National South African institution Star Schools has created a virtual classroom that can be accessed at anytime, from anywhere, using mobile technology.
Star Schools CEO Atul Patel says the combination of mobile technology and inspired thinking provided an important solution for a severely under-resourced education sector.
“We could be entering an age where South African learners will not require a laptop or access to a computer laboratory - yet they will still enjoy inexpensive and rapid access to the Internet and educational content,” adds the institution.
It explains that by partnering a WAP-enabled mobile phone with a content-rich paper workbook it has created a virtual classroom.
“Using a 3D bar code tag printed on a page and a mobile phone with free-to-download tag-reading software, learners can access additional content that ranges from a 3D exploded-view video of an electric motor to teachers that come on screen and provide lesson content just as they would in a classroom.”
It says this kind of content delivery was previously limited to computer-based, bandwidth-intense set-ups and for the vast majority of South African learners, this is logistically and financially impractical.
However, Star Schools says mobile phone penetration in SA is over 100%. “Just about everybody has one. What Star Schools has done is provide all the functionality and content of a world-class, computer-based education content delivery system, at a fraction of the cost.”
It adds that the paper component of the innovation currently includes substantial A4 workbooks covering mathematics, physical science, English and accounts, among other subjects, for learners in grades 10 to 12.
“For focused support, compact z-fold cards are available that address one subject or topic at a time. This allows learners to get support with particular topics where necessary.”
Mobile literacy
21st Century Learning fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation Steve Vosloo says only around 10% of people in SA have access to a PC with Internet connection, while this percentage is much higher for mobile access.
For this reason, he says, cellphones are effective learning tools, and because they are intimate devices. “It's very personal and you carry it with you all the time. So, from an educational perspective, there are opportunities for contextual learning.”
The Shuttleworth Foundation adds that in SA, teens don't read and write enough, due in part to the fact that 51% of South African households don't have a single leisure book, and only 7% of public schools in SA have functional libraries of any kind.
To help address this problem, the foundation set up Yoza, a library of mobile phone novels or m-novels, as part of its mobiles for literacy project.
“For the foreseeable future, the cellphone, and not the Kindle or iPad, is the e-reader for Africa. Yoza aims to capitalise on that to get Africa's teens reading and writing,” says Vosloo.
Maths via Mxit
According to Vosloo, more innovative use is being made of existing technologies. “On one hand, people are building new systems and sites, but on the other, they're using available systems more innovatively.”
He cites the Dr Math programme as an example of this.
Earlier this year, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) encouraged uptake of Dr Math, an initiative of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's Meraka Institute.
Principal technologist at the Institute Laurie Butgereit explains that the project links primary and secondary school pupils to tutors in mathematics. “The pupils use the popular Mxit chat client on their cellphones. The tutors use full size computer workstations connected to the Internet.”
Deputy minister of science and technology Derek Hanekom adds: “Dr Math gives learners online assistance with their maths homework. The software has been enhanced to allow tutors to log on from dispersed locations. The Meraka Institute is in discussion with the Department of Basic Education and network operators on further expansion plans for the programme.”
Butgereit says any student, up to matric level, can contact Dr Math via Mxit and other chat protocols, such as Gmail, and MTN's Nok Nok. It is not limited to Mxit or any specific schools.
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