There are multiple online resources for the leaner and teacher to use.
Brand South Africa Reporter
Whether you’re looking for a new school for your children, learning materials, past exam papers, help with research projects, background information on educational matters or a job in teaching, there are plenty of online educational resources to assist you.
For learners and teachers
Thuthong Education Portal
Offers a wealth of resources on teacher development, curriculum, legislation, educational policy, administration, links to external web resources on the internet and more. Requires (free) registration.
Mindset Network
A far-reaching project aimed at uplifting all South Africans through better education, Mindset delivers free educational material via satellite broadcasts, with supporting multimedia material in print and on the internet. Mindset provides a host of channels, focusing on high school, primary school and health care workers. Video content is broadcast on Mindset Learn to 1 000 high schools and over a million homes in southern Africa via the DStv platform (channel 100).
The Learning Channel
Coming out of the educational series aired on SABC television, the Learning Channel offers free downloadable workbooks for matric subjects, as well as interactive video tutorials in a comprehensive list of subjects for sale. There are also a number of useful resources in the archived site.
Although this site requires M-Web, Tiscali or Iafrica membership, it offers excellent resources for school-goers of all ages: textbooks, past exam papers, school projects and much more, as well as forum boards learners can use to ask questions of M-Web’s panel of experts.
South African History Online
Excellent, user-friendly site offering alternative perspectives of history, focusing on untold stories and giving learners a chance to construct their own oral histories. The Classroom section has comprehensive content for grades 4 to 12. There’s also plenty of information for teachers, and a well-illustrated section on arts and culture.
Internet Biology Education Project
The University of the Western Cape’s botany department, the Western Cape Schools Network and the Western Cape education department collaborate to improve the teaching and learning of biology with online assistance. The site hosts mailing lists and newsgroups, and contains plenty of learning and teaching materials.
Biodiversity Explorer
Whether you’re looking for information on a seaslug named after Nelson Mandela or advice on how to deal with fig tree-eating beetles, the information-packed Biodiversity Explorer website, hosted by Iziko Museums of Cape Town, will answer all your questions – and a lot more.
Science in Africa
Africa’s first online popular science magazine aims to promote awareness of science conducted in Africa, to provide science teachers with locally relevant resources, to give information on health and science issues directly affecting society, and more.
General educational resources
South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement
Saasta, part of the National Research Foundation, aims to promote public understanding and awareness of science and technology, to nurture a new relationship between science and society, and to make science accessible and exciting to all South Africans.
The Teacher
Online version of the Mail and Guardian’s monthly newspaper for teachers. Contains news and features on topical issues, educational resources, opinions, letters and advice.
SABC Education
Homepage of the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s education division. User-friendly site providing information on the SABC’s various educational programmes, plus details on school competitions, school TV, games and colouring-in exercises for kids.
Study South Africa
Comprehensive information on studying at South Africa’s higher education institutions.
Directories of schools
Department of Education schools database
A comprehensive list of all private, public and boarding schools across the country, arranged by province in MS Excel format. Includes school contact details and addresses.
AllSchools.co.za
AllSchools is a dynamic education portal, boasting a list of some 30 000 institutions, and offers education related news, articles and resources. It also offers free website construction for schools and colleges.
SchoolNet SA
Hosts Electronic Schoolbook, a province-by-province list of schools’ e-mail addresses and websites, where they exist. Also carries a list of non-South African schools, and links to universities and other higher education institutions.
Schoolguide.co.za
Aims to facilitate communication among education role players. Provides education information, news, and a jobs service for teachers. Includes a full extended search function and in-depth schools information and galleries.
SA Schools
Provides a directory of all SA schools that have an online presence, and links to tertiary institutions.
Independent Schools Association of SA
Largest association of independent (private) schools in southern Africa. Information on private schooling and a directory of member schools.
SA Private Schools
Directory of private schools in South Africa.
Private Schools South Africa
Another private school directory.
Free State Schools
Hosts web sites for schools in the Free State.
Ananzi
Web directory with comprehensive links to education-related South African websites.
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