’s free). Any necessary student research is done at facilities which have an Internet connection (schools, universities?) Books are passed-on to siblings. They also form an affordable kernel for a family library.
semiautomatix
Honorary Master
I tend to disagree. I know not of one reference site where OBE has been successfully implemented. Many countries have attempted to implement OBE and subsequently reverted back to their previous system as a result.
And no, the USA does not count since a large majority of students couldn't name a country in the world beginning with "U".
Maybe if the students stop protesting about anything and concentrate on their studies instead, like heres another one:
http://www.news24.com/Content/South...8-2009 12-08/Wits_protest_over_soldiers_visit
http://www.news24.com/Content/South...8-2009 12-08/Wits_protest_over_soldiers_visit
Kornhub
Blackburn Fan
For the most part I doubt any education system would be a success in South Africa due to the lack of funds for schools + lack of good teachers or any teachers. Really is sad 
You can't blame a kid if he hasn't been taught how to do things.
You can't blame a kid if he hasn't been taught how to do things.wrathex
Expert Member
Education, books and reading.
The basic skill of reading and comprehension can be taught to any child by a parent, and this was done for many years before the world went global/urbanised and before the latest trend which is that teachers, governments & maids raise children and not the parents.
The problem in South Africa is, that the majority previous generation don't have reading skills, and cannot help or assist their children.
This current South African generation is still getting educated, and the generation that are now at school will have children that have parents and grandparents that can read and write.
- this trickledown educational effect should reflect an increase in the pass rate within a decade.
In a modern visual world, where the use of pictograms and symbols are rife, reading words has become a burden to the youth, it takes too much time in a world where instant cash, instant gratification and instant food are king - reading is boring.
How many celebrity or public South Africans have you seen in the media reading or holding a book ?
Today it is television and the internet.
These wonderful visual mediums have replaced the need to read books.
Perhaps soon we will replace the need to actualy write
- you talk and the pc writes it - voice activated technology.
Then we will marvel at the rate of decline in how our children write and talk:
now watch the progress|
Why write when you can type mom ?
a decade goes by
Why type when you can voice mom ?
a decade goes by
Why voice when you can dl mom ?
(directlink - little chip in arm)
Good education policies today are ones that anticipate the changing needs of a technological society, and how to engage and educate the mind of the modern scholar and retain that scholars interest in improvement of the self through education and then later specialist education.
What is the purpose in an overpopulated world, where unemployment and the general outlook on the future is bleak ?
The youth need a goal, an incentive, and what is that goal, that purpose ? What are they working towards ?
Parents expect the school to take all the responsibility.
(when the child fails to read and comprehend)
I say no, this is wrong, the parent is the first and foremost influence and sponsor of the child and it is the parent who sets the framework and expands on that which the child learns from the teacher.
Think of the cellphone revolution, everyone has a cellphone, even the rural goatherd.
- This is the vision I have for the e-reader.
Books are out of date, but a mass produced cheap e-reader could be flooded into areas where the poor need access to information and these cheap devices could provide essential portals to basic education and a database of encyclopedic style information translated into every language there is a demand for.
I am as passionate about giving people free access to basic data, information and communication, as I am passionate about books and reading.
Give people information, give it freely, let the information flow.
We need a radical new approach to education, education should be a joy and be able to engage the young mind in this new visual interactive world of instant global communication.
What worked in the year 1880 and 1950 does not work in the year 2020.
It's really time to make big changes.
Sustainable changes, changes that make education a lifestyle and that challenge our wonderfully technologically adapted children and grandchildren in new ways.
The basic skill of reading and comprehension can be taught to any child by a parent, and this was done for many years before the world went global/urbanised and before the latest trend which is that teachers, governments & maids raise children and not the parents.
The problem in South Africa is, that the majority previous generation don't have reading skills, and cannot help or assist their children.
This current South African generation is still getting educated, and the generation that are now at school will have children that have parents and grandparents that can read and write.
- this trickledown educational effect should reflect an increase in the pass rate within a decade.
In a modern visual world, where the use of pictograms and symbols are rife, reading words has become a burden to the youth, it takes too much time in a world where instant cash, instant gratification and instant food are king - reading is boring.
How many celebrity or public South Africans have you seen in the media reading or holding a book ?
Hold that thought, that era is over.
Today it is television and the internet.
These wonderful visual mediums have replaced the need to read books.
- YouTube
- Mtv
- Dvd/Games
- cellphone
Perhaps soon we will replace the need to actualy write
- you talk and the pc writes it - voice activated technology.
Then we will marvel at the rate of decline in how our children write and talk:
now watch the progress|
Why write when you can type mom ?
a decade goes by
Why type when you can voice mom ?
a decade goes by
Why voice when you can dl mom ?
