Steve Vosloo has written a paper on contentious subject of mother-tongue education, if, how and when should children be taught to enhance learning in their own language verses a language that will enable them to compete in a larger marketplace are some of the questions tackled. It will inform the work of the Foundation in this area and is currently being reviewed internally before publishing.

The next paper – currently being written – is on gaming and education. In recent years digital games-based learning has received considerable attention as educators attempt to combine the engagement factor of games (video, computer, mobile, etc.) with formal learning outcomes of educational content. Some believe there is not enough evidence that this sweet spot exists; others say that we need to first change the way we evaluate learning in order to find it. The paper will review existing research and current perspectives on this topic to consider the benefits, barriers and potential opportunities that games present for education.

Steve trained six educators on digital hero booking, as part of the next phase of the Digital Hero project. The educators, covering grades 5-7, are from Eikendal Primary and Montagu Gardens Primary schools.

Finally, Steve presented two seminars at UCT: one to highlight research opportunities to masters students in the Information Systems faculty, and the second about digital storytelling.

The majority of the work done over the last month has focussed on understanding and clarifying the educational alignment objective of Kusasa. Strong focus was placed on understanding the the assessment process and the role of the teacher within this process.

The implementation of the existing output in shortlisted schools has continued. This has been essential to maintain the momentum and credibility established over the course of the project.

Evaluation activities are underway and encompass work establishing an outcomes map and on identifying the data we require for an effective evaluation. We are starting to get useful information out of these activities and are pleased to note, amongst other things, that the Western Cape Education Department finds our engagement inclusive, constructive and refreshing.