My blog - Latest Comments

Re: Afrikaans Translation Hackathon

Deon — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:57:27 -0000

Just stumbled onto this.
I'm a teacher on sick-leave.
I would like to know how this hackathon turned out :)

Re: Why should the best schools share?

Micah6 — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:25:13 -0000

Thanks for this very informative blog. The reality is that the quality of teaching in South Africa for the majority of students is sub-standard. I am increasingly aware of this as I see potentially bright kids move along a declining academic trajectory over their high school years. I am a firm believer that a lot of the problem is not their dire home circumstances but poor teaching which consistently builds upon poor foundations. Eventually the academic building in the mind of kids starts falling down in a heap of ruins. As I have thought of extra lessons upon extra lessons to "fix" the problems, all we really give these learners is the equivalent of "poly filler" rather than breaking down the building and starting again. In response I am challenged to address the source of the problem: teachers! I am challenged to see the teachers in a poor school I am involved in becoming 1) computer literate and 2) getting better equipped with the wealth of free online tutoring/learning programmes. But of course there are infrastructural issues such as getting computers, paying for ADSL lines etc. If these funding challenges are overcome this may be a solution if teachers are poised to embrace change.

Re: What happened to the last 5 months!

JM Orione — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:24:46 -0000

Congratulation, Mark and Siyavula !

You did it.

Jean-Marc Orione, French High School Physics-Chemistry Teacher (JHB)

Re: What happened to the last 5 months!

Joy Rosario — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:45:58 -0000

What an exciting initiative, well done Mark and the team

Re: What happened to the last 5 months!

Patrick Dixon — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:17:06 -0000

Mark,

I have been following Siyavula and all you have been doing since we met last year in Cape Town.

I stand utterly in awe of your achievements - what you have all done, and continue to do, is both extra-ordinary, in the literal sense of the word, and truly outstanding! You have all created an amazing example for the whole world, and a set of resources that will be used for decades to come throughout the world. Countless people will benefit from your work, and from the open model that you have put into real action.

Congratulations to you all!

Kind Regards

Patrick Dixon

Re: What happened to the last 5 months!

Stefano — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:45:33 -0000

I'd like to chat to you about LearnerAids. Please contact me at stefano@gallotta.co.za

Re: Why should the best schools share?

SinghR — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:30:53 -0000

You make compelling arguments. However, despite many schools having lofty mission statements, suspicion and selfishness still abound. Sad but true. Some mindsets wouldn't mind 'their stuff' becoming outdated and obsolete instead of sharing. I've trawled 100s of sites of privileged SA schools websites - resources for sharing are virtually non-existent!

Re: Follow Up on Mbilwi Secondary School

Munyai Phuluso Casey — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:33:37 -0000

mbilwi my mbilwi wow...it all started there

Re: Follow Up on Mbilwi Secondary School

munyai phuluso casey — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:29:11 -0000

oh yes tendani truly it was all about dedication and commitment of the staff and the students...PHULUSO MUNYAI, class of 2009

Re: The DSTV Bouquets I Want

Trompie — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:44:25 -0000

Hi Ray. I'm retired and although I use the computer for usual stuff I'm not that clued up on what I can all do on it. I'm sick of dstv and their high fees. How do I get on to Top TV and what are the cost implications? Trompie Barnard

Re: The DSTV Bouquets I Want

Trompie — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:39:31 -0000

Hi John. I asked the exact same question when I eventually got someone on the phone and was asked if I live in my own home. When I replied yes she said then I don't qualify. How's that!

Re: The DSTV Bouquets I Want

Trompie — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:35:01 -0000

Trompie from Knysna.
I've been trying for a while now to get Multichoice to respond to my e mails enquiring why my Select 2 option went from R 157,00 to R 175,52 t0 R 219,00 in the space of 2 months. As per my previous e mails, no reply other than the computorized reply " we are experiencing a large volume,bla, bla". I AGREE with you 100%. The dstv premium package where we can watch rugby is now just too costly so I selected option 2 because at least I can watch KYKNET as well. How long do you think it'll be before TOP TV also do rugby?
Perhaps the Shuttleworth foundation combined with Virgin can enter the market. Tell Mark we'll even play golf with him.ha,ha. Thx a lot. Regards. Trompie Barnard 0824682191

Re: Crowdsourcing vs. Traditional Design: The Results

JavierWyle — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:05:01 -0000

Interesting article. I, for one, am still on the fence
regarding crowdsourcing. It is still a touchy issue for most designers who said
that crowdsourcing is a no-no for obtaining a logo design or in this case a cover design. I have tried
crowdsourcing before and I know the risks involved but it comes with the
territory. But there are other no-frills logo design websites online such as
logobee.com, logodesignstation.com, logoyes.com, etc. which are actually great
in getting a professional logo design at a fraction of the price. Seeing that
there are no consultation services, the price is significantly lower than that
of conventional design firms. For instance, I have tried www.logodesignstation.com
and the experience was indeed a positive one. I managed to get my business logo
design at an affordable price and the turnaround time was great as well. Highly
recommended. Although crowdsourcing for logo designs could be a bane for some,
many find it to be a viable alternative to get a fast logo on the cheap. For instance, the results you posted from getting the design done from 99designs is amazing even better than the previous one.