(directlink - little chip in arm)
Good education policies today are ones that anticipate the changing needs of a technological society, and how to engage and educate the mind of the modern scholar and retain that scholars interest in improvement of the self through education and then later specialist education.
What is the purpose in an overpopulated world, where unemployment and the general outlook on the future is bleak ?
The youth need a goal, an incentive, and what is that goal, that purpose ? What are they working towards ?
Parents expect the school to take all the responsibility.
(when the child fails to read and comprehend)
I say no, this is wrong, the parent is the first and foremost influence and sponsor of the child and it is the parent who sets the framework and expands on that which the child learns from the teacher.
Think of the cellphone revolution, everyone has a cellphone, even the rural goatherd.
- This is the vision I have for the e-reader.
Books are out of date, but a mass produced cheap e-reader could be flooded into areas where the poor need access to information and these cheap devices could provide essential portals to basic education and a database of encyclopedic style information translated into every language there is a demand for.
I am as passionate about giving people free access to basic data, information and communication, as I am passionate about books and reading.
Give people information, give it freely, let the information flow.
We need a radical new approach to education, education should be a joy and be able to engage the young mind in this new visual interactive world of instant global communication.
What worked in the year 1880 and 1950 does not work in the year 2020.
It's really time to make big changes.
Sustainable changes, changes that make education a lifestyle and that challenge our wonderfully technologically adapted children and grandchildren in new ways.
MidnightWizard
Executive Member
Not a fair comparison
Well that is not really fair -- Americans are known to be notoriously ignorant when it comes to Geography. :erm:
But just to satisfy our curiosity why do you not name them
MW
Well that is not really fair -- Americans are known to be notoriously ignorant when it comes to Geography. :erm:
But just to satisfy our curiosity why do you not name them
MW
Morgoth
Executive Member
so those of us at varsity who can read spell and write a bunch of crap on a essay paper are overachievers?
Like I said in a previous thread, the reason why most new curriculum lab rats can't spell is due to the fact that we were never taught to spell via syllables, we were indoctrinated wrongly since grade 1.... Those of us who read a bit and trained ourselves to go back to the old way eventually managed to spell better.
And yes Technology plays a big role in it as well.
Like I said in a previous thread, the reason why most new curriculum lab rats can't spell is due to the fact that we were never taught to spell via syllables, we were indoctrinated wrongly since grade 1.... Those of us who read a bit and trained ourselves to go back to the old way eventually managed to spell better.
And yes Technology plays a big role in it as well.
Last edited:
MidnightWizard
Executive Member
Reality
The mobile is ubiquitous because it is USEFUL to the user / owner.
Would an e-reader fulfill the same role
Build the e-reader into the phone or vice-versa it is then also less likely to get lost / broken / never used / dropped into water.
MW
The mobile is ubiquitous because it is USEFUL to the user / owner.
Would an e-reader fulfill the same role
Build the e-reader into the phone or vice-versa it is then also less likely to get lost / broken / never used / dropped into water.
MW
gboy
Expert Member
i am a 4th year varsity student and my spelling is not good at all. not that i am proud of it, but you cant generalize.
Mila
Honorary Master
Oke i understand e reader.. but you have to have a computer or a fancy cell to be able to use that.
I think the fact stays that varsity was never cheap. Back in good old apartheids time only the rich and clever got to go. Life is not fair deal with it.
Despite my lily white skin my mom and dad did not plan and my skin too white to get a bursary , I did not go and burn down the Varsity. So i had to work for what i have.
Lets have a bit perspective:
I think the fact stays that varsity was never cheap. Back in good old apartheids time only the rich and clever got to go. Life is not fair deal with it.
Despite my lily white skin my mom and dad did not plan and my skin too white to get a bursary , I did not go and burn down the Varsity. So i had to work for what i have.
Lets have a bit perspective:
general_koffi
Expert Member
ROFL
I cannot be liking to imagine where he gets it from.
I love this forum...
wrathex
Expert Member
Make reading Hip2Bsquare 2
Thanks Mila, nice quote hehe.
I came from a below middleclass family, started working before I turned 16.
Oh and about the e-reader (or e-tablet) it will be a light cheap device that can be solar charged and will be wirelessly connected for free to Educational/Informational Portals online, access to other/entertainment/luxury internet services can be paid for.
This A5 sized tablet will be mass produced and sponsored by Telecommunications/IT companies, who through their sponsoring of this tablet can promote/advertise services that more advanced users will be willing to pay for.
I would rather engage/entice the 30 million South Africans that don't have internet or pc's in the above way than ignore them.
Eventually cellphones and internet access will unite and one device will be used, whether through the use of holographic keyboards and monitors or as already through other superb handheld devices.
