Who is Creative Native?

Creative Native is a small (WIP) team of clever people that is working to produce a series of interactive e-books for kids. At the inception phase of the project, it was called NatiV Stories. The project is inspired by the NatiV project, whose aim is to create language-learning apps for children. Although the NatiV project is now under the ‘custody’ of the Purple Future Trust, Creative Native is setting out to be a for-profit organization with a largely B2B business model. Creative Native’s work is made possible by the POTRAZ Innovation Drive Fund.

Our Process?

The picture above shows the process we use when turning a story into an interactive e-book. There’s a lot of work involved, from the actual writing (or editing, if the content is already there in some cases), to storyboarding, the graphics, sound production, and the actual digital composition. Each process takes in ‘learning information’ from the next process via a feedback loop mechanism, thus making the entire process somewhat iterative. We designed this process by combining concepts from design thinking and the lean methodology. For example, each process node is treated as a lean loop where the lead on that node is responsible for the measure-build-learn cycle.

Technology

We use different types of tools for the different stages of production. The authors/editors have their preferred text editors, the artists their own favourite illustration software, the sound producers their favourite DAW, and so on. I guess the awesome part of the whole process is where it all gets merged together. We use Unity 3D (the 2D mode) to put everything together. Unity’s Collaborate Service comes in very handy, as we are all (most of the time) scattered around the city and the only thing that connects us is the Internet – and as some of you might know, fuel is a very rare and expensive commodity these days.

Request for a demo

Are you looking into converting your corporate content into a more interactive medium that can capture a bigger audience, and do so more effectively? We’d be more than happy to set up a meeting and discuss a very lean approach which can yield some impressive results. It’s all still very experimental for us, so we’re willing to do it almost for free! Get in touch at info@purpletrust.org (for now, till Creative Native is fully set up).

Cheers!

PFT Team – on behalf of Creative Native

Chiedza is a center where Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Harare South and Zvimba District have access to quality education, Protection, Health and Nutrition services. We spent a day with the children, unpacking and assembling some gadgets, and learning some coding basics. First we did the marshmallow challenge to encourage teamwork and discovery through experimentation, then we built a KANO computer and learnt how to give it drawing/painting ‘commands’. This was made possible through the English Access Microscholarship Program – Funded by the US Department of State and operated by Chiedza. Day well spent! Next week we build some mBots!

See more pics here (like our page too)!

The PEEK kit contains various electronics components (sensors and actuators) as well as a small computer and a memory stick containing learning content. The PEEK is for children aged 9 and up, teachers and parents, who may or may not have a technical background. It introduces the concepts of electronics and programming in a fun and interactive way. The objective of the kit is to provide practical high-quality introductory coding and electronics lessons based on the Scratch programming language. The programme is especially targeted towards underrepresented communities who have little to no access to technology education, and also to girls in order to boost their interest in STEM-related careers.

Would you like the PEEK kit and programme to come to your school? Or would you like to know more about the programme? Send an email to info@purpletrust.org – we would love to work with you!

PFT Team