The Naledi3d Factory, located at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria uses Virtual Reality (VR) to create visual learning content. VR enables the creation of learning material that is both content- as well as context-rich, in realistic, engaging three-dimensional environments.
As Dave Lockwood, Naledi3d project lead states,
We believe that its potential for learning and skills development in Africa is boundless, and luckily, today we can bring this powerful visual communication medium to modern PCs and to many communities.”
interactive 3D graphics like this one can show residents how easy it is to replace washers and taps.
In Africa, where poor literacy skills and language barriers pose huge challenges to learning and skills development, VR comes into its own. It’s intensely visual nature transcends literacy and language barriers by being able to “show” as opposed to the more conventional “approach of telling”. VR has a distinct and powerful edge over other more traditional approaches which ignore the intensely powerful visual nature of the human brain.
A global first in Africa
Interestingly, the Naledi3d Factory is unique globally in its work exploring this innovative approach, namely, using VR to communicate concepts to people in developing communities. Over the ten years that the Naledi3d team has been developing these ideas, they have built an enviable track record and reputation for their work. For example, their work with emerging farmers in Zimbabwe was selected by the World Summit Awards (WSA) in 2009 for a special mention as “one of the most outstanding examples of creative and innovative e-Content” (selected from 20 000 nominations from 157 countries!).
Used correctly, VR can easily address the need to present locally relevant knowledge in a way that is compatible with local value systems and local needs.
The visual appeal of inteactive3d learning objects
As part of their work in this domain, the Naledi3d Factory has also pioneered the concept of VR-based “interactive3d learning objects” (i3dlos) – a new, effective learning tool that marries interactive visual communication with the concept of the learning-object.
The key to the success of i3dlos lies in the interactive nature of the medium. Other, more traditional digital learning approaches rely on video and animation – which tend to be passive and one-way in nature. The visual, interactive nature of i3dlo’s means that the learner continually engages, which leads to higher levels of comprehension and knowledge retention. A visual approach to learning is also underpinned by how learning actually takes place (i.e. the neuro-cognitive system) which responds most effectively to visual stimuli and mental images. Therefore, “by using VR to show concepts and knowledge in a visual way, we can dramatically enhance the level of understanding of any subject.” So said Eli Gudza, who is the executive director of World Links Zimbabwe in September 2007.
Based on a learning object philosophy, i3dlo’s can be easily incorporated into existing learning materials and programmes, and used in learning interventions to get key messages across, whether in FET colleges, schools and universities or community centres.
Importantly, i3dlo’s can also be translated into local languages, making them more relevant to the target audience and more effective in communicating new knowledge and skills. All the ‘localisation” process needs is a good knowledge of WinZip, audio-recording and image editing software such as Photoshop or Gimp. It can be done by knowledgeable individuals in the local community and offers great skills transfer opportunities.
A number of i3dlo’s that have been developed through past projects have already been translated into various other languages, including Shona (by Wold Links Zimbabwe), Zulu, Sotho, Sepedi as well as French (Dakar University) and Portuguese (Eduardo Mondlane University).
I3dlo’s and implementation
As new projects are developed, the Naledi3d team endeavours to partner with interested individuals and community-based organisations who can translate new i3dlo’s that emerge from the project into one or more indigenous African languages – as well as use the new visual material in their community-based implementation work.
Training using 3dlo's creates interest for all levels and ages of learners!
Many of the i3dlo’s that emerge from the Naledi3d Factory’s i3dlo initiative have been funded through international donors, or other state funds. It is therefore important that these works are placed in the public domain in terms of “the general good”.
In 2009, in order to support this approach and to make the i3dlo’s accessible, the i3dlo web portal was developed with the support of UNESCO. All new material is archived in the download area of the site, where people and organisations have open access to any i3dlo’s which they would like to incorporate into their learning environments. These resources are free for non-commercial use, available under Creative Commons licences.
The relevance of i3dlos to dripping taps
Reducing water wastage is crucial to any conservation strategy and from a municipal perspective, reducing wastage that has already been treated and supplied more so. Awareness campaigns do exist, but incorporating innovative, interactive 3D graphics to actually show residents how easy it is to replace washers and seals in domestic taps and cisterns, can add substantial new value to water conservation initiatives.
Supported by SAFIPA, this pilot project is working towards significantly reducing water wastage from leaking taps and cisterns – simply by encouraging the replacement of old washers that can cost as little as R3!
The project objectives are two-fold, firstly to develop a range of i3dlo’s that show how to replace washers in four types of domestic taps and a cistern, and the second is piloting the new material in a training workshop environment. For the first objective, simulations have been developed for the various types of taps.
The second objective is being met through trainer and water specialist, Mr D Lentle of DLP Consulting, undertaking practical workshops. The first workshop was held at the East Rand Water Board (ERWAT) in January 2011, with 22 participants. It is also planned at a later stage to run a second workshop at one of the Rand Water Board’s (RWB) Water-Wise centres.
Thinking out of the box… SimCity in Africa
Government is now placing a major emphasis on “service delivery”, recognised as a major challenge in many smaller towns and rural districts, where significant skills and resource challenges often exist. New, innovative approaches are required to help ensure a speedy turn-around.
SimCity, a well known computer game that simulates a town or city, is made up of residential, industrial, and commercial zones. In the game, the town can grow, or decline, depending on on-going decisions taken by the “mayor”. The game engine is supported by a budget, taxation and a menu system that allow the Mayor to pay for new infrastructure such as roads or hospitals, spend money on services, whilst balancing community and budget pressures, and avoiding the numerous problems that arise such as power cuts and fire outbreaks. At the same time, the mayor must endeavour to maintain growth of the town or city (and avoid a declining local economy).
An ongoing project which is supported by SAFIPA, is the exploration of whether, and how, SimCity could be used as a training tool for senior staff and councillors in South African municipalities.
The first major drawback identified of SimCity as a South African training tool, has been that the buildings in the game are based on US architecture, thus, local “ownership” would be minimal because of a lack of local context.
Therefore, the first objective for this project has been to explore how local buildings could be added to the game, and to develop a working local version with local relevance, that can subsequently be used as a training tool with local and, most especially, rural municipalities.
The actual process of localising SimCity has proved to be more complex than first envisaged; amongst a number of tasks, an additional 200-plus new SimCity building “lots” have been created and individually configured, inappropriate US buildings have been removed and new landmarks and rewards are being created.
Using SimCity in practice – implementation
As with most innovative projects, the most important aspect is taking the outcomes to the end-user.
The first steps to this end will be the development of an implementation toolkit, which will consist of documentation, several pre-defined scenarios, an install system as well as activities to “train the trainers”. The aim of the facilitator’s training manual will be to support future, on-going, standardized training sessions. A pilot workshop is also planned when work on this phase of the SimCity localisation is completed.
In discussions with local government stakeholders, it is also becoming clear that there could be a specific need for actual local towns to be created. Responding to this, the team has already begun the exploration and testing of specific landscapes.
Kerryn is a director at The African Commons Project. She graduated from Rhodes University having majored in Journalism & Media Studies and English and has since worked in the e-commerce arena before becoming involved in the Commons movement. Kerryn was the lead project manager at iCommons and is now concerned with open content, intellectual property and issues of internet governance. Kerryn completed her Advanced Diploma in Internet Governance and Intellectual Property with the Diplo Foundation. 
This is the final edition of the SAFIPA newsletter. The month of November 2011, marks the conclusion of this dynamic initiative.
