SchoolNet SA - Intel Teach to the Future Project

KG Pillay wins “Innovation in Community” Category of Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum Awards

Two South African Teachers, Kumaris Pillay and Victor Ngobeni recently represented South Africa at the Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum Awards in Helsinki Finland.

The event involved three days of networking with 89 teachers from 40 different countries, sharing ideas and discussing the keys to innovation. The highlight of the event was the gala dinner held at the island fortress of Suomenlinna - a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here, awards were presented in three categories: “Innovation in Community”, “Innovation in Collaboration” and “Innovation in Content”.

Our very own Kumaris (KG) Pillay was announced as the winner of the “Innovation in Community” category for his www.mleaner.co.za project. Pillay’s project involved developing a matric maths and physics website - www.mlearner.co.za – that learners can access cheaply on their cellphones.

As one of the three winners of the Worldwide competition, Kumaris will get the chance to visit the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington USA in mid-2008. There he will get to see the latest classroom technology, will talk to people involved in developing software for teachers and schools and he will get to share his own knowledge and expertise.

Victor Ngobeni’s project was also highly regarded by other teachers at the competition. Victor’s project involved taking his learners from a rural part of Limpopo province to visit Tzaneen. After this visit learners typed essays to describe their experiences. Thereafter, one group designed advertisements for local business using software and the other group was linked to two schools in the US to create poems about urban problems.