2017 -STEAM Mobile Classrooms

Steam 2017

The IDEA Collective team believes that the role of design and other creative activities and tools are vital to develop core life skills in all children and promote creative intelligence for South Africa and Africa at large. This will not only increase academic performance and personal development, but is the backbone of developing human capital en masse and a workforce that is better equipped to deal with future challenges confidently and efficiently, no matter their career path.

Design’s core purpose is to improve people’s lives through proactive problem solving and the creation of appropriate solutions that take cognizance of social, cultural, environmental and economic factors. The value and impact of design and innovation is invaluable across all sectors and highlights the role and necessity of design as a subject, a tool and an industry in a developing country like South Africa.

The IDEA Collective consist of a multifaceted team of design education specialists and lifetime design activists represented by Suné Stassen founder and creative director of Rock City Foundation; Professor Des Laubscher co-founder of Greenside Design Centre and board member of Ico-D (International Council of Design); Maria Thiel, principal and founder of Bridgeway High School and Irma Sargeant.

Aims and focus of the project

• Interior Designers will reimagine the classroom for the 21st century

• Graphic Designers will develop project concepts for STEAM based learning at Grade 10 Level
• Multimedia Designers will develop apps for DESIGN THINKING as a teaching aid for Secondary schooling teachers

These projects will be presented by The IDEA Collective at the STEAM symposium in Cape Town taking place in August 2017.

HOW WE HELPED

The Community we drew focus on is government schools in rural and urban areas, focusing on grade 9 teaching methods and the spaces used to teach.

Their overall circumstance is that they rely on government funding for resources but because of economic, social and political factors they are affected and under resourced for majority of the schooling year.
Their needs are affordable resources that can be easily accessed by the school as a whole and individual students

WHAT WE DID

Our aim is to Re-Imagine the Classroom for the 21st century
By taking into consideration and approaching design thinking and project based learning (STEAM) when looking at education and the space used to educate.

A CLASSROOM CONTAINER Built in Africa, for Africa
• Completely transportable but as solid as a traditional building
• Clever Heat protection from the African Sun
• Marketing, Logos & Branding with a high visibility presence
• Extra Security & Safety
• Operational Training
• Service, Maintenance & Guarantees
• Currently supported countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Somali, Kenya, Chad, Tanzania & Chad.