2020 saw the sharpest rise in digital transformation across the globe. The pandemic accelerated the introduction of online education workflows in an unprecedented fashion. The effects of the crisis-induced change in teaching and learning are permanent.

“When the worldwide lockdowns started, every school was scrambling to see how they can deliver value and ensure learning continuity during this terrible time. The crisis exposed the technology access gap between the poor and rich in many societies”, stated Edzai Zvobwo, the Founder and CEO of MathsGee a peer to peer learning platform for learners to help each other through subject-specific questions and answers.

Online learner support platforms like MathsGee, Brainly and Byjus among others saw experienced exponential growth as learners and teachers were scrambling for scalable solutions to help them weather the “learn from home” phenomenon.

The common feature among platforms that gained the most users during this period is the availability of free content. This inclusive approach to business enabled learners from all walks of life to have access to quality educational resources at no cost.

This trend is evidence that there is a need for new and innovative business models that serve all learners regardless of their economic situation.

One prevalent business model that has enabled inclusivity is the ads-based model whereby learners can consume all the content but are exposed to advertising from third parties.

Another model that has grown is the freemium model whereby learners have access to basic content or free trials for a given period and then to access more features they have to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee.

“The freemium model is half-good because it gives you access but not full access thereby depriving learners of the quality information behind the paywall, this is exclusivity”, said Zvobwo.

MathsGee is committed to providing tools that enhance learner outcomes regardless of extenuating circumstances like poverty thus it has maintained a “full buffet” model. The EdTech startup currently uses an ad-based model to get revenue but is in the process of phasing out this method. They now have a “Sponsor/Tip-jar” model that seeks to optimize information sharing among learners and tutors on the platform.

In line with trends in the open-source world, which have seen the emergence of companies such as Patreon, who facilitate for the payment of creators by fans. This is a new model that allows for fans to give back to creators who are freely adding value in their lives. Github, Reddit, Pixabay and many other open-source platform now have a “Sponsor” button.

MathsGee has decided to make peer to peer sponsorships and donations the main revenue model for both the platform and content creators. Every user has a unique link on their profile that allows for other users and visitors to donate to them. The platform gets a 10% commission inclusive of transaction charges from the payment gateways.

This model ensures that no content is hidden from anyone and if a creator is producing quality content, they are guaranteed to be supported by beneficiaries on a willing donor basis.It is vital that education tool providers continue innovating for the benefit of the learner.

Website: https://mathsgee.com

Example Profile and Donate Button: https://mathsgee.com/user/MathsGee

Summary

Inspirational speaker and master trainer Robin Pullen teaches his audience how to shift from instinctive reactions and select an intentional response with the Activated Intelligence Trifecta. The reader will learn how to leverage their emotion and develop the H3 habits of the Activated life.

Body

In his most recently published the book 'Get Activated - How to shift from instinctive reactions to intentional responses' by inspirational speaker and master trainer Robin Pullen explains how you can learn to process your feelings (emotions), consider your thoughts (thinking), get in touch with your physiological (sensation) response and unpack your emotion-related behavior (actions) so that you can decode your shift from an instinctive reactions to be able to select an intentional response in any given situation.

Based on insights from his international experience as a behavior management expert, Gauteng based business coach and master trainer Robin Pullen shows the reader how to unlock their Activated Intelligence (Ai) using the H3 (head-heart-hand) triad. The Activated Intelligence Trifecta will empower the reader to practice emotional regulation so that they can leverage their emotion and develop the H3 habits of the Activated life.

Boilerplate:

Robin Pullen is a Professional Speaker, Executive Coach, Trusted Business Adviser, Master Trainer and published Author helping people find clarity to #GetActivated towards getting stuff done. He specializes in organizational behavior management with an emphasis on desired behavior and a particular focus on reliable and effective work practice. Robin has been described as an understander of people based on his real-world experience having developed a working understanding of why people do and do not do and has proven practical tactics and tools to unlock desired outcomes.

