DionWired SMARTboards revolutionise special needs education

The lives of 2442 children with disabilities will change for the better this year as a result of a nationwide corporate social investment initiative by DionWired.

A total of 7 schools in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal will receive a total of 12 SMARTboards. This revolutionary teaching tool is an online, interactive, touch screen white board that adds a whole new dimension to teaching by enabling classmates with varying disabilities to participate in lessons that they ordinarily would not be able to participate in.

DionWired Director, Nazim Cassim explained that DionWired believes in making a positive contribution to special needs education in South Africa. “SMARTboards can be linked to a data projector to project on to a large interactive whiteboard, what would ordinarily be confined to the screen of a computer. This can permit a physically disabled student to approach the SMARTboard in a wheelchair, touch the interactive icons and participate in a lesson. We have received feedback that this revolutionary teaching tool has completely dispelled the negative perceptions that students had towards learning. We are encouraged by how our SMARTboards boost student morale and confidence while simultaneously facilitating learning” he said.

To date DionWired has donated a total of 69 SMARTboards to special needs schools in South Africa. The total value of the SMARTboards donation, including specialised software and equipment, is R581 000 which brings the DionWired’s total investment in this project to just over R2.5 million.