MobilED – an accessible mobile learning platform for Africa

Abstract

MobilED is a 3-year international collaborative project aimed at creating meaningful learning environments using mobile phone technologies and services. The outputs were a set of learning scenarios that were successfully tested in schools and a prototype MobilED technology platform that provides mobile audio-wikipedia functionality. The MobilED audio-wikipedia utilises the basic texting capabilities of mobile phones and enables the user to send a text message (SMS) with a search term to Wikipedia. The server responds to the user-initiated query with a return call were the article is read using a speech synthesizer. Phase 1 consisted of exploratory research into the use of mobile phones in an advantaged private school and in a poor government school in Tshwane, South Africa. This paper reports on findings from the initial pilots in Year 1 of MobilED and proposes a way forward. It also explores the possibility of the mobile phone as the de-facto mobile learning platform for Africa