Dennis Brandjes of SchoolNet SA says Kotsokoane is the ideal coordinator for the programme. He knows the communities we're working in and he really understands the value of technology in a resource-poor environment. As SchoolNet's School Mail project allows each student and teacher access to his or her own e-mail address, they are able to make contact with schools abroad, as well as other South African provinces. One of the first projects that students took part in was comparing their living environment with partner schools. More recently they wrote poems for Valentine's Day.
Students are more attentive in the computer lab than they are in a traditional classroom.
Although he'd prefer to be travelling around schools, building capacity in teachers, Kotsokoane is still office bound, unravelling connectivity problems in the programme. His dream, he says, is that the project will serve as an example to the education authorities and make them realise how useful computers are for education. They are doing very little to integrate communications technology into schools.