by Hugh C.n. Miller | Oct 23, 2019 | Uncategorized
Ariellah Rosenberg, ORT SA CEO welcomes guests to an end-of-year event:
“Welcome to ORT SA, members of the department of education, dear trustees of STET (Support Teacher Empowerment Trust), dear teachers and schools representatives, dear learners. We are happy to share with you this special occasion.
Today we are celebrating the achievement of completion of this STET funded Maths and Coding programme. With 81 teachers, impacting almost 4000 learners and the commitment of 15 student teachers dedicated to become part of the teaching profession.
To be a part of the ORT SA programmes, it requires dedication: the extra hours you have dedicated to learning, coaching and support in the classroom and the aptitude of a growth mindset as well as being open to constructive criticism.
We thank you for the opportunity to have taught you. When one teaches, two learn. ORT SA’s mission is not only to impart professional techniques, knowledge and skills in coding or math but I believe, to prepare you to continue learning and empowering yourselves, and then paying it forward by mentoring or coaching another fellow teacher or learner. That is our mission which we hope we have accomplished.
ORT turns 140 next year. ORT is an organisation, an institution and an idea. It is the idea that people must be autonomous in order to live a dignified life and that in order to achieve that autonomy one needs education, above all. Therefore, although ORT in each country and in each era adopts different forms, its spirit is the same – providing a quality education that allows people to access a dignified and independent life.
As the great Isaac Asimov said: “education is not something that one can finish.” We must prepare to live in a society in which learning will occur throughout life, in all places and at all times. We never know what changing technology and continuous learning will take, but we know that we will all have to learn and keep learning continuously.
Jorge Grunberg, the rector of ORT Uruguay University, said that the threat in this new world is not free trade or immigrants or robots. The threat in this new world is ignorance. Ignorance is the great barrier to cross into the 21st century.
An ignorant nation cannot be free. To neglect our education is to neglect our freedom and our prosperity. An ignorant nation is dominated by charlatans and demagogues. It is not our assets that will project us into the future, but what we do to cultivate the intelligence and potential of our youth.
I would like to thank Ricci and the STET trustees for believing in our mission and Moabi from DOE District supporting this incredible project. To our dedicated and passionate STEM team working tirelessly to ensure we achieve excellence in all that we do. And to all of you here today. Find your own path, but know that ORT will always be your home.”
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Feb 21, 2019 | Old News
Ariellah Rosenberg, CEO of ORT SA writes about how to prepare ourselves and the next generation for the unknown future workplace.
It seems that the more technologies bring relief and comfort to our life, the more we get confused about what the future holds for us.
I remember myself, as a child in the seventies, getting excited about TV broadcasting in colour, waiting anxiously for my favourite programme, which I could only watch on a specific day and time. Nowadays? The internet has brought about changes that impact on everything we do. Open Source Technology has enabled us to watch our favourite series anytime that suits us, anywhere, as long as we hold a device with connectivity.
Whether we are baby boomers or Generation X, we can witness the difference between us and Generation Y and Generation Z – those who were born into the mobility of technologies and their ubiquitous manner (presence everywhere or in many places simultaneously). Technologies have transformed how we trade, how we communicate, how we monitor our health and our finances. The list goes on and on. The internet changed the way we talk to each other (no need to talk, there is WhatsApp), the way we let everyone know about a special event (WhatsApp Groups) and even the ways in which we buy presents (online shopping).
What does this mean for the workforce of the future? The thing is, that we do not really know what the future will look like due to the continuous exponential growth of technologies and how they endlessly impact our lives in ways we never imagined.
The present schooling system was formed during the 1st Industrial Revolution to equip a specific kind of workforce. Moving from hand production to machines required workers that fit the manufacturing industry. This is different from what is expected to evolve through the 4th Industrial Revolution. But this same 250- year old set-up for education delivery is still used nowadays and everyone agrees that it is not relevant to the workforce of the future. How can we as educators, policy makers and parents adjust to those changes? I believe the answer lies in three fundamental factors:
Personal Development, Mental Development and Equipping young learners with the basic skills of coding and programming.
For details, see our following blog post.
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Nov 13, 2018 | Uncategorized
In a classroom somewhere in Gauteng, a primary school pupil is staring out of the window, wondering what project s/he could come up with for his/her ORT SA Coding Club assignment.
Pupils aged 10-14 years old create ingenious projects that involve problem-solving, targeted at real life situations, which are presented at a glittering event each year.
Coding is the lingua franca of the future and ORT SA places emphasis on the importance of this skill as a critical element in the 21st century learning. In order to equip learners to create, use and consume technology ORT SA, with its partners Bidvest, Astron Energy, Nedbank and the Sage Foundation has implemented Coding Clubs as an extra mural activity in 20 previously disadvantaged primary and high schools across Gauteng, reaching over 600 learners.
