South African private higher education institution CTI Education Group (CTI) has said it will offer its students tablet computers loaded with prescribed textbooks at no additional cost.
Over 2,000 freshmen expected to begin their undergraduate studies at CTI will be provided with the new ten-inch touch-screen Samsung Galaxy Note tablets, preloaded with eight prescribed textbooks of course material.
CTI terms the project as one of the first to offer tablets to higher education students in their learning institutions. Learners will access their books through advanced e-text software while course lecturers will be able to make notes using the tablets that will automatically update on the student’s devices.
The project seems to be in response to College Campus’ new programme that offers diploma students Galaxy tablets preloaded with digital books from Kalahari.com.
Darren Fox, chief executive of CTI Education Group, said: “To succeed in their future careers, young South Africans will need to be IT-literate and fully versed with the latest technology. We want to make our students’ learning experience as close as possible to the world of work they will be entering, and we’re very pleased to partner with Samsung, one of the world’s leading technology companies, to do that.”
CTI is part of Pearson, the world’s largest education company, which pioneered the use of digital and mobile technologies to enhance learning.
“We are constantly seeking ways to use technology to give people access to a better education all over the world,” Mark Cunnington, managing director for higher education at Pearson South Africa, said.
According to Cunnington, millions of students from the United States, Europe, Asia, and now across Africa use Pearson’s digital learning tools to enhance their learning every day.
“Thanks to this partnership, CTI students will now be part of the digital learning revolution which has the power to transform learning outcomes in South Africa,” he said.
The first-year students of Bachelor of Commerce and BSc in Computing Systems degrees at CTI’s twelve campuses across South Africa are targeted in the project.