Media contact information: Robin Pullen
Cell: +27825580709
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CTC 101 Education Kit, available from RS Components, offers hands-on innovative training in electronics, programming and mechatronics 

Johannesburg, South Africa, 15 June, 2017 - RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the global distributor for engineers, has announced the availability of the Arduino CTC 101 Education Kit, which is a complete e-learning platform enabling young students to learn the fundamentals of electronics, programming and mechatronics.

The CTC 101 kit has been designed for teachers and other instructors working in education and is specially tailored for the 13 to 17 age group at secondary schools. Each kit includes enough electronic components for a class of 24 students and a teacher. Today, Arduino is one of the most popular open-source electronics platforms.

Initiated in 2005, the Arduino project targeted the development of low-cost and easy-to-use hardware and software that could be used by non-engineers or simply anyone new to electronics that was interested in creating digital electronic projects.  Building upon this foundation, the Arduino Education programme was set up to empower educators with the necessary hardware and software tools to create a more hands-on and innovative learning experience.

As a major element of the initiative, the CTC, or Creative Technologies in the Classroom, is Arduino’s one-of-a-kind STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) programme for upper secondary education.  

The CTC enables the introduction of students to the fundamentals of programming, electronics and mechatronics through a series of well-documented projects and easy-to-assemble experiments. Training for the programme is available online and through a combination of recorded lectures, support materials and Q&A forums, via Arduino. Specifically, the CTC 101 kit supports programming and mechatronics with five themed modules and offers more than 25 hands-on experiments.

All the parts in the kit are completely reusable, thereby enabling experiments to be reconfigured in endless combinations and further developed for more advanced students and projects. Each CTC 101 kit includes enough electronic components for a class of 24 students and a teacher.

It includes: six Genuino 101 programmable microcontroller boards; six Arduino Education Shields; a set of sensors and actuators; component modules; breadboards; a wide selection of electronic components, connectors and wires; plus other elements such as servo motors, USB cable, wheels and bearings, batteries and power modules. Initially, the CTC 101 is exclusively available from RS at http://za.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/1271382/  

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About RS Components 

RS Components is the market leader in the high service level distribution of electrical, electronic, mechanical, tools and industrial products. Operating in 26 countries whilst serving a further 100 through third-party distributors, RS serves every sector of industry in the procurement of their products relating to maintenance, repair, operations, low volume production, research and development.   

With over 500 000 products across 2500 leading brands, the company is committed to ensuring that their 1,5 million customers have fast access to a broad, as well as deep range, of products and technologies, all under one roof. RS’s customers, whether ordering single or multiple items, experience a quick, easy, secure, painless and cost effective process.  The RS catalogue, available at za.rs-online.com, offers full colour pictures with extensive clear product specifications. 

Free access to thousands of datasheets ensures the correct product choice.  Order placement is easily facilitated through za.rs-online.com, the call centre, e-mail, fax and trade counter.  Locally held stock is delivered to customers within 24 hours, and products held internationally, within four to six working days.  

 It is proven that departments traditionally spend 80% of their time sourcing products that account for only 20% of their total procurement spend. RS is focussed on reducing the customers “total cost of product ownership” by reducing the need to make multiple calls to various companies to source products, reducing supplier related administration and allowing for the amalgamation as well as consolidation of supplier bases. 

Through this process, procurement efficiency is improved and time is freed up to concentrate on the more important business decisions. 

For more information, please visit the website at za.rs-online.com 

Press Office:                                                                       

Le-andra Olivier

PR and Communication Specialist

RS Components South Africa

LThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+27 11 691 9345 

Further information is available via these links:

Twitter: @RSNewsSA; @RSElectronics; designspark RS Facebook: facebook.com/RSSouthAfrica RS Components on LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/company/rscoms 

Relevant Links: 

RSProRS Components South Africawww.electrocomponents.comDesignSpark Magazine - http://www.designspark.comwww.redrobot.co.za 

Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday, 30 January 2017: Sage, a Global leader in Business Management, Payroll & HR Solutions, and New Leaf Technologies, leaders in Learner Management Technology, today announced a strategic Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partnership. The partnership is aimed to address a growing requirement within HR  for a customized and easily manageable Learner Management Systems (LMS). The LMS system, aNewSpring, distributed by New Leaf Technologies, will be an integrated product add-on to the existing features of Sage X3 People

aNewSpring provides a streamlined training management platform by incorporating a Learner Management System, an Authoring Tool and a Knowledge Retention Tool to create highly effective, personalized learning journeys. The aNewSpring platform will compliment the powerful Enterprise HR  solution offered by Sage X3 People.  

‘’The aNewSpring and Sage X3 People partnership provides two way integration which eliminates all admin intensive processes and allows for the ability to measure your training process, measure results and gain full visibility of the weak touch points within your organization training processes.’’ said Hanly. ‘’Considering we are pairing a uniquely designed LMS with one of the world’s most trusted HR brands, we are confident that the partnership between New Leaf Technologies and Sage X3 People will prove to redefine the way organizations manage their HR resources going forward’’.  

For more information on the Sage X3 and New Leaf Technology integration please contact New Leaf Technologies (contact details below) or visit www.newleaftech.co.za

Press Contacts

Paul Hanly - Chief Executive Officer
New Leaf Technologies
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
011 234 1159

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About New Leaf Technologies: New Leaf Technologies specialize in creating and providing cutting edge disruptive technology for adaptive and blended learning solutions,in conjunction with aNewSpring. New Leaf Technologies offer learning technology, specialized content development and smart phone app creation for all business segments.  

About Sage:Sage is the market leader for integrated accounting, payroll, and payment systems, supporting the ambition of the world’s entrepreneurs. Sage began as a small business in the U.K. 30 years ago, and over[AC1]  13,000 colleagues now support millions of entrepreneurs across 23 countries as they power the global economy. We reinvent and simplify business accounting through brilliant technology, working with a thriving community of entrepreneurs, business owners, tradespeople, accountants, partners, and developers. And as a FTSE 100 business, we are active in supporting our local communities and invest in making a real difference through the philanthropy of the Sage Foundation.

When you dress to pitch, imagine you’re going for an interview to a top corporate, and have to make an excellent impact. Evening wear and dress suits are out, but refined and quiet clothes are in, and this will show how serious you are about presenting your pitch. First impressions count – before you start your pitch, the investors will have already come to some conclusions about you based on your appearance, so it has to be absolutely suitable for the event.  

Dressing to Pitch for the Ladies

• Bra-straps: ensure they fit snugly; don’t fiddle with them, don’t adjust them, don’t let them show
• Your cleavage: restrain it and put it to bed for the day
• Long dangly earrings:  choose small neat studs that won’t shake, rattle and roll as you move your head
• Mini-skirts: only acceptable if you’re a prepubescent teenager
• High, high heels: Uh-uh – change them so you don’t wobble
• Chipped nail polish; lipstick on teeth; laddered pantyhose; uncombed hair; suffocating perfume: avoid all these like the plague
• Demure make-up:  this beats gaudy colours every time  

Dressing to Pitch for the Gents

• Your fly: is it zipped to the top? Check and check again
• Butt-cracks: not to be on view, and trousers must fit perfectly and be secured with a belt
• Shirt hanging out: tuck it into your trousers – you’re not going to a picnic nor a braai
• After-shave cologne: go easy on it, as too much is overwhelming
• Deodorant: a must, and no underarm stains please
• Shoes: must be polished if they can be, and washed if they’re sneakers
• Ties: not necessary but shirt collars must lie flat
• Headphones with earpieces: leave them at home  

You’re almost there! You have enhanced your appearance so as to inspire the judges and the potential investors, and now they are eager to hear your polished pitch. Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank, Raizcorp and SAfm, as well as national partner the Youth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, your hosts of the 2016 ENGEN Pitch & Polish workshop and competition programme, look forward to seeing you dressed for polished pitching success!