Technology in education is no longer a luxury. Schools that fail to incorporate education technology in the classroom will not only fall behind in terms of teaching and learning but these schools will eventually fail in providing a quality education to learners.
           
This reality has prompted the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS) to establish the FEDSAS Centre for Technology to assist schools in technology adoption. “A key point of discussion in education is equipping learners with 21st century skills as this is what is required of the workforce of the future. FEDSAS has recognised the essential nature of education technology and has been preparing and assisting its member schools for a numbers of years to ensure that learners and educators are ready for the digital age,” says Mr Paul Colditz, CEO of FEDSAS. The organisation is the only school governing body organisation to host a portfolio focused on education technology and digital citizenship.

The FEDSAS Centre for Technology was launched at the EduTECH Africa event last week. “The focus of the Centre is to assist and advise schools in the sensible implementation and use of new technology in the education space,” says Mr Riaan van der Bergh, Education Technology Manager at FEDSAS.

           
Van der Bergh says as a leader in school governance and management, FEDSAS is ideally positioned to assist schools with digital citizenship. “This innovative programme will assist schools to integrate new technology in the classroom, on campus or as part of school administration. Paperless communication, cashless environments, access to online libraries, enriched delivery of lessons and the world of coding, robotics and app development are some of the areas that the Centre will be able to focus on,” says Van der Bergh.

           
The FEDSAS Centre for Technology will be hosted on an online platform at www.fedsastech.org.za Schools and industry service providers are encouraged to visit the platform while workshops and webinars on this topic are also ongoing.