"Children are inherently multilingual."

Posted by Amna Singh on March 20, 2018
 
Kollegala Sharma is a scientist by profession, but a science communicator by passion.  He teaches translation, science communication and science teaching through workshops, and has also been writing and translating science books from English to Kannada for the past three and a half decades. We spoke to him about multilingualism and how he uses the StoryWeaver platform in his interactions with children.
 
Q: How do you think multilingualism benefits children?
 
A: I believe that we are inherently multilingual. We speak a colloquial language and learn a standardized version in schools. However, it all depends on the age of the speaker and how he/she interacts with the  language. Wider interactions with a  language make the speaker adept at working with it anywhere. StoryWeaver provides an opportunity to learn different languages. I visualize a classroom where a teacher uses a story to teach Tamil to Kannadiga students with a Tamil translation in her hand. Why not? Also, I believe that learning a local language along with English is important.
 
Q: How and for what do you use Storyweaver?
 
I use StoryWeaver to excite young students to read and write and also to help adults who may not be very conversant in English learn the language by using translation as a tool. I ask participants at workshops to translate stories from English to Kannada to help them to understand the nuances of the language. Since the text is limited and is accompanied with pictures, it becomes easy for them to comprehend and then try translating. Long texts can put off beginners from learning a new language. I have worked with the teachers in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalay. Even the teachers who aren’t familiar with computers and technology take to the platform easily as StoryWeaver makes it easy for them to type both English and Kannada.
 
I have also used StoryWeaver to teach nuances of translation to participants of workshops on translation at the National Translation Mission. The participants were from various states and to find examples of translation in all the languages was difficult. In this case I turned to StoryWeaver, as it is a repository of stories in several Indian languages. This helped the participants appreciate both the translation process and also the differences in the process when translating in different languages. I also encouraged participants, whose language is not represented on StoryWeaver, to collaboratively translate and practice online in the open class. This serves well for both the language and the participants. StoryWeaver allows for a very active and collaborative interaction. Some potential translators for StoryWeaver will also hopefully be born. They can practice translation here, revise, review and upload without any hesitation.
 
I’d also like to explore ways to use the platform to enthuse students with different competencies. For example, I would like to excite students with drawing and painting skills to develop themes for future stories. And I also plan to use the stories on StoryWeaver and encourage versioning them to audio formats.
 
 
Mr. Sharma's colleague's daughter reads a story in Kannada, and makes herself the main character!
 
Q: How do you see StoryWeaver benefitting children?

 

The online stories are freely available both for teachers and students alike. Such a reading resource is unimaginable in any school, especially the Government schools.
 

Mr. Kollegala Sharma at a recent story telling session organised by Pratham Books to celebrated National Science Day.

 
Q: What are the challenges around translating?
 
Translation poses many challenges. For example, character names might work in one language but will be very funny or strange to Kannada readers when translated. If the name is essentially part of the cultural ethos it can be retained, but in some stories where the ethos is general and can be applied anywhere in India, the strange names may sound unattractive. Secondly, spelling them in Kannada may not be appropriate for certain reading levels.
 
Q:  What can be done to effectively make children learn a new language?
 
Reading and retelling stories is a wonderful way to introduce children to a new language.


If you're using StoryWeaver to help spread the joy of reading, and would like to be featured on our blog write to us at [email protected]

 

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Pratham Books is hiring a Quality Assurance Engineer

Posted by Remya Padmadas on January 15, 2018

THIS POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.

Pratham Books is a not-for-profit children's book publisher that was set up in 2004 to publish good quality, affordable books in many Indian languages. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India.

In the last 3 years, we have increased our impact by investing deeply in technology based initiatives to further our mission. We are now looking to hire a Quality Assurance Engineer to test and support Story Weaver ensuring the end-to-end quality assurance of the platform.

About the Project

StoryWeaver is a digital platform that hosts children’s stories in multiple Indian and international languages, so that children have access to reading resources in their mother tongues to learn and practice reading. All the stories are available under open licences and not only can they be read for free, they can also be translated or versioned, using simple tools embedded on the platform. In 2 years, StoryWeaver has grown from 800 stories in 24 languages to 6500 stories in 104 languages. We have built a robust global community that uses our content as well as contributed to creating more content on the platform. 

StoryWeaver is being recognized as an emerging innovation that can transform the early literacy reader ecosystem globally. Recently, StoryWeaver was featured in the World Bank's report on 20 innovative EdTech projects from around the world, and was also the recipient of the prestigious Library of Congress Literacy Award 2017 International Prize.  Our vision is for StoryWeaver to be the largest multilingual open library in the world for children by creating a collaborative publishing model that can address the scarcity of reading resources in their mother tongue languages. 

