In a multi-faceted country such as South Africa, language is still a major barrier for deeper integration. Whilst our 11 official languages make us beautifully diverse, the majority of South Africans are still unable to speak more than one or two.
It’s estimated that it takes the average person 10 seconds to complete a ‘CAPTCHA’ and that worldwide, each day, 200 million CAPTCHAs are typed. A CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) is a challenge-response test to determine whether or not a user is human.
With the great volume of CAPTCHAs typed each day, NATIVE VML saw an opportunity to put CAPTCHA to better use and transform it to a teaching platform that incorporates South Africa’s 11 official languages. Partnering with Bilingo, a free multilingual online dictionary, NATIVE VML created iCAPTCHA: a simple teaching solution combining the power of CAPTCHA and Bilingo.
iCAPTCHA makes learning a new word quick and easy: see the word, hear it, and type it back. And if people want to learn more, or know a word already, they can simply try another one. The core purpose of this new development is to begin to teach people in a way that is familiar and does not overwhelm them.
The software is open-source and is easy to install. Site developers can go to the iCAPTCHA site to learn how.
And those without their own websites can share it, ensuring that iCAPTCHA becomes the number one CAPTCHA service in South Africa – bridging the gap between South Africans, one word at a time.