The D0RY Code

📣 Exciting news — bookings are officially open for the Elevate & Connect Conference 2026!

ORT SA Cape in partnership with Care for Education, is bringing together ECD principals, practitioners, teachers, NGOs, and industry leaders for a full day dedicated to purposeful leadership and quality in Early Education.

In the world of ECD, leadership is about more than managing a centre. It's about the small, purposeful decisions that create big, lifelong impact for our children.

Join us for a day of inspiring sessions, meaningful connections, and practical insights that will reignite your passion and sharpen your leadership.

📅 31 July 2026
⏰ 08h30 – 17h00
📍 Lagoon Beach Hotel, Cape Town
💳 R360 per person (catering included)

This conference is open to ECD principals, practitioners, teachers, NGOs, and all leaders in the Early Education sector.

Spaces are limited — book your seat today via the link below.
https://qkt.io/81Fs1G

Care for Education

📣 Exciting news — bookings are officially open for the Elevate & Connect Conference 2026!

ORT SA Cape in partnership with Care for Education, is bringing together ECD principals, practitioners, teachers, NGOs, and industry leaders for a full day dedicated to purposeful leadership and quality in Early Education.

In the world of ECD, leadership is about more than managing a centre. It's about the small, purposeful decisions that create big, lifelong impact for our children.

Join us for a day of inspiring sessions, meaningful connections, and practical insights that will reignite your passion and sharpen your leadership.

📅 31 July 2026
⏰ 08h30 – 17h00
📍 Lagoon Beach Hotel, Cape Town
💳 R360 per person (catering included)

This conference is open to ECD principals, practitioners, teachers, NGOs, and all leaders in the Early Education sector.

Spaces are limited — book your seat today via the link below.
https://qkt.io/81Fs1G

We are super excited to be part of the Six Bricks Sondela Conference 2026
In our session, we’ll be playing with coding and mindset shifts - exploring hands-on, playful approaches to move past fear, fixed ideas, and the belief that coding belongs to a confident few. Six Bricks has a way of interrupting our autopilot thinking and nudging us to notice what we usually rush past.
This work matters to us because when we change how we approach coding, we change who feels confident enough to try, curious enough to explore, and brave enough to get it wrong.
Let’s build the kinds of connections that click.
Sondela
Care for Education Lisa Committie Wingham

We are super excited to be part of the Six Bricks Sondela Conference 2026 ✨

In our session, we’ll be playing with coding and mindset shifts - exploring hands-on, playful approaches to move past fear, fixed ideas, and the belief that coding belongs to a confident few. Six Bricks has a way of interrupting our autopilot thinking and nudging us to notice what we usually rush past.
This work matters to us because when we change how we approach coding, we change who feels confident enough to try, curious enough to explore, and brave enough to get it wrong.

Let’s build the kinds of connections that click.
Sondela 💛

Care for Education Lisa Committie Wingham

🌟 Thank you, South African EdTech Week 2025! 🌟

What an incredible few days at the SouthAfrican Week 2025 conference, held from 28–30 October in Cape Town!

This year’s theme, Building Ed Tech Readiness in Under-Resourced Contexts truly resonated with us at ORT SA CAPE. The event showcased powerful ideas, collaborations, and innovations that ensure technology reaches and uplifts every classroom where it’s needed most.

💡 What we loved most: SA EdTech Week’s unique “non-conference” approach bringing together educators, innovators, and policymakers for hands-on learning, meaningful networking, and real-world EdTech solutions.

🐉 Our coding hero Dory the Dragon left even more inspired! Dory’s mission continues empowering teachers with practical, classroom-ready training that bridges the gap between innovation and daily teaching realities.

✨ Next stop: The Dory Code – Level 1 Workshop
📅 8 November 2025
🔗 Find out more: www.linktr.ee/ortcode

Thank you, EdTech Week, for reminding us why we do what we do — building skills, confidence, and brighter futures through education and technology.

