Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Presented at NAPTOSA Principals Conference, 31 July 2009, Johannesburg
Citation preview
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
[email protected] 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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
