USER STORY

Fundalula. To GIS and beyond!

FundaLula is a solution to enhance the uptake of Geography as a subject in schools, improve the marks in the Mapwork section of the current geography curriculum and to provide a simple tool to teach Geographic Information System (GIS) as part of the Geography curriculum. 

The Challenge

Due to educational and technological restraints South African teachers are finding it difficult to effectively teach learners about Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This leaves students lagging behind with their spatial skills development, an increasingly important skillset in our location-aware and technologically driven world.

Recognising the difficulties faced by teachers, leading geospatial software provider Esri South Africa designed and developed a solution to help teachers develop increased confidence in their GIS teaching skills. The FundaLula programme enables teachers, and ultimately learners, to master key geography and mapwork skills leading to a better understanding of GIS and spatial solutions. As a GIS-driven business Esri South Africa understands the importance of developing an enthusiasm for GIS among the younger generation and believes that exposure to the FundaLula program provides the means to achieve this.

The Solution

FundaLula is a computer-based program specifically designed to aid in the teaching of Geography, Mapwork and GIS as per the CAPS curriculum for Grades 10 – 12. It covers five main learning areas: Basic Mapwork, Topographical and Orthophoto Maps, Map Interpretation, GIS, and Remote Sensing. The FundaLula application provides classroom resources for teachers and learners. These include homework activities, videos, GIS activities, digital maps, informative PowerPoint slides, documents and images. FundaLula provides exposure to various geography related careers and gives students a visual understanding of how geographic knowledge and technology work together. It allows students to visually integrate their knowledge of mapwork in an interactive computer applied environment. The program is easy to use, no prior computer skills are required, and no internet connection is needed.

Impact

Over the years many schools in South Africa have taken a keen interest in FundaLula and implemented it in their schools and classrooms. Feedback from teachers indicates that FundaLula has made teaching GIS a pleasure, giving many of them increased confidence in their ability to teach this topic in their classrooms. Esri South Africa is always enthusiastic about giving back to the community and has made various sponsorships of the FundaLula application and training.

Feedback from the Mr SK Zwane, principal of Leneha Tumisi School in KwaZulu-Natal, reveals that the educators at his school were excited to receive the product and training. “Please know how much you’ve helped them and how appreciative we are. We believe the product will help improve teaching and learning of Geography and consequently improve results,” he says.

Esri South Africa has a long-standing relationship with the University of Pretoria where FundaLula has been implemented within the Faculty of Education. All final year B. Ed students taking the subject Methodology of Geography have used the FundaLula software and received GIS training accompanying the software.

The Head of Humanities Education, Prof. Johan Wassermann, has high praise for the Esri South Africa instructors and the FundaLula program. “The instructors… ensured interaction and class participation; making what everyone initially perceived as a difficult subject, considerably easier.” He also commended “the simple way in which the lecture content was packaged and presented” and the provision of “numerous and varied activities with identifiable real world applications”. Esri South Africa frequently receives feedback from teachers and students with many positive comments on its professional instructors, simple content and applicable activities which demonstrate real-world applications of GIS.

The future

FundaLula makes learning, teaching and applying mapwork and GIS fun in the classroom environment. Esri South Africa believes in contributing to the development of future generations and hopes to motivate students to pursue a career in the GIS field. With the continuous support of teachers and students, FundaLula is regularly being improved.

Contact [email protected] for more info.