Presented at NAPTOSA, 31 July 2009, South Africa

Let's ban malls!

Steve Vosloo, Shuttleworth Foundation

Rethinking cellphones in education

3 things Mobile revolution

Media hype vs real examples

Rethink

Africa is mobile Mobile subscribers to fixed lines = 15:1

Fastest growing market in the world

“There isn’t a digital divide in Africa, there is a digital difference” (Adele Botha)

Cellphone ownership in SA

(Kaiser Family Foundation & SABC, 2007)

Rural access in SA Computer at home: 2% Have a cellphone: 62%

(Kaiser Family Foundation & SABC, 2007)

Merryl Ford (2009) “The cellphone is poised to become the 'PC of Africa'”

What is MXit?

A mobile instant messaging (MIM) system

Chatting, games, content

South African (works on all networks)

14m users Social and cheap!

What the people and papers say

Analysis of 24 newspaper articles: 2006 – 2008

MXit ...

Is addictive (27 times) Exposes children to pornography (13 times) “Is a hunting ground for perverse predators

intent on luring children into their clutches.”

MXit ...

Is a drug “Its’ a starting point for a lot of problems” (The

Star) Is evil “MXit is one of the major evils of the 21st

Century” (Cape Argus)

MXit ...

“Sordid Sex scare on cellphone chat system” (Weekend Post) 20 year old woman leaves partner and child for a

new lover she met on MXit. New love doesn’t work, comes back. She finds new lover again, leaves again

Teen cocaine parties are organized through MXit (Mail & Guardian)

From New Era, Namibia

Namibia's youth are becoming addicted to alcohol, crack cocaine, heroine ...

... and cellphones “Another – more conspicuous but less fretted

about – addiction among the youth, said Adams, is the all pervasive use of mobile phones, and Facebook where youngsters insult and expose each other.”

The mall is ground zero of evil

Teens having sex in the mall - they meet via MXit

“I blame MXit, because these teenagers are meeting their contacts here and that’s when things go out of hand” (Security guard of a mall)

So ... let's ban malls!

And MXit too ...

If MXit is not banned “we’ll lose our future generation … we will surely damage the social fabric of society” (High School Principal -- Cape Argus)

Study conclusion

Parents, principals, et al. are talking about a generic conceptualisation of MXit which includes: MIMs (e.g. Mig33, Noknok, etc.) Broad range of mobile applications The entire cellphone

Moral panic

Why?

Mobile applications have created a space over which parents and educators have little or no control

“Scapegoating” – blaming social ills on something

... We must ban it! ...

Ban?

Are we throwing the baby out with the bath water?

What if ...

... cellphones really can support, enable and improve teaching and learning, assessment and administration?

... we engage and experiment?

... we eat the meat and spit out the bones?

mLearning examples Tutoring

Dr Math on MXit

Started in January, 2007 by Meraka Institute / Mobi LED Provides tutors to help with mathematics homework on

cellphones Over 5,500 pupils have used the service Tutors help approximately 50 pupils per hour Service runs from 14:00 – 22:00, Sunday - Thursday Tutoring mostly done in English, but some Afrikaans cases

are occurring Learners contact Dr Math from their homes, while on

buses, taxis and on the sports field. Even from the bath!

dr.math: What grade are you in? what are you covering in math?

Spark plug: 7

dr.math: grade 7?

Spark plug: yes

dr.math: Are you doing "pre algebra" stuff like What is the value of X if x + 3 = 10?

Spark plug: yes

dr.math: Ok, so what is the value of x if x + 3 = 10?

Spark plug: 7

dr.math: Ok. how about (15 x 2 ) + x = 35

Spark plug: 5

dr.math: (I am going to use * for multiply so not to confuse it with x, ok?)

Spark plug: ok

dr.math: (2 * x) + 8 = 18

Spark plug: 5

dr.math: Very good. can you explain to me how you figured that out?

Spark plug: 18 - 8 is 10 so 2* what is 10 and the answer is 5

dr.math: Excellent.

mLearning examples Games

Dr Math competitions

Addition

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

BODMAS

Prime factors of a number

Root of a straight line

Intersection of two straight lines

Factors of a quadratic

Real roots of a quadratic

Dr Math results

Learners would compete many times a day Learners would regularly come back to defend their

title Learners often did hundreds of calculations to

maintain their title as champion Learners often competed until the early hours of the

morning Learners often changed their MXit nick names to more

socially acceptable names after they won (PIMP(*)STAR → Qun of Maths → smartyCAT)

M4Girls project

Improve maths in grade 10 rural girls (by Mindset / Nokia) Nokia 6300's loaded with:

43 mini videos, 3 “mobisode” animations, 2 games

mLearning examples Quizzes and assessment

“Imfundo Yami/Yethu”

Nokia / MXit / DoE Improve high school maths through drill-and-

practise quizzes 2 month pilot with 260 learners

Learning Management System

Imfundo Yami/Yethu results

Visits per day: 991 Total questions answered: 13,192 Learners really liked the combination of chat

and learning maths Learners were doing many more exercises than

usual Learners were studying maths A LOT after

school hours

mLearning examples Peer support

Drug, abuse and debt counseling

mLearning examples Information dissemination

Angels on MXit: HIV/AIDS info

mLearning examples Literacy development

Reading/writing on cellphone

Story: 14-16 years, ESL Serialised m-novel: 21 days = 21 chapters

(400 words per chapter) Vote, comment, discuss, write Weekly prizes: best comment Competition: write the sequel Launching 30 September! Email

steve.vosloo@shuttleworthfoundation.org to be reminded

But ...

Need to manage risks: Distraction “Cyberbullying” Effects of TXTSPK on spelling/formal writing Too much “screen time” Inappropriate content Privacy/safety

Costs, sustainability, inclusion, scale, equity, etc.

Challenge Think beyond the computer lab

Don't ban ... engage, experiment

Work together to find solutions

Rethink cellphones

Zambian principals and teachers

“I only thought of a mobile phone as a communication tool, which is why we don’t allow them in the classroom. Now I understand that they can be used as a learning tool and can support our teaching process.”

“I can now text assignments to learners, and also my reflections on their assignments.”

Zambian principals and teachers

“I’ve learned that I don’t have to be the expert with the phone — I don’t have to be an expert to be in control. I can identify key learners who can help me and other learners with their phones.”

“I didn’t know that a cellphone could be used to take a video and send that to another person. I didn’t know that I could blue-something [bluetooth] a picture to a friend.”

Zambian principals and teachers

“If you use a cellphone in the classroom you make teaching and learning more interesting, because that is what excites the learners.”

“The children are ahead of us, they use cellphones all the time. The problem is the mindset of the older stakeholders: teachers, parents and the general community.”

Zambian principals and teachers

“I’ve learned that cellphones are as powerful to use as computers.”

“It is quicker to access information on the internet through cellphones than on PCs.”

Rethink

“We haven’t really sat down and really thought about, 'Is this an important tool?' A lot of us are still thinking this is just a mobile phone and a mobile phone is for talking and this should not be in class” (Aiden McCarthy)

The world is changing. Is education?

www.shuttleworthfoundation.org

Thank you

email: steve.vosloo@shuttleworthfoundation.org

blog: innovatingeducation.wordpress.com

slides: www.slideshare.net/stevevosloo

web: www.vosloo.net

twitter: www.twitter.com/stevevosloo

mLearning AfricaNews, projects and research about mobile learning in Africa

www.mlearningafrica.net

Contact: steve.vosloo@shuttleworthfoundation.org