Digital Hero Book

Kathryn Lee from Prospect Sierra wrote this piece in the school newsletter:

Technology teacher, Abigail Joseph and I co-taught a service learning elective called, “The Hero Book Project,” with Steve Vosloo, a South African and current Fellow in Stanford’s Digital Vision Program. Fortunately for us, Steve piloted the U.S. end of his project at Prospect Sierra School. This special project provided our students with an opportunity to reflect on their lives in a structured way while learning about and connecting with students in South Africa and Kenya, young people who find courage even while living in communities plagued by AIDS and other troubles. Together we have been exploring what it means to set goals, consider community, find circles of support, be empathetic of one another, overcome obstacles, and share shining moments.

We knew we were in for a remarkable experience on the first day of class when our 7th and 8th graders described heroes. In their own words:

“What is a hero? A hero is someone who helps someone else, even if they don’t know them.They don’t have to help a person, but maybe something like the world or a country. A hero is someone who will risk themselves to help and make sacrifices.” (7th grader)

“I think a hero is like a superhero. Someone like a superman, who overcomes his obstacles and saves the day. In real life, I think heroes are people who save something or fight for what they believe in. People like Gandhi or just ordinary people who stand up for their rights. Also, heroes are people who save other people in everyday acts. Heroes are there to support the people who can’t stand up for themselves.” (8th grader)

“The heroes in my life are my friends. They make me smile no matter what is happening and give me the best advice I could ever ask for. When I’m feeling sad or angry, they listen to me and know exactly what to say. I can tell them anything and they will accept me for who I am. Sometimes I’m depressed or scared and don’t know what to do, and instead of staying away from me, they try to make me feel better. The most important thing in a friendship is unconditional acceptance and understanding, and I always feel loved when I’m around them. Everyone deserves to be loved. They are my heroes because they give me what I need from them and demand the same in return. I don’t think that I would be here without them.” (8th grader)

Thank you to Kathryn! –>

For two days students from Eikendal Primary, Floreat Primary and Montagu Drive Primary schools created their own digital hero books in a workshop led by Steve Vosloo. The workshop, held at Montagu Drive school in Mitchell’s Plain, was both engaging and fun for all involved. Students worked from their paper-based hero books to create a 2-minute digital version made up of scanned images, photos and images taken from the web, displayed to the sound of their voice narrations. Selecting and editing the images, recording the audio and writing a script to tie it all together were some of the new skills that the students learned.

Big thank yous to the educators Druscilla van Niekerk, Joy Prinsloo and Bonnie Lamb for their hard work in bringing digital hero booking to their students, the principals, students and everyone from Khanya who made this possible.

See all the photos.

Druscilla van Niekerk and students creating their digital hero books

Bonnie Lamb and students

Steve Vosloo leading the workshop

Montagu Drive Primary school, located in an area notorious for gangsterism and violence.

Today Steve Vosloo visited two schools in Cape Town that have been participating in the Digital Hero Book Project (DHBP): Eikendal Primary in Kraaifontein and Floreat Primary in Steenberg.

At Eikendal Primary there was an opportunity to meet Druscilla van Niekerk, the educator who has been hero booking with her students, Percival Meissenheimer, the principal of the school, John Jacobs, the IT/LAN administrator and also some of the young heroes.

A few of Druscilla’s students have already created digital hero books while others will be attending the second digital hero book workshop on 23-24 July. When asked what he thought of the project, one student replied: “It’s something new and exciting.” Druscilla felt that her students were now “more clear about goals and objectives in their lives,” even though sharing personal stories was difficult for some students.

From left: Druscilla van Niekerk, John Jacobs and Percival Meissenheimer, along with students at Eikendal Primary school.

At Floreat Primary, Steve met with the school principal, Noel Isaacs, and educator Joy Prinsloo, who has been hero booking with her students. It was wonderful to put faces to names after working together - but virtually - for so many months.

Joy Prinsloo and Beverley Job-Beziek, Khanya facilitator

A big thank you goes out to the educators, facilitators, principals and students for making the project such a success at these schools. –>

We are extremely pleased to have the Tumaini Children’s Home for needy children in Nyeri, Kenya, join the Digital Hero Book Project (DHBP).

Claire Williams, a Berkeley resident who I met at Stanford University, co-founded the Hope Runs project. Hope Runs works to empower children in impoverished communities — in this case kids at the Tumaini Home — with an understanding of personal health, social entrepreneurship and technology through running. Claire is leading the participation of the Tumaini children in the DHBP. She has also helped them to write a blog — the first ever by orphans and vulnerable children.
–>

We are looking for a website designer/agency to design the interface for our forthcoming site. Please note: this is not a paying job. We rely on volunteer/pro bono efforts. More information on the job is in the:

DHBP Website Request for Expression of Interest [PDF: 104Kb]

If you are interested, contact Steve Vosloo at steve@molotech.org.za or
+1 650 804 9907. –>