volunteer translation of open textbooks in south africa
DESCRIPTION
Presented at the 1st International Conference of the African Virtual University, 20-22 November 2013, Nairobi, Kenya.TRANSCRIPT
CommunityCommunity
Technolog
y
Technolog
y
Openness
Openness
Siyavula - “we are opening”
Siyavula is a social enterprise built on community, openness and
technology, working to make high quality educational resources
available to every learner and teacher in South Africa.
South Africa
South Africa has 11 official languages Grade R-3: mother tongue instruction Grade 4+ : instruction in English and Afrikaans
80% instruction in English 20% in Afrikaans
Image licence: CC-BY-SA
What we have done
Open processes
Open copyright licences
Open standards
Opensource software
Free (and where possible, open) everything...
Open Licences
Technology enables and enriches
http://everythingmaths.co.za/http://everythingscience.co.za/
500,000 visitors p.m.VideosSimulationsIntelligent Practice
http://www.thunderboltkids.co.za/
ePubsComicsVideosSimulations
Textbook delivery
DBE have printed and distributed around 23 million of our textbooks, 16 million of which are our Gr 4-6
NS&T workbooks
CommunityCommunity
Technolog
y
Technolog
yO
penness
Openness
Community - Volunteers
Community - Management
Annotate and Google Docs
Community
Anything we produce with, for, or by the community,we release freely and openly
Provide a space for people to give back meaningfully to education in South Africa
Volunteers: Postgrad students:
Honours, Masters, PhD Lecturers and senior lecturers Educators People in industry
Community
Volunteering is a personal experience
Always be:Friendly
RespectfulAppreciative
UnderstandingEnthusiastic
Community - Recruitment
Community - Translation
Work with volunteers whenever possible 2012: 54 volunteer translators 2013: 31 volunteer translators 22 textbooks and teachers' guides translated, assisted by volunteers
Community - Translation
Resource info pack
Deadline
Community – Translation Events
Community - Translation
Community - Recognition
Community – Translation Learnings
Be like a Boy Scout – Be Prepared!
Work with translating volunteers that have strong subject knowledge
Friendly check ins
Pros Translation can go quickly Community building – word spreads Good quality work Cost saving (about 20% saving per title)
Cons Can be slow Translation quality differs across chapters and even in one chapter Uncertainty about quality of work (it all depends on who you work with)
Community
? How to ensure we receive consistently good translation work from volunteers?
Training?
Maybe not split chapters?
Try different approaches?
Discuss their translations with each other
Swap work and give feedback
Volunteers use review function on Transifex
What I'm still figuring out...
Siyavula Slate of Open Titles
catalogue of the 50 most crucial textbooks needed for school level STEM performance
engage with education authorities in South Africa for
official review and endorsement at the national level
textbooks distributed widely - some of the most
accessible educational resources in the country
3 year implementation
Looking for sponsors and partnerships
Where to from here?
Bridget Nash
www.siyavula.com@Siyavula facebook.com/siyavula