Nook: Whitefield
Learner Name: Vaishali KD ( Name Changed)
Month & Year of Story: February 2020
12-years old Vaishali attends the 5th grade at St. Joseph’s Convent School. His father works as a security guard while his mother is employed as a maid in six households.
The young boy started coming to the Nook in March 2019 to have free access to laptops, the internet, and other technology. He says that “I was really surprised to find such a space here. In our school, I used to see only broken computers in the school lab but here we get laptops, new tools, electronics and other materials for project-making.”
Gaining digital literacy skills and democratizing access to technology is a key aspect across all of Project DEFY’s Nooks. By providing access to laptops, internet, tools, and materials, the Learners are able to find and work on projects that follow their own interests, aspirations, and needs. As Vaishali says, “I had never used a laptop before but after coming to the Nook I have learned how to use a computer, how to do documentation, how to use the internet to find information and identify new projects using YouTube and online learning courses.”
After learning the basics of computers and the internet, Vaishali started to work on electronic and mechanical projects and currently learns carpentry by building a skateboard from scratch. What the boy loves about learning in the Nook is the practical nature of the projects: “in school, we only study theoretical knowledge. The Nook is a place where we can learn by building concrete projects. Even when we fail, it is an important learning for us but in school, we get punished for making mistakes. Here we learn by doing experiments, asking questions, using computers and the internet and with the help of our friends.”
(name changed to protect minor)
