How to Put On and Use a Condom

SMART Technology Aids Innovative Literacy Project

(PRWEB) July 30, 2008 -- Interactive whiteboards in South African schools add impetus to THRASS project

Six SMART Board interactive whiteboards have been installed in pilot schools across South Africa as part of an innovative project to improve literacy.

Five of the boards were donated to schools by financial services company Absa Bank, a member of the Barclays Group, as part of the THRASS Absa TalkTogether Project, and one was jointly sponsored by THRASS, SMART Technologies and its southern Africa distributor Edge Interactive.

SMART Technologies has teamed up with THRASS UK to bring the latest educational technology to assist learners, whose home language is not English, to speak the language. The THRASS Phoneme Machine is a ground-breaking computer programme that uses the international phonetic alphabetic and moving human lips to demonstrate the pronunciation of sounds and hundreds of frequently used English words.

Chief operating officer of Absa New Business Cluster, Nicholas Young says the donation of the SMART Board interactive whiteboards to five schools was in keeping with the approach to establish pilot sites as model centres for the TalkTogether Project. These schools are spread across the country and located close to participating universities that have foundation phase teaching as part of their teacher training programmes.

The installation of the SMART Board interactive whiteboards and training of the teachers to use the technology was done by SMART resellers in South Africa, Compute Corporate Technology Solutions and Edit Microsystems.

Young says he expects the boards through their interactive aspects to enhance both the learning and teaching experience.

"The boards provide the project with the best-case scenario technology platform. We believe there is benefit to be derived from the use of the technology as it allows for the use of all the enhanced and interactive elements of the THRASS methodology. By providing the TalkTogether Schools with leading technology we eliminate infrastructure as a variable in increasing literacy as compared with other more privileged schools with more funding."

He said Absa would consider additional donations of SMART Board interactive whiteboards, based on the expansion of model centres for the project.

The educational partnership between Absa and THRASS aims to revolutionise the teaching and learning of English in South Africa through partnerships between primary schools, universities and other organisations. British educational psychologist, Alan Davies, executive director of THRASS UK, pioneered the programme to Teach Handwriting Reading and Spelling Skills (THRASS).

The five model centres referred to as TalkTogether Schools are Roseneath Primary School, Johannesburg; Eendracht Primary School, Pretoria; Sunlands Primary School, Cape Town; George Randell Primary School, East London; and Clairwood Boys Primary School, Durban. The SMART/Edge donated board was installed at Masibambane College in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, and is a Centre of Excellence for the THRASS programme.

The principal of Sunlands Primary School, Alta van Heerden, says the SMART Board interactive whiteboard was installed at the school last September. All the school's educators have been trained in the THRASS programme as part of the TalkTogether Project and, and learners have responded favourably to the interactive nature of the lessons.

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology has taken on THRASS as a research programme and each week up to 120 final year student teachers spend an hour at the school teaching THRASS to small groups of learners.

Hilton Williams, principal of East London's George Randall Primary School, said learners "are loving" the use of the interactive whiteboards in learning to properly pronounce English words. Student teachers from the University of Fort Hare are working with his learners as part of the TalkTogether Project association.

Former Principal of Masibambane College, Mr Darryl Geffen, said the children were able to learn and interact in an audio-visual classroom which makes teaching and learning of the English language easier for everyone. In addition to the core school programme, the interactive whiteboard is being used for community educational projects.

Carol Jeal, who trained Gauteng educators in the use of the SMART Board interactive whiteboards for the THRASS project, believes that SMART's Screen, Shade and Spotlight are tools which are well suited to the language programme's use of the interactive whiteboards, and that most creative teachers would be able to use the Notebook software to revise and assess work completed using THRASS.

"Most teachers feel that the SMART interactive whiteboard will enhance their teaching," she said.

About SMART

SMART Technologies is an industry pioneer and global education market segment leader in user-friendly ICT products and group collaboration tools. The award-winning line of SMART Board interactive whiteboards is the most widely installed in the world because of its unsurpassed product quality, versatility and ease of use. The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is used to teach over 18 million students in more than 600,000 classrooms in more than 100 countries around the world.

SMART is a private company founded in 1987. Employing more than 1,000 people, SMART is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with assembly facilities in Kanata, Ontario and offices in Bonn, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, New York City, Chicago and Washington, DC. SMART has been issued and maintains a broad portfolio of patents with numerous U.S., Canadian and other patents pending. In 1992 SMART formed a strategic alliance with Intel® Corporation that resulted in Intel's equity ownership in the company. SMART products are sold through dealers across North America and distributors worldwide. To learn more about SMART visit www.smarttech.com.

