Digital Designing

In Uganda, People with Disabilities PWDs) are seen as a burden or curse which affects their academic and financial status in communities. Regarding technology there is a big gap which leads to lack digital skills in a competitive digital world therefore, many are left behind.

Digital Designing project will bridge the gap by fostering inclusion, equity and creating opportunity to the marginalized learners with Learning Disabilities in low and high income settings, young girls and boys. Equipping skills will be more practical than theory to arouse interest and aid memory to widen the scope of digital design as this will combat the alarming unemployment rate among PWDs because training someone a practical skill is giving him/her a job.

If this solution is scaled globally, it will provide job opportunities to learners with Learning Disabilities which will help to boost economic growth as it increases the country’s annual per capita income.

Lack of digital skills among PWDs, marketable practical skills are taught at higher levels where marginalized learners cannot access. Currently, there isn’t a program that specifically teaches digital design pedagogy right from junior; only a few aspects of design are interwoven with in art education in secondary. The reasons being;

• Lack of access to computers and skilled professionals who can handle PWDs on how to use design software.
• Adequate knowledge in design leads to set back and neglect of the government since policy makers do not value graphic design education.

Developed countries have gone far but in Uganda, we are lagging behind.  Learners in primary and secondary schools have little or no access to computers; available computers are old or run down, good and new ones are used for commercial or administrative purposes. Where RASDO works, people with LDs lack knowledge about technology and work in non-traditional low paying jobs with poor job security.

Approximately 15% of the world’s population lives with disabilities, 8-10% of children under18 years are dealing with some form of LDs and 19% of the Ugandan population are estimated to have some form of disability but there is no proper research showing learners affected with LDs.

Digital Designing is an artistic way of creating info graphic, report or digital illustrations. It is hands on activity that encourages a favorable learning environment, aids memory and arouses interest for quality education. Digital Designing is composed of different packages like;

• Publication graphic design
• Art and illustration for graphic design
• Visual identity graphic design
• Packaging graphic design
• Motion graphic design

Acquiring such skills will lead to production of business cards, logos, labels, animated logos, posters, flyers, T-shirt designs, book cover designs, branding and so on. Carrying out Digital Designing needs to follow the following processes;

• Working closely with our mother ministry of Education as we offer a duo-curriculum.
• Designing a curriculum, securing equipment, refurbishment and installation of a computer lab with the required Hard and software for graphic designing.
• Recruiting and training of personnel who will equip skills to learners with Learning Disabilities.
• Engaging communities through advertisements to enable learners with Learning Disabilities enroll for training. Different designs use different hard and software however, some of the technologies are computers, printers, heat press machines and many more.

The solution will target learners with Special Needs especially those with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities are neurological disorders affecting one or more cognitive processes in dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and sometimes Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Due to academic challenges, lack of Special Needs Education teachers, computers and failure to reach levels where digital skills can be taught makes learners with learning Disabilities to be left out concerning digital skills.

Rise and Shine Dyslexic Organization is working under the goal of bringing together learners with Learning Disabilities, parents and professionals through sharing information to minimize social and economic effects with learners having Learning Disabilities, related challenges and help them to re-gain their self-value and reintegrate into families, the world of work and the general society at large. RASDO has got a learning center for learners who cannot cope with inclusive education by teaching them using Individualized Education Program and all along at the Learning Centre; we have been yarning for the duo-curriculum specifically for developing digital skills.

Through this, RASDO recognized the challenge of learners lacking development of practical skills using digital yet some have the skill of graphic designing. Secondly, many parents demand for teaching their children marketable practical skills using technology. Learners have been engaged in discussions to give their views about digital designing and most of them welcomed the solution since they have been left out in many things.

Content delivery will be less academic but more practical to aid memory, arouse interest and there will be availability of computers with needed software for hands on activity as it leads to quality education, safe in that whoever needs practice will have an opportunity to do more practice for mastery of the learnt skill and equity that all learners will have same chance to learn a skill so as no one is left behind.

Lack of digital skills among people with Learning Disabilities has lagged many behind to stand for global competition however; introduction of Digital Designing will strengthen competencies in digital literacy as it fosters equity to learners in remote, hybrid and physical environments by availing equipment for hands-on activities and engagement of peer interaction through child-to-child method back home. This will help the program to reach big numbers as it causes access to quality education while including imaginative play through games and hands-on activities to arouse interest and aid memory for better mastery of the skills.so that no one is left behind.

This solution is on a pilot stage because Rise and Shine Dyslexic Organization is running a Learning Centre in Buziga Zone, Makindye Urban Council, Kampala District in Central Uganda where fifty two learners have been tested and we realized that since they have academic challenges their parents develop the negative attitude which makes many fail to join institutions and those who joined are taken to places that do not train digital skills, so when we pilot this project, the public will be in position to testify that even these learners can also compete with the rest of people in the job market. 

