Teaching Fellowships in Africa Created to Honor Dr. Randy Pausch

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This past week at the LEAP Maths and Science Schools in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, the first ever Randy Pausch/Teach with Africa Fellows began teaching computer science and technology skills to high school students from the surrounding townships.

“By sharing their expertise in how to make technology come alive for these children, the Randy Pausch Fellows are an integral part of the best practices exchange that is taking place between the US and South African faculty.”

“Teach with Africa’s educators, including the Randy Pausch Fellows, are working alongside South African teachers to provide a solution to the acute shortage of skills, particularly math and science, among the children of economically and socially challenged populations,” explained Amy Schoew, executive director of Teach with Africa, a Bay Area non-profit dedicated to breaking down barriers to education. “By sharing their expertise in how to make technology come alive for these children, the Randy Pausch Fellows are an integral part of the best practices exchange that is taking place between the US and South African faculty.”

The Randy Pausch Fellowship – funded by Electronic Arts in partnership with Teach with Africa – honors the memory of the late Dr. Randy Pausch and addresses the dire computer teacher and trainer shortage in the educational crisis facing South Africa. During July and August, the Teach with Africa program is assisting with teaching learning strategies to help students – who historically were denied math and science instruction during apartheid – to overcome the vast achievement gap that continues to be a barrier to university education and jobs.

The Randy Pausch Fellowship program provides EA employees and teaching associates with an opportunity to have a profound impact on a community in need, while honoring the memory of the beloved computer science educator who developed the Alice open source programming application known for teaching kids math, programming and computer skills in a fun and engaging way.

“We believe that sending IT trainers to South Africa to train faculty and instruct students in basic computer operation and Alice educational software will extend the reach of Dr. Pausch’s legacy,” said Cindy Nicola, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at EA. “In addition to honoring Randy and having a profound impact on the students in South Africa, our partnership with Teach with Africa supports EA’s focus to cultivate rewarding relationships with our local communities, universities as well as current and future employees. In the words of this year’s EA fellow, ‘it’s an experience of a lifetime’.”

Many people know Randy Pausch from his “last lecture” on how to turn dreams into realities, which he prepared for his children while dying from pancreatic cancer. He delivered the lecture to 400 students and colleagues, and it has since been viewed by millions throughout the world on the Internet. The Last Lecture was developed into a book, which shot to the top of the best-seller list and has been published in 30 languages. Dr. Pausch passed away in July 2008, and Teach with Africa and Electronic Arts created the Randy Pausch Fellowship in recognition of his enormous contributions to his field and to humanity.

ABOUT RANDY PAUSCH

Randy Pausch was a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was the cofounder of Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). He was a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator and a Lilly Foundation Teaching Fellow, with interims at Walt Disney Imagineering and Electronic Arts (EA) and as a consultant with Google on user interface design. Dr. Pausch received his bachelors in Computer Science from Brown University and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. The author or co-author of five books and over 70 articles, he was the director of the Alice (www.alice.org) software project.

ABOUT TEACH WITH AFRICA

Teach with Africa’s mission is to break down economic and social barriers to education in Africa through an exchange of teaching and learning. Teach with Africa responds to the dire teacher shortage and educational crisis in South Africa by sending multi-disciplinary teams comprised of teachers, mental health professionals, and MBAs focused on sustainability and social entrepreneurship. By integrating their experiences into curricula and educational programs after their return to the United States, these educators will enhance opportunities for children in the Bay Area and beyond to identify themselves as "global citizens" through authentic connections, ongoing dialogue and shared learning with the students in South Africa. Teach with Africa partners with the LEAP Maths and Science Schools, a community-based intervention school with an extended school day, rigorous academic preparation, and extra academic and emotional support. Since opening in January 2004, LEAP graduates are passing their university entrance exams at rates significantly higher than their peers in traditional South African schools. www.teachwithafrica.org and www.leapschool.org.za

HOW TO DONATE:

Visit www.teachwithafrica.org/contribute.html or www.networkforgood.org KEYWORD: Teach with Africa