Page 23 - Thetha Issue 6
P. 23
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Coding-without-computers project
changing lives and futures
KEYBOARD A group of learners play TANKS under
WARRIORS the watchful eye of Madiba on Mandela
University’s South Campus in Gqeberha.
by Nicky Willemse
bursary to attend IT-strong high
When Zwide youngster Culumanco school Alexander Road, and also
Komanisi, as a Grade 6 boy, was inspire a dream to complete his PhD “I developed
first introduced to TANKS – a in Computer Sciences one day. computational
programming app that doesn’t need “I developed computational
a computer – he didn’t even know thinking skills, actually understanding thinking
how to switch on a PC. how the brain of a computer works.”
“I thought a computer was the Culumanco is one of nearly skills, actually
smartest thing on this planet, but I 60 000 pupils across South Africa,
was wrong,” said Culumanco, now in mostly from under-resourced understanding
Grade 11. schools, who have been introduced how the brain of a
“With TANKS, I found out that to the world of coding through
computers are actually the dumbest TANKS and two similar coding- computer works”
things on this planet; they just follow without-computer apps called
human instructions. It is we humans RANGERS and BOATS.
who are smarter, not computers.” But it is the dream of Prof
Culumanco instantly became Jean Greyling – the Nelson
hooked on programming – a passion Mandela University computing
that would lead to his getting a sciences professor responsible for
2022 | mandela.ac.za | 23