“I want to make people laugh.”
Simple words, often uttered without thought or conviction. But when they come out of Simphiwe ‘Big Lion’ Dlamini’s mouth you get the feeling that he means what he is saying. His enthusiasm is almost palpable as he shows off a zany looking sketch of a Rastafarian that he is in the process of animating.
Simphiwe, a 26-year old Multimedia student at the George Tabor Campus of South West Gauteng College, has big dreams for his future. These aspirations are fuelled by the College’s commitment to creating a learning environment that embraces technology and inspires creativity.
“I’m a storyteller and a comedian and an artist,” Simphiwe explains. “The Multimedia course allows me to use all of my talents and work towards my goal of creating beautiful graphic art that has the power to entertain people.”
South West Gauteng College is a public Further Education and Training Institute that consists of six campuses in and around Johannesburg. The George Tabor Campus in Dube, Soweto, is the only campus currently offering Multimedia content. Up until 2011 the College was limited to an Electronic Controls and Digital Electronics course offering. The introduction of theory around Adobe Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop and Premiere Pro at this time gave the students an opportunity to learn more about the software that drives many aspects of the creative industry.
“Initially, our College computers were not compatible with the products that the students were studying, we did not have the required memory or processing speed and the graphic cards were outdated. Students were unable to gain any practical experience and the scope of teaching was restricted to theoretical instruction,” says Academic HOD, Asser Dihpare. “It became necessary to buy the components and build computers ourselves that were able to support the relevant software.”
At the outset, the Multimedia course’s practical element was met with scepticism from the student body.
“The community had little or no knowledge about Adobe products and the concept of Multimedia as a potential career received minimal consideration,” explains Diphare. “Only 33% of our students passed the foundation Level 2 of Multimedia in 2011.”
Learning Curve, specialists in licensing software solutions and Adobe’s only African Platinum Status partner, have been instrumental in providing face-to-face training and supplying video tutorial materials to ensure that lecturers are acquainted with the Adobe curriculum and have the necessary skills to spark the interest and imagination of their students.
“Continuous interaction with various learning institutions has shown how this software motivates students to show up and to participate,” says Phillip Mogkethi, Learning Curve’s Solution Specialist and Adobe Account Manager. “There is a much higher level of interest in the labs and learners seem to feel more empowered through their creations.”
The results of the College’s inclusion of a practical component to their Multimedia course have been remarkably positive. Attendance figures have steadily increased and the pass rate shot up to 83% in 2013.
“We hold weekend workshops in Flash Animation that are attended by 80% of students,” remarks David Fanteni, South West Gauteng College Multimedia lecturer. “This course has become so popular that our students are clamouring for a spot in the programme. Poor lecture attendance, often a problem for other subjects, does not affect us at all.”
Simphiwe Dlamini is already using his multimedia knowledge to create posters and flyers when he is not at college. “I am financially independent now. This is something that I never thought would happen doing something that I love.”
With the need for problem solving skills to address challenges such as the global economy, environment and social issues, creativity is no longer a nice to have, it is a must have. For this reason, learners and teachers need to have access to the latest technology tools that will enable them to be more creative. With the right tools learners will be able to express ideas and tell their own stories across a variety of media. Adobe products have done just that, by allowing learners to uplift themselves and even potentially win awards in the near future.
