Tech Central: How SIMcontrol helped Acorn Education enable e-learning

Read the original Tech Central article here: https://techcentral.co.za/how-simcontrol-helped-acorn-education-enable-e-learning-fliprom/102063/

SIMcontrol has helped countless businesses and educational institutions during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. With schools shutting down without much notice, the need for e-learning solutions was thrust into the spotlight.

While well-resourced schools were able to manage this transition smoothly, many under-resourced ones found this to be a major challenge. For many, this wasn’t even an option. One of most successful e-learning projects was rolled out by Acorn Education, an NGO based in Cape Town.

Reliable and cost-effective mobile data connectivity posed an enormous problem. Using the SIMcontrol online platform, Acorn Education was able to deliver and manage mobile connectivity to more than 2 870 learners during this time.

Acorn Education was able to choose the best-suited mobile network and the most cost-effective data packages, and managed everything from a single platform

Apex High School, in Eersterivier, decided that it wouldn’t take the challenge lying down and the management team at the school tackled the ongoing concerns over the 2020 school year head-on. They decided to incorporate Facebook groups in their pursuit of encouraging pupils to participate, as it was already the most used platform in their community. Apex Primary School and Forest Village Leadership Academy (also a primary school) followed suit by sharing lessons to learners via WhatsApp.

In June, all three schools moved over to a Learner Management System for online learning. For those without devices, a plan was made to lend entry-level devices to such learners. It worked brilliantly, ensuring that learners at these schools did not fall behind in the curriculum.

Easy distribution

With the help of SIMcontrol, Acorn Education was able to choose the best-suited mobile network and the most cost-effective data packages, and managed everything from a single platform. With this ingenious platform, they can simply “push” data to learners’ existing Sim cards on a scheduled basis. The easy distribution of data can be done manually or by setting up automated recharges at certain times via the SIMcontrol portal.

A harrowing quote from basic education minister Angie Motshekga says it all: “Saving this academic year means saving the whole generation.” Acorn Education, using the SIMcontrol platform, managed to play its part in achieving this.

Assisting with learner connectivity is just one use case for SIMcontrol’s business Sim management platform. It is used by thousands of businesses to better manage staff, data devices and IoT Sims daily.

For more information, visit simcontrol.co.za.