All grade 12 learners enrolled at Elangwane Secondary School have received access to the additional learning platform as part of a pilot project between the department and Stellenbosch University.

The school is one of the few science schools in the country and was chosen by the provincial department to be part of the project. The pilot project is part of a larger plan by the department to make SU Advantage available to more schools in the province – especially in schools where resources are limited.

SU Advantage was introduced at the school shortly before the start of the mid-year exams which took place in June. Learners will have access to the platform for the rest of the academic year too, which will enable them to reap the benefits of SU Advantage with the eye on the final exams as well.

"SU Advantage offers short animated video lessons which summarise the most important aspects of each topic learners would have covered in class. The aim of these video lessons is to enhance what learners were exposed to in class and to explain to them how they can expect the work to be assessed in tests and examinations," explains Dr Benedict Khoboli, Director of the Stellenbosch Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP).

After each video lesson, learners can attempt an online quiz to test their understanding of the material they have studied. If they appear to require further exposure to certain topics, SU Advantage offers workbooks in each subject which elaborate on key concepts learners are required to know.

The learners at Elangwane Secondary School already had tablets which were made available to them by the department of education in the province. Now that they have access to SU Advantage, they are able to put the devices to full use as part of their preparations for tests and exams.

"I use SU Advantage to study for all my subjects. It is handy to use especially because we do not have hard copy resources available for some subjects. The video lessons help me to understand the work we need to know much better," commented Siyabonga Nkwanyana, a grade 12 learner at the school.

As part of the pilot project, SUNCEP sent representatives to Elangwane Secondary School to provide teachers and learners with training on how to use SU Advantage effectively to support them with planning, teaching and assessment.

Teachers at the school have also embraced SU Advantage as part of their teaching techniques. Many educators at the school are using pre-created quizzes and workbooks that are part of the platform as homework assignments for the learners in their classes. These assessments are automatically marked by SU Advantage and teachers are able to see the results on a bespoke reporting dashboard which gives them a bird’s eye view of how their learners are engaging with SU Advantage.

Learners at the school are also seeing a noticeable improvement in their marks since they have started using SU Advantage. They find the platform’s user-friendly design and accuracy in terms of content appealing too.

"SU Advantage is the best platform. It is easy to use and provides the best information to help with your studies. It really helps you academically," said Chichi Mabele, a grade 12 learner at Elangwane Secondary School.

SU Advantage launched in March of this year and has since seen hundreds of learners across the country subscribe to the platform. Many have used SU Advantage as part of their studies for the mid-year exams.

"We’re constantly working on new ways to improve SU Advantage. One of our latest additions to the platform is live lessons which start during the third term. Learners will be able to take part in daily live lessons in all subjects available on SU Advantage. These lessons are presented after school hours and are intended to consolidate all the work learners should know up until that point in time according to the national annual teaching plans," explains Francois van Louw, founder of SOCO_ED, the company that developed SU Advantage with Stellenbosch University.

• For more information about SU Advantage, visit suadvantage.co.za.