by Hugh C.n. Miller | Jul 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
When Madiba was guest of honour at the 1996 graduation of ORT SA Technology students, he said,
“One tool that will enable people to rise above their circumstances is education, particularly education that leads to the acquisition of marketable tools.”
We continue this legacy during the ORT SA Mandela Week by extending the opportunity to you to join us for 3 amazing webinars that will lead you to acquire marketable tools.
Join us by clicking here for the 3 webinars:
Tuesday 21st July 3 pm -4:07 pm: How to be a Cyber Ninja
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpf-ivrTgiE9afCQXGsAyzXm-ldtK8BIQ4
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Jun 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
BOOST EQUALITY IN EDUCATION
ORT SA launches the ‘ORT2Connect the Unconnected’ Campaign
A new drive to help South African learners cross the digital divide has been launched by educational NGO, ORT South Africa, which is urging the public to donate devices that are no longer being used.
βLack of infrastructure and connectivity, along with lack of resources, including devices like smart phones, tablets or laptops, is widening the gap between privileged and less privileged communities,β says Ariellah Rosenberg, ORT SAβs CEO.
βThe Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown highlighted the fact that South Africa is far from ready for online learning, especially for township and rural schools. It is estimated that just 10% of South African households have direct access to the internet. β
Arthur Goldstuck, founder of World Wide Worx and a veteran analyst of connectivity in South Africa, points out that that the lockdown period highlighted the need for connectivity for all. Goldstuck was named ORT SA’s Honorary IT Ambassador in 2019.
βAlmost 4000 teachers and learners have attended ORT SA Coding Clubs and we must, by all means, try to continue these clubs through remote, online learning,β says Rosenberg. βMore than 1000 youth are in ORT skills development programmes and some learning digital skills such IT Bridging courses. Our mission is to help make people employable, at the same time as creating employment opportunities.β
According to ORT SA, there is a pressing need to help those in townships and rural areas to connect to the Internet, in field ranging from mathematics to coding to IT skills to work experience.
βThis is critical to the future of our country,β says Rosenberg. βWe are calling on the public to help us to fast track equality in education.β
ORT SA is also partnering with Computerlab which, together with HP and other partners, has launched a device programme for the underprivileged. It will use theΒ expertise across these organisations to repair devices, as well as installing software and sorting out licensing.
Monetary donations can be made at www.ortsa.org.za/donations. Those who wish to donate digital devices can call Nelly at 011 728 7154 or email nelly@ortsa.org.za
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Sep 13, 2019 | Uncategorized
Yes, the Youth are Making It
There is an old African proverb saying βmountains donβt meet but they meet through their shadowsβ meaning βif it looks impossible it does not mean itβs impossibleβ. This sums up this story of a young man born and bred in the under developed township of Alexandra, Johannesburg. Julius Olubudun, a veteran ORT SA maths facilitator recognised Clement Morokaβs talent when he learned of the difficult environment that Clement came from and yet, against all odds, he succeeded. β
After matriculating and then obtaining a certificate in computers, his job prospects were very slim. Clement applied at ORT SA, an implementation partner for the Youth Employment Services (Yes) programme tailored for unemployed youth. Olubodun added, βWhen Clement mentioned that he mentored kids in his neighbourhood in maths and science – that clinched it for me. He was the person we needed on our team and he was assigned as an intern maths tutor to assist me in after school maths classes that ORT SA run.β
A month into the programme an opening arose for an ORT SA Coding Β facilitator. He was interviewed and landed the job – a full-time position on the ORT SA staff – no longer an intern position. βWhat looked impossible became possible,β said Clement
βIn this journey as a youth and my first time in a professional working environment, I have learnt a lot from my colleagues as well as the projects we are involved in. Iβm very blessed for itβs not always the case for a young person to run into such luck, especially in a country where youth unemployment is on a high. My gratitude goes to ORT SA, YES for Youth and Nedbank for changing my life in the manner they did. THANK YOU ORT SA, Yes and Nedbank,β said Clement Moroke.
By Thabang Mphahlele,Β ORT SA Yes Intern.
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Apr 4, 2019 | Uncategorized
When the original Blade Runner movie was screened in 1982, it went almost unnoticed. But the Ridley Scott adaptation of a Philip K Dick novel quickly became a cult favourite, and then acknowledged as a seminal vision of our future urban landscape.
