State owned Telecommunication Company has urged school administrators, parents and guardians to embrace digital learning even as learners in non-examination classes return to school.
Zamtel Corporate Communications Manager Changwe Kabwe said learners need to be encouraged not to abandon the use of e-learning platforms that they adopted during the period when schools were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr. Kabwe noted that it is critical that school administrators fully integrate some aspects of delivering lessons digitally as part of embracing the New Normal.
He added that during the period of school closure, the company observed a growing interest from learners to shift to digital learning as an alternative which should not be allowed to die down as classes reopen.
“It is critical that school administrators fully integrate some aspects of delivering lessons digitally as part of embracing the New Normal.During the period of school closure, Zamtel observed growing interest from learners to shift to digital learning as an alternative which should not be allowed to die down as classes reopen,” Mr. Kabwe said.
Mr Kabwe explained that Zamtel launched Smart Revision and the e-Learning portal to help bridge the learning gap created by the school closures and to popularize digital learning, adding that the number of learners interacting with the two platforms since they were launched in April has been encouraging.
“We have seen thousands of learners interacting with the two platforms and we would like that to continue even as these learners return to class today. We should get to a point where digital learning work side by side with conversational modes of delivering education,” Mr Kabwe said.
He also announced that the company is working on school based subscription packages which will allow schools to purchase subscriptions for learners.
“We are ready to work with school administrators to ensure that e-Learning is not left by the side as our learners return to class. We need to maintain the gains recorded during the closure period and integrate digital learning into mainstream modes of teaching and learning,” Mr Kabwe said.
Mr Kabwe further Zamtel will soon introduce additional features on its e-learning portal such as online live lessons to be conducted by teachers with approved curriculum by the Ministry of Education.
“What the last few months have shown is that virtual learning is going to be the new Normal and we are excited that these learning tools provided by Zamtel have enabled thousands of learners to access quality education. We are pushing up our efforts to get more schools adopting the use of digital platforms to deliver education services,” Mr Kabwe said.
Non-examination classes have opened today, following President Edger Lungu’s decision to ease some of the covid-19 restrictions.