The tablet will not be a pc, it will be a terminal/portal to free educational resources and in the language choice of the user ie Sotho, isiZulu and so on.
Thanks Mila, nice quote hehe.
I came from a below middleclass family, started working before I turned 16.
Oh and about the e-reader (or e-tablet) it will be a light cheap device that can be solar charged and will be wirelessly connected for free to Educational/Informational Portals online, access to other/entertainment/luxury internet services can be paid for.
This A5 sized tablet will be mass produced and sponsored by Telecommunications/IT companies, who through their sponsoring of this tablet can promote/advertise services that more advanced users will be willing to pay for.
I would rather engage/entice the 30 million South Africans that don't have internet or pc's in the above way than ignore them.
Eventually cellphones and internet access will unite and one device will be used, whether through the use of holographic keyboards and monitors or as already through other superb handheld devices.
The tablet will not be a pc, it will be a terminal/portal to free educational resources and in the language choice of the user ie Sotho, isiZulu and so on.
Balstrome
Banned
Care to have guess on the costs of R&D'ing such a project, and getting it out to the public? Not to mention the costs of providing content. It is currently not a viable solution for any company to spend coinage on. At best, you would get a government committee to be formed to look at the system, but that is where it will sit.
Anybody that believes such a device will work in SA is living a pipe dream!!! Anybody that get their hands on these devices will quickly realise that they can sell the device for a quick buck, its parts can be sold for as spares (It must have RAM, hard drive, battery, a solar panel etc…). This is Africa. If the device can be traded for any sort of money or food, believe me it will, even for R5. In Africa even crowbars get broken, what is this thing going to be made out of? Titanium? Come on guys, get serious LOL
It’s a nice idea, but I really can’t picture people living in poverty sitting down under trees quietly using these devices. HAU
rebel998
Expert Member
wrathex
Expert Member
Sponsor a book
Molokai
People said that about cellphones too, in the beginning only the super rich had mobile phones, then the middleclass, now everyone has one, and they're cheap.
I see the same happening with handheld devices/tablets/e-readers/kindles, these tablets already exist, so no research costs are needed, what is needed is a design that uses cheap materials, a typical made in China product.
It will be like the Kindle only cheaper made and it will flood the market and why steal it if you get one free ?
I can see people sitting under the stars on a hill with their tablets, just as much as I can imagine seeing people at cafes using their cellphones.
If companies like Microsoft, Telkom, Vodacom, Nasionale Pers and so on, invested in a project like this - they would be assured of having aquired a new market for their products and services which did not exist before.
Telecommunications (internet/adsl) would be cheaper for all of us, if 40 million of us used the internet instead of the very few users we have currently.
Dare to dream, dare to have a vision, taking information to where it is needed most will be a sustainable permanent gift to the people of this country, a gift that promotes reading and the upliftment/education of our whole society.
This vision is not a pipedream, it is a sustainable and economically viable idea.
If I was given the choice between donating cash into a tincan for welfare, I would choose to invest in the etablet, that way I know it is money well spent that will benefit everyone and not a few fatcats drifting in gravy.
Molokai
People said that about cellphones too, in the beginning only the super rich had mobile phones, then the middleclass, now everyone has one, and they're cheap.
I see the same happening with handheld devices/tablets/e-readers/kindles, these tablets already exist, so no research costs are needed, what is needed is a design that uses cheap materials, a typical made in China product.
It will be like the Kindle only cheaper made and it will flood the market and why steal it if you get one free ?
I can see people sitting under the stars on a hill with their tablets, just as much as I can imagine seeing people at cafes using their cellphones.
If companies like Microsoft, Telkom, Vodacom, Nasionale Pers and so on, invested in a project like this - they would be assured of having aquired a new market for their products and services which did not exist before.
Telecommunications (internet/adsl) would be cheaper for all of us, if 40 million of us used the internet instead of the very few users we have currently.
Dare to dream, dare to have a vision, taking information to where it is needed most will be a sustainable permanent gift to the people of this country, a gift that promotes reading and the upliftment/education of our whole society.
This vision is not a pipedream, it is a sustainable and economically viable idea.
If I was given the choice between donating cash into a tincan for welfare, I would choose to invest in the etablet, that way I know it is money well spent that will benefit everyone and not a few fatcats drifting in gravy.
Logically, if it’s that bad it wouldn’t be proposed. The OBE element tends to be vocationally oriented (more suitable for technikons than universities) although with lecturer effort on evaluation metrics and a decent classification system, it can work. Another aspect is that OBE tends to be called competency based training in other spheres (where it is more successful) and is mainly given in short courses (outside formal education). A good book about it is ‘Handbook for Developing Competency Based Training Programs’ by William E. Blank (ISBN – 0-13-377416-3).