21 May 2020

Africa’s Largest STEM Knowledge Exchange Launched in Johannesburg

Submitted by: Edzai
Africa’s Largest STEM Knowledge Exchange Launched in Johannesburg

“People want to share what they know, whether they are driven by pure altruism or a need to be recognised as an expert, we invite people to be part of the MathsGee Open Question & Answer Bank”, said Edzai Conilias Zvobwo, Chief Genius at MathsGee.MathsGee, an education social enterprise based in Johannesburg, South Africa, is on a mission to leverage the near-zero marginal cost to information for the benefit of learners.

Inspired by the award-winning economist Jeremy Rifkin, MathsGee has set-up an educational platform for learners to access all information for free. Zvobwo, a staunch supporter of collaborative commons believes that, if people work together, the education problems, especially in STEM subjects can be solved. MathsGee epitomises the very nature of collaborative commons as all their courses, quizzes, and Q&A platform are free and can be accessed by anyone who wants to ask a question or share their knowledge.

The MathsGee Open QnA Bank, which was officially launched on the 20th of May 2020, is a discussion forum that is geared towards supporting learners during this COVID-19 induced lockdown. The platform is designed and curated around South Africa’s CAPS curriculum from Grade 1 up to Grade 12. Currently, only mathematics and science are the subjects covered. There are a number of tertiary maths course modules that have been included so that there is subject-specific continuity along the full STEM learning journey for learners. Zvobwo reiterated the fact that no learner should be deprived of support whilst learning at home during this lockdown and beyond.

Many parents do not know how to help their child with math homework and it gets confusing if they google a question and can’t find the answer. If they happen to find an answer it is sometimes explained used very difficult methods. MathsGee QnA hopes to solve the parents’ problems especially by mapping and capturing questions and answers for all grades, chapters and topics in order to help parents understand and be able to support their child beyond the classroom. 

The platform is open to everyone and users can ask and/or answer questions. If they do not want to answer questions they can simply comment or vote on the most helpful solutions. Users simply post question(s) by filling in the ASK form and will be on their way to mathematical happiness. There is no limit to the number of questions one can ask, and one can also post answers to other people’s questions.

Published in Science and Education