The mobile phone and education
Education through mobile phones has not yet been heavily researched nor tested at this point. However, the successes seen in various areas of Africa certainly provides evidence that in the future education may be more readily available due to the mobile phone.
going to class on your phone?
Though the thought of students in remote areas of the world without available schools is certainly ideal, it has yet to occur. However, considering the widespread use of mobile phones and abundance of online high school and even college courses on the internet, it is not entirely unrealistic with the use of smart phone. However, smart phone use in many developing area of Africa is not particularly common. Only 15% of cell phone users in Africa use smart phones. The rest use very basic mobile devises and many do not have access to the internet. The US Agency for International Development met with Stanford University and discussed possible designs and methods of using mobile for education in Africa. In this way, the idea is certainly being considered and should not be ruled out as completely impossible. Considering the fact that mobile phone use in South Africa rose from 17 percent in 2000 to 76 percent in 2010, dramatic growth is certainly not unheard of and countries may experience smartphone growth in the next decade.
math tutoring via social media?
Africa's largest social media site MXit is now being used for live math tutoring. About 30, 000 South African students text their tutors when working through math problems. This service is free and used by students, who could otherwise not afford tutoring. However, this service is only available through certain providers and many areas in Africa would not have access to this. In India, China, Indonesia and Nigeria a similar service is being provided through a social media platform, yet it uses SMS so that it can be accessed by any provider. It is called Nokia Life and continues to expand in Nigeria, where is provides tutoring, exam tips and even health education for students and their families.
Attendance?
Uganda's education system is crippled with one of the world's highest teacher absentee rate. Rates are from 20 to 30 percent and cost the Ugandan government 30 million dollars each year, because the government must still pay these absent teachers. Researchers explain that this has also led to rising student dropout rates. Mobile phones are now being used to track the attendance of both students and teachers across Uganda and in 100 primary schools. Every Friday the teacher fills out a form on their mobile phone and texts it to a database. These records are then processed and sent to parents, so that the parents are aware of both their children and the teacher's attendance. Nokia has paired up with Plan Uganda to provide the cell phones and services. As a result, attendance rates of both students and teachers have increased.
Entrepreneur Yaron Assabi discusses the possible future of education in Africa with the mobile phone. He asserts, however, that low cost smart phones are necessary for steps to be made. He also discusses the issue of limited internet access in areas, which has also held students back from making use of the wealth of educational resources available on the internet.
Entrepreneur Yaron Assabi discusses the possible future of education in Africa with the mobile phone. He asserts, however, that low cost smart phones are necessary for steps to be made. He also discusses the issue of limited internet access in areas, which has also held students back from making use of the wealth of educational resources available on the internet.
Citations:
CBC, "Could Mobile Phones Be The Future Of Education In Africa?." Last modified August 28, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2013. http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/news/could-mobile-phones-be-the-future-of-education-in-africa.html.
Parr, Chris. Times Higher Education, "Africa’s mobile phone e-learning transformation." Last modified September 12, 2013. Accessed November 20, 2013.
Plan, "Text messaging increases parent, student engagement at schools in Uganda." Accessed December 10, 2013. https://plan-international.org/where-we-work/africa/uganda/about-plan-in-uganda/news/text-messaging-increases-parent-student-engagement-at-school-in-uganda/.
Vosloo, Steve. "The future of education in Africa is mobile."Steve Vosloo (blog), August 28, 2012. http://stevevosloo.com/2012/08/28/the-future-of-education-in-africa-is-mobile-bbc-article/ (accessed December 11, 2013).
CBC, "Could Mobile Phones Be The Future Of Education In Africa?." Last modified August 28, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2013. http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/news/could-mobile-phones-be-the-future-of-education-in-africa.html.
Parr, Chris. Times Higher Education, "Africa’s mobile phone e-learning transformation." Last modified September 12, 2013. Accessed November 20, 2013.
Plan, "Text messaging increases parent, student engagement at schools in Uganda." Accessed December 10, 2013. https://plan-international.org/where-we-work/africa/uganda/about-plan-in-uganda/news/text-messaging-increases-parent-student-engagement-at-school-in-uganda/.
Vosloo, Steve. "The future of education in Africa is mobile."Steve Vosloo (blog), August 28, 2012. http://stevevosloo.com/2012/08/28/the-future-of-education-in-africa-is-mobile-bbc-article/ (accessed December 11, 2013).