###

MORE ARTICLES:

Genital Warts Cure - Your Complete Guide
Genital Warts cure is something that has many aspects to it If you have been diagnosed with genital warts, take the time to ask your health care provider about the condition

Open Fit Hearing Aids: Just In Time For The Boomers
If you are one of the millions of Baby Boomers working on their sixth decade on planet Earth, you may have noticed that the sounds of birdsong and children shrieking in glee are not as clear as they once were. If so, you are experiencing high frequency hearing loss, which is a normal accompaniment of the aging process.

The Prem Rawat Foundation Aids 'Action Against Hunger' for Children in Argentina
Prem Rawat, founder of The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF), presented a significant contribution to Action Against Hunger (AAH) in support of its "Children of Tucumán" initiative. The presentation took place during a special ceremony in Barcelona.

First Western Trust Bank Aids Victims of Tornado Disaster -- Fort Collins Office Matches Contributions to Relieve Windsor Community
First Western Trust Bank, the premier private bank for the western wealth management client and one of the fastest growing in the west, announced today that its Northern Colorado office has established a fund with the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado to aid tornado victims in Windsor. First Western, located at 318 Canyon Avenue in Fort Collins, will match up to $5,000 in contributions to the "Windsor Re-Create Fund," which will be used to rebuild lost park and recreation amenities. The fund was established by Windsor's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board who will administer disbursements.

Is Diabetes affecting your Sexual Health?
Diabetes is a condition or a disease when the body ceases to produce enough insulin or use it. Insulin is that hormone responsible for converting sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Diabetes is a disease that is affecting roughly 7% of the population in the United States while an estimated 6 million or so have no idea about their affliction. Diabetes is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.

Launch of microbicide expected to AID in the prevention of STD'S and HIV
LA JOLLA, CA (March 24, 2008)- Today, Instead Sciences, Inc. announced that its microbicidal personal lubricant, Amphora, which has been cleared as safe for human use by the FDA, has shown promising results in clinical studies to also prevent the contraction of certain sexually transmitted diseases, including HSV (Herpes), gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and HIV. In light of the revealing report published earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stating that one in four teenagers has a sexually transmitted infection, the announcement of a microbicide which may prevent the spread of these diseases is very encouraging.

New HIV Dating & HIV Personals Website Offers Community & Quality Intimacy To People Living With HIV & AIDS.
A new HIV Dating website, www.hivandsingle.com, has been launched with the purpose of giving people afflicted with HIV/AIDS an opportunity to anonymously experience community and intimate relationships without fear of judgment.

Aura Cacia Expert Aids Essential Oil Operations in Nepal
Aromatherapy educator Tim Blakley advises on projects that help Tharu people out of Poverty.

Hope for AIDS Orphans in Thailand
FXB International (www.fxb.org) announces the expansion of its Village Model Program in poverty-stricken Si Saket province of Thailand. The Village Model Program is a comprehensive response to the AIDS orphans crisis that enables families and communities to lift themselves out of poverty and better provide for vulnerable children.

MyBlackBook.Org's Member Base Continues To Grow, As Over 2000 People Keep Track Of Their Sexual Health
MyBlackBook, the Internet's first secure and confidential on-line sexual history tracker, now has over 2000 members that keep track of whom they've slept with, and continues to make people more aware of their sexual lifestyle by privately keeping track of their sexual history without fear of prying eyes.

Bobybuilding Aids That Work - Whey Protein And Creatine
Bodybuilding aids have become the trend over the last two decades or so. Bodybuilding supplements as well as all supplements are exactly what they are called; supplements. There are many people out there that hear about a product and go straight out to buy it, take it for a few weeks and realize nothing happens.

Online Dating for People with Herpes and Other STDs Just Got Better
A new dating website has launched to help people find their perfect match. The new website, specializing in helping singles with venereal disease find other singles with the same venereal disease, http://www.vddate.com is offering an introductory promotion to all new members.

High Frequency Hearing Aids: Comfortable And Effective
Mostly hearing aid devices is just like an electronic piece of chip, which can be used on the different parts of ear, or they can be inserted in the inner structure of the ear. These devices are sometimes so small that they cannot be seen through the eyes properly. But the function of these devices is wonderful. Among the types of hearing aid body worn aids ear mould hearing aids and etc., are the most common types. These types can be classified depending upon many factors and parameters. Among these parameters size, color, power and circuitry play an important role. Recent scientific research has proved that it is very much necessary and important to select the best suited hearing aid device otherwise by not choosing a good one it can just...

The Basic Golf Training Aids
No question to it: every golfer would like to improve his game. Therefore, golf training aids were invented in order to grant this request. Golf stores have various items there that are made specifically to help the golfer train in order to better his golfing skills.