Samsung Transforms Teaching and Learning in the Eastern Cape

JOHANNESBURG - Sept. 30, 2014 - PRLog -- JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – September 30 2014 – Samsung Electronics South Africa met with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry stakeholders at the Eastern Cape Education Summit to pledge a partnership with the provincial Department of Basic Education. The partnership provides ICT solutions and much needed e-Learning infrastructure to the region. The summit was a result of an ongoing collaboration between Vodacom Business and the Eastern Cape Department of Education to give schools and communities without internet connectivity access to basic ICT resources.

Paulo Ferreira, Head of Enterprise Mobility at Samsung Electronics SA: “Samsung is humbled to be a part of this campaign and thank Vodacom for trusting Samsung to partner with us in delivering the best e-Learning infrastructure to the Eastern Cape. We as Samsung are delivering the Samsung Smart School to the provincial department - a solution which was initiated to enable young people to enjoy improved education through the creation of new forms of learning supplied with programmes suited to their social needs. This association will see enhanced educational outcomes and we are proud of the work currently underway to ensure the schools reach their best matric results this year.”

The Smart solution enables learners and teachers to benefit from a broad range of academic related information on their mobile devices. This includes up-to-date school content, access to crucial learning tools and real-time attendance and participation trackers, all of which serve to increase students’ engagements and performance in the classroom. The communication channel between the school and students is strengthened, helping to create a more interactive learning environment.

Vodacom has pledged to support the Eastern Cape Province by equipping and connecting eleven teacher centres in the province over a two year period. These centres provide the province with spaces designed to train teachers on how to integrate ICT in the classroom. It will further offer equipment and access to educational content, ensuring a sustainable introduction of e-Learning in the region.

Vuyani Jarana, Chief Officer for Vodacom Business said: “Teachers achieve so much in what are often difficult circumstances, so one can just imagine the possibilities if they are supported with the latest equipment and training. It’s a privilege to be part of the e-learning initiative and to use Vodacom’s technology to unlock the true potential of learners in the Eastern Cape.”

“Samsung offers technically advanced devices that help schools directly. Samsung also creates technologies and find the best way for schools to implement the right tools. With constant collaboration with various educational institutions, we are always demonstrating our commitment to enhance the environment for learners and educators,” concludes Ferreira.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of TVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 286,000 people across 80 countries with annual sales of US$216.7 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Vodacom Business

Vodacom Business was established in 2008 as the enterprise arm of Vodacom Group. It delivers total communication solutions to meet the needs of the public sector, large, medium and small enterprises. Vodacom Business offers solutions that extend from mobile to fixed line access, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Voice over IP (VoIP), hosted facilities, cloud computing based hosted services, storage, back up, security and application solutions. For more information,