Notesmaster brings e-learning to Namibian students

WINDHOEK SELMA IKELA In order to bridge a gap in global education, learners and educators from around Namibia and other countries can now share educational ideas and study through e-learning. Namcol has launched Notesmaster Namibia, a freely accessible e-learning platform designed to facilitate the development of a global education network for secondary-school pupils. Notesmaster enables learners and educators from different countries to share material, using familiar syllabus frameworks that reflect their own curriculum. Speaking at the launch, Namcol Director Heroldt Murangi said students will be able to study, save and print these materials. Murangi said each registered student will have access to the resources and materials. When the students register they will have their own virtual desk where all saved material will be stored to make it easier to access again at a later stage, said Murangi. This year they are piloting the platform using Namcol students; from 2014 they plan to open it up to all secondary-school learners in the country. What we expect from stakeholders in the education sector is educational context, said Murangi. He said Notesmaster Namibia is here at no cost to Namcol or Namibia, and the services will be offered free of charge to students and teachers. To sustain the platform, I encourage all partners, public and private, to advertise through the platform, he said. Murangi added that collaborative learning is one of the primary goals of technology education. At Namcol and in Namibia we want to be part of this trend in using technology to supplement our existing print. Notesmaster Namibia can provide that platform to keep Namibia in the twenty-first century race in providing a platform for collaborative learning. To circumvent problems such as, low bandwidth and poor internet connectivity, Namcol has established 11 computer centres across the country where learners can go. The centres are at Gobabis, Windhoek, Ongwediva, Keetmanshoop, Otjiwarongo, Rundu, Katima Mulilo, Eenhana, Ondangwa and Outapi. Notesmaster Project Director Dean Dundas said the idea is to create a platform where learners can study in group, and it's no longer about studying in class but with other learners across Namibia. It's about shrinking the world so that it's in front of your computer, said Dundas.