iTEACHlab Welcomes NAPTOSA Delegates for Robotics and Coding Workshop

5 October 2023 – The MANCOSA School of Education’s iTEACHlab in Durban hosted 60 teachers from the National Professional Teachers’ Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA) for an exciting and engaging Robotics and Coding Teachers Workshop, encouraging teachers to embrace 21st-century technology in teaching. The teachers were in awe of the presentations on Robotics and Coding, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Artificial Intelligence and how it is applied in education to better student outcomes.

Delegates from the professional organization had the opportunity to experiment with LEGO Spike Prime and LEGO EV3 robots, explore augmented reality technology using the MANCOSA iTeach app, and test virtual reality experiences using the Oculus VR headsets. The practical session of the workshop also demonstrated key 21st-century skills, which included communication, collaboration, problem-solving skills, and teamwork.

The MANCOSA iTEACHlab seeks to ensure that MANCOSA educator graduates are globally recognized for their professional skills, able to teach across diverse school contexts, resourceful, and able to utilize technology for teaching and learning. The iTEACHlab aims to go beyond marginal change towards a system of complete disruption of the ways in which students learn different topics and skills outside of the traditional classroom.