The Developing World - Mobile Learning
Mobile utilization is far more common in developing nations than you may initially think. You may believe it to be too expensive or mobile availability to be limited, but average yearly growth rates prove these hypotheses wrong. For example the year-on-year growth rate of smart phone consumption in India is a staggering 841%, But India isn't the only one; mobile usage has been expanding across the world. Reports by World Bank found that active mobile subscribers have gone from less than One billion inn the year 200 to almost six billion today. This is an amazing accomplishment anyway. Nonetheless, consider this: virtually 5 billion of these subscriptions are in developing nations.
With so many mobile devices being used today, it's no surprise that the m-learning effort is really start to kick off. UNESCO (UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) works on adding mobile learning schemes along with improving education and the differing learning policies around the world. They've launched numerous projects within developing nations, such as €Puentos Educativos' in Chile which provides lecturers with technology (including a Smartphone) along with training about interactive education. The program aids 600 school teachers teaching around 10,000 children and also reported a boost in both student performance and motivation. This is a fantastic news for mobile learning and schemes like this help to establish m-learning as a positive and valuable learning resource. However, UNESCO sees that there is far more work to be completed. M-learning is only recently starting to be regarded properly by education departments; therefore it might be a long time before it is widely available within the developing world.
The matter of expense also affects education in significantly less developed countries. Many families just can't afford to teach their children and thus they go without having a proper education. This is slowly transforming. With mobile learning more and more people will be able to retrieve learning content material without having to pay ridiculous amounts of money. Mobiles are a lot less expensive in comparison with other technologies like laptops, so they are more commonly used. Cheap tariffs and high accessibility mean that buying a mobile phone is cost effective for many people. Elsie S. Kanza from the World Economic Forum, says that(when speaking with regards to Africa) €Regardless of social class, almost everyone has a mobile phone, or two or three. Even in remote villages, mobile phones have replaced the bicycle or radio as valued assets€ This is great news for portable learning as well as education generally as it is currently possible to reach a broader audience as well as remote pupils all over the world.
And the learning isn't just limited to school environments. Additional mobile software is being developed to teach overall health and basic knowledge at the same time. For example according to mobiledia.com a new iPhone app called €Nine Minutes' has been produced which teaches women about pregnancy as well as the maternity routine. This kind of vital knowledge and health campaign is revolutionary and implies that there are no restraints to how beneficial m-learning could be in educating the globe.
With so many mobile devices being used today, it's no surprise that the m-learning effort is really start to kick off. UNESCO (UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) works on adding mobile learning schemes along with improving education and the differing learning policies around the world. They've launched numerous projects within developing nations, such as €Puentos Educativos' in Chile which provides lecturers with technology (including a Smartphone) along with training about interactive education. The program aids 600 school teachers teaching around 10,000 children and also reported a boost in both student performance and motivation. This is a fantastic news for mobile learning and schemes like this help to establish m-learning as a positive and valuable learning resource. However, UNESCO sees that there is far more work to be completed. M-learning is only recently starting to be regarded properly by education departments; therefore it might be a long time before it is widely available within the developing world.
The matter of expense also affects education in significantly less developed countries. Many families just can't afford to teach their children and thus they go without having a proper education. This is slowly transforming. With mobile learning more and more people will be able to retrieve learning content material without having to pay ridiculous amounts of money. Mobiles are a lot less expensive in comparison with other technologies like laptops, so they are more commonly used. Cheap tariffs and high accessibility mean that buying a mobile phone is cost effective for many people. Elsie S. Kanza from the World Economic Forum, says that(when speaking with regards to Africa) €Regardless of social class, almost everyone has a mobile phone, or two or three. Even in remote villages, mobile phones have replaced the bicycle or radio as valued assets€ This is great news for portable learning as well as education generally as it is currently possible to reach a broader audience as well as remote pupils all over the world.
And the learning isn't just limited to school environments. Additional mobile software is being developed to teach overall health and basic knowledge at the same time. For example according to mobiledia.com a new iPhone app called €Nine Minutes' has been produced which teaches women about pregnancy as well as the maternity routine. This kind of vital knowledge and health campaign is revolutionary and implies that there are no restraints to how beneficial m-learning could be in educating the globe.
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