That being the case, why are we not yet living in that future? This was the fairly standard question asked at the Cisco Live conference in Barcelona this week, but the answer was somewhat surprising.
βWe should have humanoid, lifelike robots among us. Instead, we have Sophia the robot, who is not exactly lifelike and quite creepy,β said Jeremy Bevan, Cisco vice president of marketing for Europe Middle East, Africa and Russia, during the opening keynote address. βWe should be seduced by digital billboards everywhere. Maybe we do have that in Times Square and some shopping malls. Maybe soon, as in Blade Runner, weβll have giant ads that say you can start a new life on a different planet.β
Yet, said Bevan, in some ways we have gone far beyond the Blade Runner vision. For example, talking to our computers is now standard. Going into a phone booth to make a video call is downright old-fashioned, as the technology for video calls is now available wherever we are.
βFilms are a reflection of how things are today and how they might progress; what could be possible. The connection between what we do and what is possible, is imagination. It is the most important thing we have to make our lives better, from the smallest things in our personal lives to the way we transform businesses. All the way through to things that can solve some of the worldβs biggest challenges. Technology is truly an enabler of our imagination.β
Rather than offering movie visions to prove his point, however, he presented the case study of the largest port in Europe, that of Rotterdam, which handles 130Β 000 ships a year. Already, the complexities of combining shipping logistics with weather and other data is a massively complex channel. Using Internet of Things technology and data services supplied by Cisco and IBM, the Port can now predict precise conditions hours in advance.
In the next six years, Rotterdam expects to welcome its first autonomous ships β self-steering and self-navigating vessels. By 2030, it plans for a combination of the Internet of Things, data analytics and cloud computing to make it possible for completely automated handling of these ships, from docking to unloading and loading, without direct human intervention.
Considering that around 85% of globally traded goods travels by ship, the project will point the way to more efficient and more cost-effective international trade. It is also a vision that goes beyond Blade Runner, in imagining a more sustainable and environmentally cleaner future. Ultimately, says Bevan, it will enhance human quality of life.
βYou might think the stories we share are about technology to solve big problems, but itβs also about peopleβs lives that are transformed,β said Bevan, insisting that such projects underpin Ciscoβs vision of βtechnology for goodβ.
If he is right, our descendants may never need those Blade Runner ads for finding a better life off-planet.
- Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram on @art2gee
- Arthur Goldstuck is ORT SA’s IT Ambassador and was a guest speaker at the recent launch of the ORT SA CareerHub: the educational journey to your career destination.
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Mar 20, 2019 | Uncategorized
βLast year, we promised a series of Career Guidance talks and we have actually done more than that. We have, in fact, developed the ORT SA CareerHub,β says Ariellah Rosenberg, ORT SAβs CEO, who is the visionary behind the idea.
Through a series of talks and workshops, the CareerHub will help high school students, university students, parents, teachers and even those who feel βstuckβ in their path, to βExplore, Expose and ExperienceβΒ their way through the quagmire of choosing a career.
βThe choices can be dauntingΒ ,β says Rosenberg, βYouβre 18 years old, finished school and most probably, experiencing the βend of childhoodβ as you knew it. You are faced with a life-time decision, or so you feel, about your career path. All of us have been in a similar situationβ¦ βthe road not takenββ¦ βjobs of the futureββ¦ so much pressure for relatively young souls that have being part of the schooling system for more than a decade. A system where almost everything is dictated, including your dress code, the time you wake up and the curriculum. Now, you have to decide yourself which path to take. If to learn: what to learn, where and when? β
The ORT SA CareerHub will be focused on Exploring the individualβs skills, attributes and strengths when seeking a career path, Exposing participants to the jobs of the future and giving them the Experience with practical workshops.
The CareerHub is launching on 2 April 2019 with ORT SAβs IT Ambassador, the internationally renowned writer, analyst and technology commentator, Arthur Goldstuck and ORT SA IT Ambassador, speaking about βjobs of the futureβ.
Booking essential: ora@ortsa.org.za
The next in the series will be on 16th April 2019 at 6pm: Lorraine Silverman on Β Career Assessments.
