PurpleZA, a frontrunner in professional development for educators, is gearing up for the launch of an innovative gamified platform designed to empower individual teachers in taking control of their professional development and acquiring Google certifications. The new platform is poised to cater to motivated self-starters, fostering self-learning and providing avenues to enhance teaching and learning through technology.
As a Digicloud education partner and a distinguished Google for Education Innovator Project, PurpleZA stands among a select few African organisations awarded the Google Cloud Specialisation in Education Services. The organisation is dedicated to bridging educational technology with pedagogy, facilitating the transformation of teaching and learning. PurpleZA’s courses stand out for their engaging nature, incorporating gamification elements such as sparkly confetti, badges, and rewards to motivate participants as they progress through various training levels.
Irene Basson, Director at PurpleZA, emphasises the effectiveness of meaningful, targeted, and relevant training, available at the convenience of teachers’ schedules. Workshops, webinars, and online courses by PurpleZA provide not only flexibility but also practical examples and editable resources for immediate implementation. Basson notes, “Because the training is gamified, they report that they become ‘a little addicted to the confetti’ that appears on-screen when they get points.”
PurpleZA Directors highlight the enthusiastic response from teachers, who willingly engage in professional development during weekends and early mornings to refine their skills and gain fresh insights for effective teaching.
Launching later this month, the new platform named LaunchPad will extend access to individual teachers, offering a comprehensive range of PurpleZA courses, including training on Google Workspace for Education, Chrome, Google Classroom, and Google certification courses.
Lindsay Wesner, another Director at PurpleZA, underscores the importance of personalized and differentiated learning. The LaunchPad platform aims to address the increasing demand from teachers who wish to enroll in training independently, especially if their schools do not subscribe to PurpleZA services.
PurpleZA has played a pivotal role in driving transformative change in teaching and learning, having trained over 12,500 teachers in person and online. The gamified professional development platform has seen teachers complete over 58,000 learning units and 11,500 Google-specific courses. Notably, PurpleZA has supported 260 educators in achieving Level 1 Google Certified Educator status, 106 in Level 2, and five in becoming Google Certified Trainers.
The impact of PurpleZA’s professional development tools extends beyond individual teachers, with schools reporting transformative outcomes in administration and education. The platform brings about a cultural shift in schools, instilling confidence and skills in teachers for seamless technology integration into teaching practices.
Candice Erasmus, Education and Change Management Lead at Digicloud Africa, acknowledges PurpleZA’s noteworthy contribution to the education industry. She notes, “PurpleZA is really making waves, and it isn’t easy to become as renowned as they are in the local education industry. They are true specialists in education.”
As a significant player in the education sector, PurpleZA continues to receive recognition for its commitment to empowering educators, fostering self-directed professional development, and advancing the integration of technology in the classroom.
