Since Team4Tech’s collaboration with GSDT started in 2015, Makupula Secondary School has been recognized as a Western Cape eLearning Game Changer School and a leader in successfully integrating technology into their curriculum.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (PRWEB) April 09, 2018
Today, Team4Tech, a nonprofit that works to advance the quality of education for underserved students through technology volunteers and solutions, announced that six employees from Adobe and four employees from Cadence will take part in an immersive service learning project in South Africa from April 10 – 21, 2018. While there, Adobe and Cadence employees will contribute skilled pro bono technology support to the Greater Stellenbosch Development Trust (GSDT), a nonprofit organization that aims to bridge material and cultural divides in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa.
The team will volunteer at Makupula Secondary School, a public high school in the Kayamandi Township that is supported by Eduvate, one of GSDT’s initiatives. Kayamandi’s 35,000 residents live in an area of informal housing and historically have had low economic and educational opportunities. The team will expand upon the work of previous Team4Tech volunteer teams by designing workshops to deepen teachers’ digital literacy skills and increase their ability to build students’ 21st century skills with educational technology. The volunteers will lead professional development training and coaching sessions with teachers, suggesting and modeling project-based learning activities in the newly created 21st Century Learning Lab. They will also help Makupula Secondary School to showcase its education technology integration for other regional schools and educational organizations. In addition, the Adobe and Cadence volunteers will be working with two local primary schools, Vision Afrika in Kayamandi and Rhenish Primary School in Stellenbosch. They will introduce the teachers in both schools to Google Classroom, including all the Google tools for collaboration. These volunteers will be building upon the work of prior Team4Tech groups that introduced STEM and maker activities to the Vision Afrika teachers and students.
“Adobe is thrilled to be participating in Team4Tech’s project in South Africa with the Greater Stellenbosch Development Trust,” said Annie Pill, project manager, sustainability and social impact for Adobe. “Team4Tech’s mission of advancing the quality of education with local partners is one that truly resonates with our employees. We’re pleased that six Adobe volunteers will be participating in such an immersive service learning experience, and are confident that this project will allow them to build leadership skills, expand their global mindset, and create change in a meaningful way.”
This is Adobe’s fourth international service learning project with Team4Tech and its second collaboration with the Greater Stellenbosch Development Trust. In May 2017, Adobe volunteers led teacher-training workshops at Makupula Secondary School. The workshops focused on introducing the teachers to the new 21st Century Learning Lab, which had been created thanks to the matching grant from Team4Tech.
"Giving back to the community is a core value at Cadence, and we look forward to embarking on our first employee volunteer project in South Africa with Team4Tech,” said Annamarie Dunn, senior group director of culture and talent at Cadence. "This program gives us the opportunity to invest in both our global youth and our employees so they can grow and develop as individuals and leaders. By partnering with Team4Tech, our employees have a unique opportunity to contribute directly to the advancement of high-quality educational opportunities in under-resourced communities."
Team4Tech’s corporate volunteering program works with technology companies to support established NGOs to improve education for underserved students. This is Team4Tech’s fourth year collaborating with GSDT. In previous years, teams of volunteers from Autodesk and Adobe deployed a computer lab at Makapula Secondary School; led teacher training workshops on digital literacy, 21st century education, and STEM-focused educational software; conducted a community-wide Tech Day at Vision Afrika; installed and trained teachers and students to use 3D printers; and led a design thinking workshop for regional schools and education nonprofits.
“Team4Tech’s technology-focused service learning programs, done in conjunction with technology companies like Adobe and Cadence, make a real difference for our nonprofit partners over a period of three to five years,” said Julie Clugage, executive director at Team4Tech. “Since Team4Tech’s collaboration with GSDT started in 2015, Makupula Secondary School has been recognized as a Western Cape eLearning Game Changer School and a leader in successfully integrating technology into their curriculum.”
About Team4Tech
Team4Tech provides technology professionals with immersive, short-term service learning projects that leverage their technology skills to improve education for underserved students, while also cultivating volunteers’ leadership skills and supporting corporate social responsibility goals. Team4Tech programs provide benefits to three distinct audiences: students and teachers gain access to improved teaching and learning through technology, volunteers gain 21st century leadership skills, and companies gain more engaged employees to lead customer-driven innovation. http://www.team4tech.org