Re: The DSTV Bouquets I Want

john — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 05:45:03 -0000

Like anything ,you have to fight for it, I wrote to D S T V & asked why ,S A T V , GAME A DT, METRO,TELKOM do or should be the next ones to give pensions discount. I stated that if i did not hear from D S T V i would be going to the MEDIA>Someone has jumped the gun, hence the add on pens. disc. on T V JOHN

Re: FHSST v0.5 Books on a.nnotate.com

Wvandermer — Sat, 21 May 2011 12:14:31 -0000

Would it be possible to find memorandums for the exercises? And where would one find a memorandum?

Re: FullMarks: First Milestone

Aaron — Sat, 21 May 2011 09:48:13 -0000

need answers for gr11 chemistry chapter4 excercise : oxidation numbers, summary excercise

Re: The DSTV Bouquets I Want

Ray — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:11:06 -0000

I am now a subscriber to toptv, for R219 per month I am watching plenty of reasonable tv, I also have the full dstv bouquet but am now researching ways to chop out a lot of their useless channels.The ultimate loser will be dstv, and the winner will be toptv, guess what, I am so chuffed to get one back on that arrogant bunch at dstv. If you have a really great broadband system, install a proxy such as hotspot shield then you can run hulu on your computer and get tons of free tv through the internet.. Take that DSTV

Re: Calling scientists and mathematicians!

Mark — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:06:43 -0000

Hi Ranvijay

Thanks for volunteering and apologies for taking so long to reply.
Bridget will be in touch regarding our current contribution process.

Thanks

Mark

Re: Calling scientists and mathematicians!

Mark — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:02:44 -0000

Hi Rodwell

Thanks for volunteering, Bridget from the Siyavula team will be in touch shortly about how to contribute.

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you!

Mark

Re: Calling scientists and mathematicians!

Rodwell — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:54:52 -0000

hi i am currently doing my Msc in Electrical engineering at WIts university and i have a First class Bsc Electrical engineering degree from Wits. If you still need help please let me know via email the way forward. I cant be in capetown but am willing to proof read online and give u feedback. All the best in this great project.

Re: Calling scientists and mathematicians!

Ranvijay Kumar Vijay — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 22:10:59 -0000

Hi there,
I'm a quadruple graduate (Physics, Maths, Engineering(CS), Education(Primary& Secondary). Would be glad to make my contribution to the project.

From India, with love...

Re: The DSTV Bouquets I Want

Elvira Robertson — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:06:05 -0000

We are also pensioners and pay for the most expensive DSTV. Also paying our single parent daughter's and 2 small grandchildrens' DSTV.She cannot afford it and really there is no entertainment for the childrens on SABC.
We use:Mnet, SABC2, E-TV, a couple of movie channels,Nat Geo, History, Animal Plant, Sky News and E-News.
Grandchildren use: MNET, Cartoons 301 + 302 mostly, KYKNET, SABC2, E-TV, all movie channels.
If we were to choose our own bouquets and pay a lot less this would certainly be a help.

Re: Calling scientists and mathematicians!

Nishant — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 01:33:36 -0000

Good work. I'll try to help on internet.

Re: FHSST Editing Sprint Review

mandy sauls — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 06:51:13 -0000

Very impressive EDUinitiative.
Q&A EDUdatabase or Multichoice?

Re: Parklands Apple One2One Programme Obscures Real Technology Message

Alan Goldberg — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:45:50 -0000

Hello Mark

I think Richard and Jane have put it very succinctly - I was the reseller who was presenting at the conference. I believe I made the comment that I was in the unusual position where my contribution was lower key than the teachers in terms of the promotion of Apple technology - my role was to demo the software.

I've found over the years that because (look out - here comes the marketing speak) Macs are so easy to use, our biggest advocates become the teachers who, while they were initially concerned about the extra work they would need to put in to learn the new stuff, are actually delighted to find that they spend far less time on the technology and far more on the learning.

And I do believe, of all the technologies available today, none are more intuitive, more integrated and as easy to get results out of, than the Mac platform.

Perhaps I can turn you into an Apple fan?; - )

Kind regards

Alan