“At the annual end of year ORT SA STEM event, Ariellah Rosenberg, ORT SA CEO said, “It is important to show-case what teachers and learners have achieved throughout the year. Their commitment to ORT SA’s Coding Clubs means that they invest many hours after school, dedicated to the learning and teaching of the language of coding, ” said Ariellah Rosenberg, ORT SA’s CEO
The projects that the pupils present at the events are only a sample of the total projects that were designed, researched and created by them with the support of their teachers and ORT SA’s facilitators.”
The project-based learning methodology directs learners to explore challenges in their communities and then try to solve them. For example, one of the designs is a tracker for children to combat child- trafficking challenges in townships. The pupils touched on a very pertinent problem facing their communities on a daily basis.
Other ingenious projects include: a vibrating walking stick for the blind, a bag that is illuminated inside when it is dark (for safety reasons when there is no electricity), a gate that alerts the school to anyone trying to bring in weapons (to avoid the alarming rate of violence at schools) and an administrative system that is based on fingerprints, (to avoid children ‘bunking’ from classes).
The methodology develops critical and analytical thinking skills, problem solving and collaboration. Furthermore, learners have to present their projects in front of a large audience, which develops their communication skills.
“These gained skills are in addition to the computational abilities, which are crucial for preparing the youth of today for jobs of the future,” said Mashudu Romano, Astron Energy Chairman and funder of some of the clubs, “STEM is so important. This is why Astron Energy is partnering with ORT SA. ”
“ORT SA is looking to expand this programme to more schools, in partnerships with the Department of Education, key stakeholders in industry and the corporate world. We are happy to meet the challenge set to us by Dr Aaron Nkosi, Director of Maths, Science and Technology and ICT at the Department of Basic Education, for ORT SA to take the lead for the incorporation of Coding into the national curriculum,” Rosenberg added.
“Whenever I observe these presentations, I am reminded that these innovations are generated by 10-14 years old! And this gives me hope for the future for this country,” she concluded.
ORT SA is an educational and training NGO and its mission is “Making People Employable”.
Written by Marcelle Ravid
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Oct 19, 2018 | Uncategorized
One of the main ways to eradicate poverty, defeat crime and reduce unemployment is through education.
One of the many stories that tells of what , why and how we do it at ORT SA.
When Ziyanda was approached to come up with a problem in her community and provide a solution that incorporates technology, it didn’t take long for her group to come up with an idea they thought was great! Designing a digital timetable that alerts the teacher that it’s time for class! It seemed to be a bit cheeky but it was a real problem for these pupils. With the help of Amini, the ORT SA Coding Coordinator, the group designed a digital time table to alert teachers and the principal if the teacher was absent. This invention was presented at the ORT SA end of yer event and received a standing ovation. You see, the group of girls were from Ivory Park,a township community situated north of Johannesburg, and they were 13 years old at the time!
There are many challenges facing us in education in South Africa, but ORT SA’s proactive approach to challenges allows us to build capacity at schools in Math, Coding and Leadership.We are now running Coding Clubs in 20 schools / 60 teachers with more than 600 learners across schools in Gauteng.
BTW, Zeanda will be traveling to Argentina at the end of the month together with 12 other learners and three teachers to an educational programme organised by Pope Frances and World ORT.
By Ariellah Rosenberg, Chief Executive Officer, ORT SA
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Jul 6, 2018 | Uncategorized
The third in the series of blogs from Ariellah, CEO of ORT SA. Watch out for the series of Career Guidance talks coming soon to the ORT SA Academy:
If you knew that you could do whatever your mind is set to do, what would you be doing?
Include this question when pursuing your career choice. Reflect on it and use it in discussions with family and friends. Choose people who will listen to you in a non-judgmental way and with constructive feedback.
When we finish school and are faced with a career decision, we are also under pressure to choose a certain path, from parents or our social circle. Usually, the advice is towards the familiar and conventional job career choices; becoming a lawyer, doctor, accountant…all to secure your future and financial stability.
The question is what future are we securing? Numerous articles and research discuss the unknown with the jobs of the future due to the magnitude of changes brought by technology. Automation and artificial intelligence is said to already replace 50% of the jobs force in the USA. So what will be the jobs of the future and what skills will we need to ensure we are equipped?
In the past, mastering one skill used to be the norm. Be good in one thing, master it and you will become successful. Unfortunately, today, mastering one skill is not enough. In his book, Adam Scott, ‘How to fail at almost everything but still win big’ the author claims that it’s better to develop a variety of abilities and sometimes fail than mastering a single skill. Having many skills, increases your market value and will help you adjust to the world’s constant changes as well as help you stand out from the competition.
How is this helping parents or the decision makers? It may help alleviate the pressure of acquiring one single skilled profession. It may change our perspective that failing in a specific job choice may just be a stepping stone towards another route. Acquiring a variety of skills, already from school is vital if we are to become ready for the jobs of the future.