🐉✨ Dory at the Singularity South Africa Summit! ✨🐉

What an amazing experience it was being part of Singularity Summit South Africa: Igniting Africa’s Future! The atmosphere was buzzing with ideas, inspiration, and innovation. 💡🌍

Over two action-packed days, Dory the Dragon soaked up the energy, explored the tech expo, and met some truly inspiring people passionate about shaping the future.

It was incredible to see how technology and creativity are coming together to drive change — perfectly aligned with The Dory Code’s mission to make coding fun, accessible, and adventurous for teachers and learners alike.

A huge thank you to SingularityU South Africa for hosting such a thought-provoking event. Dory’s wings are charged with new ideas and excitement for what’s ahead! 🐉💻✨

🐉 Dory the Dragon at the 20th Annual LITASA Conference 🐉

This past weekend, the ORT SA CAPE team attended the 20th annual LITASA Conference, where on Saturday, 11 October, we proudly presented a workshop titled:

💻 Coding as a Language: Unlocking Literacy through Dory the Dragon

In today’s digital age, the intersection between technology and literacy opens exciting new pathways for educational inclusion — especially in under-resourced and rural contexts.

Our practical workshop introduced The Dory Code, an unplugged and screen-free coding programme designed for young learners. This playful, accessible approach helps children develop both computational thinking and literacy skills.

Aligned with the LITASA 2025 theme “Amazwi Ethu – Our Voices”, The Dory Code gives voice to learners in rural classrooms, empowering them to code – and communicate – with confidence.

We had an incredible time, and participants loved meeting our little coding hero, Dory the Dragon! 🐉✨

To learn more about the impactful work ORT SA CAPE does, visit https://www.ortsacape.org.za

ORT SA CAPE was excited to present at the recent EMASA: Education Management Association of South Africa Annual International Conference. Under the theme Future-Proofing Education - Strategic Leadership for a Rapidly Changing World.
Our paper focused on “Teacher Empowerment beyond Devices”, showcasing our unplugged coding solution- The DORY Code.
We explored the findings that our teacher workshops weren’t just about coding. They were about shifting teacher mindsets. We saw teachers taking risks, collaborating, and valuing different perspectives. That’s the kind of empowerment that spills over into every subject – maths, literacy, life skills. When teachers grow, classrooms transform.
ORT SA CAPE

Unlocking digital futures ✨

The D0ry Code’s educational revolution 🐉💻

In the vibrant landscape of South African education 🇿🇦, a friendly dragon named Dory is leading a quiet revolution in primary school classrooms.

The D0ry Code, ORT SA CAPE’s flagship educational technology programme 📚, is transforming how young learners encounter coding and robotics 🤖, making these essential 21st-century skills accessible to all.

“Imagine teaching coding without a computer 🖥️❌,” says the programme’s innovation team.

This seemingly paradoxical approach is exactly what makes The D0ry Code unique 🌟. Through Dory’s Unplugged Coding Kit 🎲, learners in resource-limited environments can grasp fundamental coding concepts through hands-on, tactile experiences ✋.

The programme then seamlessly progresses to Dory’s Coding with Robot Friends Kit 🤝🤖, where young minds explore the exciting world of robotics and practical programming 🚀. The initiative’s dual-kit approach isn’t just innovative – it’s transformative 🔑.

By designing solutions specifically for the South African context 🏫, The D0ry Code ensures that no learner is left behind 👩‍🎓👨‍🎓 in the digital revolution.

📊 The numbers tell a compelling story: in 2024 alone, over 700 early childhood educators embraced The D0ry Code, integrating coding and robotics into their daily teaching practice.

But beyond the statistics lies a deeper impact 💡. Each trained educator becomes a digital pioneer 🌍, equipped to nurture the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators 💭✨.

What sets The D0ry Code apart is its comprehensive support system 🛠️. The programme doesn’t just provide tools; it creates a community of confident, tech-savvy educators 👩‍🏫👨‍🏫 who can guide learners through the complexities of coding and robotics up to Grade 3.

This approach aligns perfectly with the national curriculum 📖, whilst remaining flexible enough to adapt to each classroom’s unique needs 🏫.

