“I am determined to get our children, through Knowledge Network, on par with the rest of the world. Thank you Knowledge Network!”

“I was born a South African but at the age of 12, my father was promoted and we had to move to the Middle East, The United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi in the year 2000.

Growing up in Abu Dhabi

Life there was so different compared to South Africa since they were ahead in technology. Why I am saying that is, when I was in Primary School in South Africa I did not have the opportunity to work on a computer but in Abu Dhabi, you are introduced to computers from Grade 01 onwards.

Our computer lessons were based on building our skills and not project based at all - which is why I love and enjoy Knowledge Network so much. I wish I had Knowledge Network at my school! With Knowledge Network, the learners are free to explore and learn so much more. You can be very creative although you still work within limits in order to achieve the desired outcomes.

Growing up in an ever changing and multicultural school in Abu Dhabi is a time in my life that will never be forgotten. We had over 45 nationalities in the school with around 15 different ones in your own class alone. My schooling in the Middle East made me aware of different cultures and taught me to respect everyone for who they are as individuals.

Thinking back and thinking of today, I have to say that children today are more exposed to the technological world and that it plays a big role in their lives - without them knowing it.

Having the skills and knowledge when it comes to computers and technology is essential in today's world since it will bring so many advantages along with it, especially job opportunities. It is vital for our children to be computer literate in order to be part of a world, which is becoming more and more technologically dependent.

As a child I was not privileged enough to have a computer at home and the school I went to had limited stations for a large public school. We did not have Internet to enjoy all of its benefits. Our children of today are so privileged to have that at hand. The Internet has made the world a smaller place as we get to communicate with the rest of the world and our knowledge bank is growing by the day with all the information available!

Vuleka School, Jellicoe - children are learning, achieving and having fun

I am currently a teacher's assistant here at Vuleka School, Jellicoe. I am in my second year of University, busy studying for my teacher's degree. I have been privileged enough to be trained by Knowledge Network and to be a part of their programme. Learners of all ages and different levels of skills are able to do the fun lessons that they present. The sessions presented by Knowledge Network do not only teach you computer skills but develop children's creativity and allow for them to be individuals.

The skills that the learners are busy learning are essential for an ever changing world. I have witnessed how the learners here at Jellicoe are enthusiastic when it comes to computer lessons and how their minds are at work.

We wrote our first computer exam this year and it has shown a variety of results. It has shown that our learners still have a few skills to master, especially typing skills. I am mentioning this because I want to emphasise how important it is for children to work with computers on a daily basis to make them more confident. The learners with computers at home clearly showed better results as they were more familiar with the computers and functions. We need to make it clear that children need to have the opportunity to work with computers in order for them to enjoy a world that is depending on it - so many opportunities will be available to them and they will only benefit from it.

I am truly looking forward to our second year with Knowledge Network next year and I cannot wait to see what they have planned for us! I am determined to get our children, through Knowledge Network, on par with the rest of the world. Thank you Knowledge Network!

Because of the children's eagerness to learn, they have enjoyed the Knowledge Network lessons tremendously and it brings them such pleasure when they have an end result at the end of the lesson - when they can see they have achieved something!

It brings me just as much joy to see their eager faces when they work on the computers and to see the amount of enthusiasm they have when they work on the sessions.”