Data-Light Gamified COVID-19 Learning Platform launches to Educate Africa about the Virus

South Africa is in the midst of a 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus (COVID-19). However, many people still don’t understand the dangers of the virus and how to reduce their risk of contracting it due to a lack of knowledge. The impact of this is enormous given the fact that there are thousands of people still serving society during the lockdown who are at risk of contracting and transmitting the virus. With this in mind, South African-based EdTech startup, Digemy, has launched a gamified, data-light e-learning platform to educate the continent on COVID-19 and the ways that behaviour change can help slow the spread of the global pandemic.

Launched in partnership with The Loudhailer – an agency specialising in supporting businesses with social, economic and environmental impact goals – Digemy’s course on COVID-19 aims to explain the virus in simple terms that anyone can understand. It also teaches the practical measures people can take to prevent getting the virus and passing it on; the effects the virus has on the body; the impacts of self-isolation and lockdown on society; how to recognise whether you have the virus; and the steps to follow if you do.

“The best thing we can do to slow the spread of the virus is to increase our knowledge on it and radically change our behaviour. Since this is very difficult, we felt it was our duty to release a platform that not only educates people on how they can actually change their behaviour and why it is extremely necessary, but also ensure that this information sticks by letting them learn in a fun, gamified way,” shares Kobus Louw, MD of Digemy.

Everyone can now test and improve their knowledge on the virus in an entertaining and engaging way, with points and badges to be won to encourage participants to re-engage with the platform. As learners increase their knowledge levels of key concepts over time, they will earn more points and move up  the leader board.

To further incentivise people to interact on the platform and ensure that they are keeping their knowledge up-to-date, Digemy will be offering a R15 000 cash prize to winners on the top of the leader board, part of which will be donated to an organisation of the winner’s choice that is currently fighting the virus on the ground. Digemy also encourages other organisations to join them in helping those who are working tirelessly to aid patients in critical condition.

The platform will be available free of charge to anyone around the world, and can be accessed on computer, tablet or mobile.

“By doing this course and increasing your knowledge on the virus, we can hopefully help decrease the infection rate. We also urge people to please share the details of the course with everyone they know especially people in different countries where the virus has just started spreading,” concludes Louw.

To sign up, simply register directly on www.covid19-learn.com. Companies wishing to enrol their employees can sign up by sending an email to [email protected].