As an innovation, Digital Designing emphasizes practical way of delivering skills to learners for easy memorization of what is taught. It also gives opportunity of using Individualized Education Program to people with Special Needs who are taken as a burden in many learning institutions.

Another way is that it allows peer-to-peer learning back home once someone has grasped the skill which creates access for digital skills to many people. As a catalytic, it will reduce on expenses made when hiring experts to do work in the field of Digital Designing. More so, there will be reduction on over whelming numbers of people with special needs who have failed to be taken by other institutions teaching digital skills. It will also increase interest of Science Technology among learners and people in the community so that they pursue it at higher levels as another group enrolls at the Centre having seen what others are doing.

Currently, Rise and Shine Dyslexic Organization has 32 learners with Learning Disabilities in the Learning Centre both girls and boys but with the expansion of this project, in the next one year we shall enroll more learners totaling to 60 in the junior school offering a duo-curriculum and 100 learners will be enrolled from the communities to join specifically the Digital Designing program for a certificate. Therefore, in the first year we shall have a total of 160 direct beneficiaries.

In five years we shall have approximately 1000 learners who will be directly served however, due to the special teaching so that individual learning needs are catered for, first enrollment will be limited but it will go on increasing year after year and we assume to be bigger than that due to the demand from the community.

Purchase of enough modern equipment for training the skills

Emphasizing hands-on activities for all learners

Achieve gender, race or disability equality

Stick on a balanced enrolment so that each region is given equal enrolment

Ensure proper mobilization for learners with Learning Disabilities to enroll for the program

Ensure one puts in practice what he/she has learnt for sustainable development.

Three full time instructors, three part-time instructors, four volunteers, one technician, two security guards, one project coordinator and one Monitoring and Evaluation officer giving a total of fifteen (15) staff members.

The common thing that brings our team together is that most of them are professional teachers who have worked in the field of education for more than 10 years. We have studied that most learners with learning challenges complete their basic education without having acquired any skill to support them in future and concerning digital knowledge; little do they know which acts as a sieve in accessing better employment opportunities in this first moving digital world.

Regarding our team, Nakibirango Jesca the founder and Executive Director holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Needs Education specializing in Mental Retardation. Therefore, she has the skills and experience of how learners can be handled for better acquisition of the skills. Due to the experience, Jesca will be instrumental in designing a modified curriculum and empowering instructors with skills of handling learners with Special Educational Needs.

Richard Semanda one of the founders holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Management, he is a professional teacher who has passionate in Special Needs Education. He was in-charge of technology at police children’s School 2014-2016 with that experience, he will be in-charge of recruiting instructors for better implementation of the program.

Wanyana Sarah, the finance officer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Communication Technology ICT) and has experience in Programming and Website Designing. Having the knowledge of ICT, Sarah will be one of our full time instructors since she has worked with us for some time and she knows how these learners are handled.

To build a diverse, equitable and inclusive leadership team, RASDO follows the following approaches;

• Promoting a pay equity depending on the roles on does
• Educating team members to understand the needs of each other and empower them with communication skills so that mutual respect can be built
• Listening to all team members equally for easy identification of their needs and feel catered for
• Celebrating one’s achievement or bad moments as a family
• Setting regular meetings in order to communicate goals, measure the progress of the programs and also to get people’s contribution for the success of the organization
• Acknowledging holidays for team members so that they fill valued about their absence or presence.

However, our leadership team has mutual respect for each other, show openness when delivering their services, have integrity and team work which enables them to accomplish the given work with in the specified time frame.

To secure funds in order to support the marginalized learners with Special Educational Needs whose poverty line is behind the bar due to failure to acquire marketable skills and those who try get equipped with less paid practical skills.

Secondly, receive access to over $ 2 million prize funding for 2021 challenge to enable the Digital Designing project take off and benefit many Ugandans.

More so, to receive mentorship and strategic advice from Solve and MIT networks to enable us run the project smoothly.

To join a supportive community of peers, funders and experts to help advance our innovation through MIT Salve’s nine month program.

For financial partnership, RASDO needs to pitch the solution to interested investors in order to get someone who can offer either financial or material support for the project to take off and scale to many parts of the country. For this partnership, we also aim at getting more skills in managing books of accounts. Technology in Uganda is developing gradually but with low influence to people with disabilities, partnering with people in this will give RASDO opportunity to gain more skills in dealing with technology and have access or get advice about best modern equipment in Digital skills for better delivery of the solution and also there might be people who can donate software or hard ware for this project.

We need to meet MIT faculty for technical advice in the field of Digital Designing, to make a request from them for identification of skilled volunteers in Digital Designing who can come to Uganda for promotion of this solution and dialogue for a scholarship tp take MIT course in Business and Impact Planning for social Enterprises.

RASDO Learning Centre is an inclusive Special school that accommodates learners form different backgrounds whether refugees and as per now, we have a refugee learner with Learning Disability. Being accommodative to all learners, we are qualified for the prize because that additional support will be used to mobilize more refugee learners to join the program in order to acquire skills for self-reliance after school.

N/A