(Image by Thea Nicole de Klerk from the BookDash book 'Springloaded' written by Chenél Ferreira and Sam Wilson, published on StoryWeaver)

 

Job Description

This position will be a member of the Digital Team at StoryWeaver to test and support ensuring the end-to-end quality assurance of the StoryWeaver platform. There will be significant opportunities for communication with Business and Technical teams to further develop, nurture and scale a world-class digital platform that is redefining the way reading resources can be created and distributed globally. In a 2 year time-frame, the project outcomes are expected to scale by 10x and this position will play an important role in helping the organization meet this objective. 

Key Responsibilities

  • Work in close coordination with functional team to articulate and document test cases thoroughly to ensure adequate coverage of requirements.

  • Conduct User Acceptance Testing and Live testing on the Story Weaver platform to identify and report bugs to the Technical Team.

  • Work closely with technical team to track reported bugs to closure in order to regressively maintain the quality of the Story Weaver platform.

  • Provide support for coordinating the User related requests with the Technical team.

Requirements

  •  2-3+ years experience in software quality assurance and manual testing of mobile and web based applications

  • Ability to understand business requirements and articulate test scenarios

  • Must have excellent analytical skills to identify bugs and issues within the software before they occur in real user environment.

  • Good understanding of testing practices for Web applications.

  • Understanding of issues surrounding multiple device and browser compatibility.

  • Experience working in an SCRUM agile environment.

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English 

  • Effectively interface with the Functional team to understand Business requirements.

  • Effectively interface with the Technical Team to support User related requests, report and track bugs to closure.

Nice to have but not mandatory

  • Experience working with non-profits

  • BE/BTech/MSc/MCA degree in Computer Science or related disciplines will be a plus

Location

Position is based out of Bangalore and is full-time. Project is expected to complete within a 2 year time-frame.

Salary

Compensation will be commensurate with experience. 

Write to us: Email your resume with 'Quality Assurance Engineer:' in the subject line to [email protected]

 


 

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Pratham Books is looking for a Manager: Strategy & Insights

Posted by Remya Padmadas on December 21, 2017

THIS POST HAS NOW BEEN FILLED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.

Pratham Books is a not-for-profit children's book publisher that was set up in 2004 to publish good quality, affordable books in many Indian languages. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India.

In the last 3 years, we have increased our impact by investing deeply in technology based initiatives to further our mission. We are now looking to hire a Manager: Strategy & Insights to help develop innovative strategies as we scale up these initiatives.

About the Project

StoryWeaver is a digital platform that hosts children’s stories in multiple Indian and international languages, so that children have access to reading resources in their mother tongues to learn and practice reading. All the stories are available under open licences and not only can they be read for free, they can also be translated or versioned, using simple tools embedded on the platform. In two years, StoryWeaver has grown from 800 stories in 24 languages to 6500 stories in 104 languages. We have built a robust global community that uses our content as well as contributed to creating more content on the platform.

StoryWeaver is being recognized as an emerging innovation that can transform the early literacy reader ecosystem globally. Recently, StoryWeaver was featured in the World Bank's report on 20 innovative EdTech projects from around the world, and was also the recipient of the prestigious Library of Congress Literacy Award 2017 International Prize.  Our vision is for StoryWeaver to be the largest multilingual open library in the world for children by creating a collaborative publishing model that can address the scarcity of reading resources in their mother tongue languages.

Job Description

This position will work closely with the senior leadership to understand and shape the strategic direction StoryWeaver.  There will be  significant opportunities for innovation, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to further develop, nurture and scale a world-class digital platform that is redefining the way reading resources can be created and distributed globally.  In a 2 year time-frame, the project outcomes are expected to scale by 10x and this position will play an important role in helping the organization meet this objective.

Key Responsibilities

Work closely with the internal teams to design strategies to  implement the StoryWeaver’s strategic and operational plans

  • Align processes and resource-planning with overall strategy

  • Develop plans to materialize strategy and analyze strategic partnership opportunities

  • Track and monitor user trends and usage data to develop insights that will drive future product enhancements

  • Monitor and analyze industry trends and market changes

Requirements

  • Masters in Business Administration, Marketing or a related field

  • Proven experience as a Strategic Planner or Business Consultant

  • Understanding of market research and data analysis

  • Knowledge of business operations and procedures

  • Demonstrable strategic thinking abilities

  • Analytical mind with problem-solving attitude

  • Excellent organization skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

  • Sophisticated ICT skills

  • Willing to travel to all project locations

  • 6-8 years of experience

Nice to have but not mandatory

  • Experience working with non-profits

  • BTech/MSc/MCA degree in Computer Science or related disciplines will be a plus

Location: Position is based out of Bangalore and is full-time. Project is expected to complete within a 2 year time-frame.

Salary: Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Write to us: Email your resume with Manager: Strategy & Insights in the subject line to [email protected]

 

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