Previous featured Consortium Members

Learnthings

Learnthings is an education publishing company, deploying the latest high quality, future-proof technology – to deliver innovative content.

At learnthings our mission is to empower and engage through content and training. We have demonstrated this in donating digital content to schools in Africa as part of the NEPAD project. Our content has been translated into French and Portuguese to adhere to the specific needs of schools. In addition to this we have trained teachers on how use our content with great results.

We follow a constructivists approach to teaching and learning which implies that learning is enhanced where learners are actively involved in the learning process. We have trained teachers all over Africa on how to integrate the use of ICTs as a tool to enhance teaching and learning, resulting in learners being more involved in the learning process and teachers inventing fresh ideas in the classroom.

See some comments of the teachers on the workshops:

“ The practical activities we did on the computers were best as they reflected on my progress” teacher at Sechaba High school in Lesotho.

“It has brought a breakthrough in our efforts of empowering and equipping educators with the updates of today’s world…” teacher at Maripe High in Limpopo.

Mecer

Mecer, a division of Mustek Ltd., a Proudly South African manufacturer and distributor of PCs Notebooks and Servers, is responsible for the supply and installation of the PC hardware required for the schools allocated to the Oracle Consortium in Phase One of the NEPAD e-Schools Initiative.

The hardware supplied and installed in each school comprises a fully-operational PC lab which enhances the learning (and teaching) process. Each PC lab consists of the following:
1x Server
1x Educator’s Workstation PC
20x Learner Workstation PCs
1x Multimedia PC (connectivity)
3x Admin PCs
Peripherals (Network software and UPS)

The Mecer team commenced installation on 15 July 2005, and the Phase One programme was completed on schedule by 23 July 2006. PC labs have now been installed in the following schools in the following countries:

OLA Girls Secondary School - Ghana
Achenrensua Secondary School - Ghana
Akomadan Secondary School - Ghana
Lesotho High School - Lesotho
Isiolo High School - Kenya
Mumbi High School - Kenya
Thozamisa Senior Secondary School - South Africa
Lycée Fodie Maguiraga - Mali
Lycée Bocar Cisse - Mali
Lycée Alfred Garçon - Mali
College d’Enseignement Secondare André Gustav Anguille - Gabon
Lycée Richard Nuguema Bekale - Gabon
College d’Enseignement Secondare Mouapa Beotsa - Gabon

MultiChoice

MultiChoice Africa’s participation in the Oracle Consortium is part of a broad community development strategy to leverage MultiChoice assets and expertise for development and growth of African communities in the various countries in which MultiChoice is operating. 

In terms of this strategy community development is not just about handing out money.  Rather, it is about making strategic decisions, often involving our core assets, and working in partnerships with government and business to meet national development priorities, particularly in education. Through these partnerships the MultiChoice Digital Satellite platform is being leveraged into a powerful learning tool that benefits thousands of learners across the continent.

MultiChoice equips each e-school with a digital satellite receiver system, television and recording device and provides access to seven premium channels, including National Geographic, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Animal Planet, BBC World, SABC Africa and Mindset Learn.

These channels are accessed through the DStv Education Bouquet which is made available to e-schools at no cost.  The DStv Education Bouquet provides a rich and varied learning resource that encourages exploration and brings subject matter to life.  It is both a reference source and means to illustrate abstract concepts visually.  The award winning channels cover many fields, are up to date and available throughout the continent. 

To extract maximum value from the content, MultiChoice Africa also provides training and support for teachers to enable them to integrate the content into their teaching programmes. 

While our workplaces are increasingly moving into the information age, we need to ensure that our classrooms keep pace.   MultiChoice is therefore proud to partner with the NEPAD e-Africa Commission and its business partners in the e-Schools Demonstration Project.

DHL

As the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry, DHL specialises in providing innovative and customised solutions from a single source. The company, which is 100% owned by Deutsche Post World Net, offers expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport and logistics solutions, combined with worldwide coverage and an in-depth understanding of local markets. DHL’s international network links more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. With 75,000 vehicles, over 285,000 employees, more than 450 hubs, Warehouses and Terminals, 238 Gateways and around 5,000 offices worldwide, DHL Express serves 4.2 million customers who ship more than 1 billion shipments per annum.

DHL’s participation in the Oracle Consortium included more than arranging and managing the transport of the ICT laboratory equipment from South Africa to the 6 countries; it consisted of  the development, deployment and management of a unique and tailor-made Transport Optimization and Process Management System whereby: -
Prior to departure:

• DHL planned flights
• Booking space on the aircraft
• Making certain that all the requisite paperwork accompanying the shipment was correct to ensure that the shipment left when it was scheduled to leave
• Arranging trunker collections
• The correct marking of each box to ensure that each ICT system went to the school for which it was destined.

On arrival in destination country:

• Ensure the shipment cleared customs in time to be transported to the outlying area
• A challenge in many parts of Africa was the condition of the roads, BUT not a single shipment sustained damage.
• Getting the shipment to the schools when the technicians arrived to ensure that the installation process could continue uninterrupted, in time for launch day.