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Khanya Facilitates Global Sister School Partnership

At an event on Monday 23rd November, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Foshay Learning Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, and Oude Molen Academy of Science and Technology in Cape Town, South Africa and their partners, including Khanya Project, SMART Technologies, Inc, and Global NetGeneration of Youth, to establish a Global Sister School Relationship.

The signing took place at 18H00 SA time and 8H00 Pacific Time, using the latest cutting edge technology. The audiences could see and speak to each other across the divide and the document could be signed by both parties as if they were in the same room.

In addressing both audiences USA Congress Woman Diane E Watson stated:

“We live in turbulent times.  Globalisation has created both increased opportunities, as well as multidimensional challenges that threaten peace, progress and prosperity around the globe.  We have a critical need for leaders who can address global challenges and create global solutions.  The youth around the world represent our hope for such leadership.   Innovative programs that will cultivate those global understandings embed the ‘world’ into world class education as well as, cultivate youth as leaders for the Global Age!” 
Partners share the vision of cultivating youth as global leaders who are culturally aware, civically responsible, and empowered with 21st century competencies and appreciation and respect for other cultures around the world. In meeting educational challenges partners will design and implement collaborative programs, educator and student exchange, and joint educational activities.  The curriculum focus will be on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, with thematic focus on Engineering, Robotics and Global Environment.  

The WCED’s Khanya project facilitated the formation of this global sister school partnership. The Khanya project, now in its ninth year, will achieve the goal of implementing technology at every school in the Western Cape by the end of 2011. To date: 1102 schools have been helped to use technology effectively;
24417 Educators are being empowered to use technology optimally for curriculum delivery and 805818 learners are already reaping the benefits of the project.

The partnership will establish a Global Community of Practice that will communicate regularly to share school history, curriculum, school policy and events, as well as exchange instructional techniques and strategies, teaching resources, course materials, deepen understanding of and respect for each other’s history, cultures, and socio-economic realities. The agreement seeks to provide opportunities for learners and educators to develop skills which enhance relationships between SA and the USA; to provide opportunities for educators to benefit from the knowledge and experience of a different education system; to develop ties through regular communication;  and to promote cultural visits to host sites, through possible exchange programs that enable students, teachers, and administrators to experience opportunities to study, work, and live in the sister school community.

Support will be given to teachers and students with training on technologies so they become 21st century literate; thereby fostering opportunities for meaningful cross-cultural dialogues about global affairs. Focus training in the use of, and implementation of, Web 2.0 resources like social networking sites to aid communication between learners and educators in the different countries and time zones.

The Global NetGeneration of Youth instructional model will be used to promote inquiry and project based learning in STEM fields, and to foster youth leadership and global citizenry.

Tony Marshall, Principal at Oude Molen Technical High School hopes that this partnership will enhance teaching and learning especially in the fields of Engineering and Robotics. To kickstart the sister school project, a donation of two Smart electronic whiteboards and projectors was received from Vastratech, the distributors of Smart in SA.

The relationship will be used as a model for creating similar partnerships between global communities.