As technology continues to reshape our world 🌐, The D0ry Code stands as a testament to ORT SA CAPE’s commitment ❤️ to meaningful educational innovation. Through the adventures of Dory the Dragon 🐉, young learners aren’t just learning to code – they’re developing critical thinking 🧠, creativity 🎨, and the confidence to explore new technological frontiers 🚀.

The programme’s success in underprivileged communities 💙 demonstrates that quality digital education shouldn’t be a privilege but a right ✅.

As we look to the future 🔮, The D0ry Code continues to evolve, ensuring that every learner has the opportunity to thrive 🌱 in an increasingly digital world.

Follow the adventures of Dory the Dragon on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn by searching for The D0ry Code.

📖 Discover more in our Annual Report:
https://ortsacape.org.za/annual-report-2024/

Coding as Language: Why Literacy in the Digital Era must mean more than screens by Lisa Wingham, Head of Education, ORT SA CAPE

South Africa’s literacy crisis has been rehearsed so often that it risks sounding like background noise. The latest assessments confirm what we already know: too many children struggle to read for meaning by Grade 4. But the digital era adds a new twist. Reading words on a page is no longer enough. Learners must also interpret icons, sequences, and codes — the symbolic languages that shape everything from mobile banking to artificial intelligence. The challenge is not just about catching up; it is about rethinking what literacy means in 2025.

Coding as Language: Why Literacy in the Digital Era must mean more than screens by Lisa Wingham, Head of Education, ORT SA CAPE

South Africa’s literacy crisis has been rehearsed so often that it risks sounding like background noise. The latest assessments confirm what we already know: too many children struggle to read for meaning by Grade 4. But the digital era adds a new twist. Reading words on a page is no longer enough. Learners must also interpret icons, sequences, and codes — the symbolic languages that shape everything from mobile banking to artificial intelligence. The challenge is not just about catching up; it is about rethinking what literacy means in 2025.

Here lies the paradox: while global education systems debate digital literacy, many South African classrooms lack electricity, never mind iPads. If literacy in the digital era is defined by access to devices, the gap between privileged and under-resourced schools will only widen. But what if we stop equating “digital” with “devices”? What if we taught the logic, creativity, and storytelling of coding — without a single screen?

At ORT SA CAPE, that question gave birth to The Dory Code, an unplugged coding programme for early childhood. It uses grids, direction cards, and a mischievous dragon called Dory to help children navigate playful adventures. Every activity is a puzzle, a story, a code to be cracked. Without realising it, learners are practising sequencing, vocabulary, comprehension, and narrative skills — the very bedrock of literacy.

Coding is not just a technical skill. Like language, it is a symbolic system with rules, structures, and infinite expressive possibilities. When children “speak coding,” they are not abandoning literacy; they are expanding it. Research shows that coding enhances narrative skills and executive functioning. In practice, we see children light up when they discover that they can tell a story, solve a problem, and “speak” a new language all at once.

Consider the impact in multilingual classrooms. Where English often dominates, coding introduces a neutral language that every learner can access. It does not erase home languages — it strengthens them by offering another layer of expression. A child guiding Dory through a maze is not just solving a coding challenge; they are constructing a narrative, developing vocabulary, and finding a voice.

International Literacy Day’s 2025 theme, “Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era,” is often read as a call to roll out more tablets. But our work shows that it can mean something else: promoting inclusive forms of literacy that prepare learners for the digital world even in classrooms without Wi-Fi. Literacy in the digital era is not about devices; it is about equipping children with the tools to decode, create, and communicate in multiple symbolic systems.

Later this year, we will share these insights at the 20th Annual Literacy Association of South Africa (LITASA) Conference, under the theme “Amazwi Ethu – Our Voices.” For us, Dory the Dragon is more than a classroom mascot. She represents the idea that every learner — rural or urban, multilingual, or monolingual — deserves the chance to code, tell stories, and find their voice in the digital era.

If South Africa is serious about improving literacy outcomes, we cannot afford to limit ourselves to yesterday’s definitions. Literacy is not frozen in time. It evolves, and so must we. By embracing coding as a language, we can give children not just the ability to read — but the confidence to imagine, to innovate, and to speak with voices that will carry into the future.