Efforts to digitise higher education are taking off. More than 2 000 tablets with digital textbooks have been distributed to first year students at the University of Venda.
The students queued for the 10.5 touchscreen tablets. The tablets are loaded with prescribed text books, they are set to replace conventional hard copies, within the next five years.
“This is a continuous initiative which is also advanced, reaching the goal made for 2030, they are also fitting into the fourth industrial revolution. They are also accessing their notes on the internet, they are able to download e- books and they are also able to do e-learning,” says Student Representative Council President Tsundzukani Hakamela.
Students are happy with the transition.
“ This is really helping, them giving us tablets, it is really going to help us because some of us have been struggling to use the computers in the library, so it is easy to use these ones. These ones they are giving us today, we are going to use them to Google previous question papers,” says Tshepiso Mashamba.
In the event that the tablets get lost to theft or robbery, new ones will be provided.
“We are mindful of the fact that, we made sure there is provision for insurance in case of theft or in case they get lost,” says University of Venda’s spokesperson Dr Takalani Dzaga.
