Beginning to define the C&A skills theme

The Foundation has five core themes, one of which is communication and analytical (C&A) skills development. This is a very broad theme that needs to be defined and focused, something that I’ll be doing over the coming months. As a starter Helen King, the Shuttleworth Foundation’s Principal Advisor, pointed out the following regarding this theme:

• The Foundation seeks to promote the development of C&A skills of school learners. Where possible, technology should be used in skills development.
• The focus for the Foundation is not on the bright learners who will have access to good maths and science educators and go on to become mathematicians, scientists, engineers, etc. It is concerned with the vast majority of learners who are currently being failed by the system because they receive inadequate maths and science teaching. Reasons for this include there not being enough educators in these subject areas and not enough text books for learning.
• While most of these learners won’t pursue careers in maths or science, they nevertheless need C&A skills to be productive members of society.
• The question then is: how can learners effectively be taught C&A skills in schools in ways that can fall outside of the maths and science classroom, and in the context of a developing country in the 21st century?

The Shuttleworth Foundation 101

After a full week at the Shuttleworth Foundation (SF) I’ve got a better sense of its overall goals and the space in which it operates.

• The SF’s primary focus is on formal education in schools (all grade levels). Informal learning is also relevant if it contributes to the formal learning outcomes.

• The SF operates in South Africa (SA), but with the hope that any applicable educational software, models and projects developed will be used internationally.

• Many schools in SA face dire challenges: not enough educators, too many learners per class, lack of electricity, corrupt and defunct school feeding schemes, learners in grade 7 who still can’t read or write, overworked and overstressed educators, no or limited bandwidth. But while these harsh realities exist, there are many schools that have adequate facilities for learning. The SF works on certain assumptions: the school has a computer lab with internet connectivity, learners are literate, educators have (at least) basic ICT skills.

• The SF searches for “quantum leap” solutions that will have a large-scale impact on education in SA and beyond. As an organisation, it is small and agile enough to focus on innovative approaches to education.

• The SF is committed to all things “open”: open-source software, open content and creative commons licensing.