Gauteng-online donated computer labs to the primary schools in the district. These labs are there to help the pupils connect to the world outside the community and to help them with their projects. Unfortunately most of the pupils are computer illiterate, meaning they have never used a computer before.

The University of Pretoria in conjunction with the Gauteng Educational Department has launched a project to assist these schools in using the labs to its full potential. At Bathokwa Primary School two Computer Engineering students: Johann de Villiers and Liezel Nordier started with the project.

 
Learners at Bathokwa, helping each other with the computer.

The aim of the project for 2005 is to teach the pupils of grade 3 on how to use the mouse and the buttons, as well as to use a keyboard. These functions are taught using elementary games and typing exercises.

Future projects will also be launched, because the main focus of the University is to maintain sustainability. Other student will start projects of their own but the computer literacy program will continue with the next group of grade 3’s and 2006 grade 4’s.

Liezel from Univ. of Pretoria, keeping a watchful eye.

An additional task is a webpage for Bathokwa Primary School. The webpage has been developed by Johann and Liezel, but students who will follow up on the projects will continue with it.

Johann lends a helping hand.

The primary goal is to give the webpage of the school to the staff to maintain and develop as they see fit. In order to hand over the responsibility the teachers and staff will be trained on how to maintain the webpage. To prevent data shock it will be taught over a period of time, allowing the staff and teaches to become well acquainted with a function before moving on to another.

Learner learning while he plays on the computer.

This is not the only Community Based Project launched by the University of Pretoria. The head of the project, Dr. Martina Jordaan can be contacted using the following email address: martina@up.ac.za