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Presentation for the VII International Seminar of the UOC UNESCO Chair in e-Learning: Mobile Technologies for Learning & Development. In 2009, the m4Lit (mobile phones for literacy) project set out to explore the viability of using mobile phones to support reading and writing by teenagers in South Africa (SA). Two m-novels, part of a series called Kontax, were published on a mobisite www.kontax.mobi as well as on SA's most popular mobile instant messaging platform, MXit. In the seven months following launch the stories had been read over 34,000 times, users had submitted over 4,000 entries in writing competitions for the stories, and over 4,000 comments had been left by readers on chapters.
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mLearning in AfricaLessons from the m4Lit project
Steve VoslooPresented at Mobile Technologies for Learning and Development SummitBarcelona, October 2010
A tale of two halves
1.m4Lit: The project
2.Lessons
With a sprinkling of reader comments ...
A good story, although very short. I'd like to see more on MXit because it encourages reading!Lesleigh(F)
A gud st0ri alth0ugh vewi sh0rt id lyk 2 c m0re 0n mxit bk0z it enc0uragez readin!Lesleigh(F)
1. m4Lit: The project
m4Lit (mobiles for literacy) project South African project, launched August 2009, to explore
mobile novels (m-novels) as a complement and alternative to printed literature
Goals:− To explore whether teens are interested in reading stories
on their mobile phones− To see whether and how they write using their mobile
phones− To better understand mobile literacies
Presented here: Findings of pilot phase (August-December 2009) From Jan to Sept 2010 (Kontax to Yoza)
Project ongoing, incubated by the Shuttleworth Foundation
60,000 reads30,000 comments10,000 compo entriesSouth Africa and Kenya
Statistics are for period 29 September 2009 to 22 September 2010 (mobi, MXit,YAL)
Rationale for m4Lit
51%South African households that own no leisure books
(TNS Research Surveys, 2006)
7%Public schools in South Africa that have functional libraries of any kind
(Equal Education, 2009)
The mobile revolution
South Africa has excellent mobile infrastructure Good mobile coverage High uptake of phones – up to 90% amongst
urban youth (Kreutzer, 2009)
MXit, a mobile IM service, claims 15m registered users in South Africa
Mobile web access on the rise in the “townships” (Donner and Gitau, 2009)
Relatively low charges for mobile data (but expensive voice and SMS charges)
Literacy and technology paradox
In schoolPoor literacy performance“Book-poor”Low access to computers
Out of schoolFrequent interaction with written word and digital technologies“Mobile-rich”
(Walton, 2010)
I often hear this from parents, teachers and reporters:
Teens don't read enoughTeens don't write enoughTeens love their phones
It's great ... for me it really hard to pick up a book to start readin but i don mind readin on my phonedotty1
Will our teens read and write novels on their phones like in Japan?
Kontax, a teen m-novel
Story development workshop in Khayelitsha
22
Kontax 1
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Planning Kontax 1
Project pilot phase
2009 2010
>63,000 subscribers>28,000 aged 11-18>27,000 aged 19-24
This uptake is substantial when compared to other youth brands on MXit
MXit statistics are for period 31 October to 26 November
Chapters
% o
f pag
e vi
ews
Page view trend (Kontax 1)
>17,200 reads>7,200 teens reads
MXit statistics are for period 31 October to 26 November 2009
It kwl an nyc nt boring. And siyafundisa.Thule
Ag!BORING. . .:-zThandi
Summary of research findings Most digital writing takes place on mobile phones (but it
tends to be short, like SMS) Most reading takes place on mobile phones or on
paper The isiXhosa version was popular, especially when
considering the systematic marginalisation of the language in literacy contexts
Lots of peer to peer learning “Data suggest a substantial amount of interest [in m-
novels]” … and given the number of teens with mobile phones, there is “plenty of room for growth” (Walton, 2010)
(Walton, 2010; Deumert, 2010)
Digital lives: Peer learning
(Walton, 2010)
Mobile phones are a viable distribution platform for longer form content and for enabling reader participation
T z a vry !ntstng stry,really attrtz da a attns f da reader.k!p t upL!hle
Its overated and typical bt great as it show iz a local production 5 out of 10 4 mePule
Kontax 2, 3, 4 Yoza Young Africa Live (YAL)
Kontax 1
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Planning Kontax 1
Project pilot phase
2009 2010
m4Lit timeline
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Planning Kontax 1
Project pilot phase
2009 2010
m4Lit timeline
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Planning Kontax 1
Kontax 2
Project pilot phase
2009 2010
m4Lit timeline
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Planning Kontax 1
Kontax 2
Project pilot phase
2009 2010
Kontax 3
m4Lit timeline
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Planning Kontax 1
Kontax 2
Kontax 3
YozaProject pilot phase
2009 2010
m4Lit timeline
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Planning Kontax 1
Kontax 2
Kontax 3
YozaProject pilot phase
2009 2010
+ Shakespeare
Yoza i love your stuff your flava is hot(Anon)
On Vodafone Live!, zero data charges (totally free)
Content covers "love, sex and relationships in the time of AIDS"
By Praekelt Foundation
Estimated reads of Yoza series
0
1500
3000
4500
6000
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1
22 Aug - 22 Sept 2010 (n=12289)
Estimated reads of Yoza series
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1 Kontax 1
Over roughly the same initial period (1 month)
When compared with initial Kontax launch, Yoza numbers are low
Estimated reads of Yoza series
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1 Kontax 1
Over roughly the same initial period (1 month)
Yoza YAL
But if YAL is included, then the Yoza series have done well
Competition entries of Yoza series
0
250
500
750
1000
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1
22 Aug - 22 Sept 2010 (n=1543)
Competition entries of Yoza series
0
500
1000
1500
2000
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1 Kontax 1
Over roughly the same initial period (1 month)
When compared with initial Kontax launch, Yoza numbers are low
Competition entries of Yoza series
0
750
1500
2250
3000
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1 Kontax 1
Over roughly the same initial period (1 month)
Yoza YAL
But if YAL is included, then the Yoza series have done well
Comments on Yoza series
0
1250
2500
3750
5000
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1
22 Aug - 22 Sept 2010 (n=8461)
Word cloud of comments and competition entries on Yoza, 22 August to 22 September 2010
0
1500
3000
4500
6000
Reads Comments Competition entries
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1
Comparison of Yoza series
0
1500
3000
4500
6000
Reads Comments Competition entries
Kontax 4 Confessions 1 Sisterz 1 Streetskillz 1
Comparison of Yoza series
Teen issues
Romance
What readers thought of Yoza series
First nd for-most id like 2 say is, A shack is not a place we all proud of living but its what makes us who we are. I come from a shack. And believe me i have good memories in that shack. And as 4 u amanda shame on u shame on u. Latoya my sweety pie im proud of u, u dont need a atm u need a dad. High five Latoya high five.:)Brian
If friar's plan wrks, then romeo wil b able 2 cum nd take juliet wit hm 2 liv hapily 2geda at mantua bt if it fails, sumbdy's gna b dead. Lol!Elsie
I loved the book, wish it didnt have an ending. Shakespear please bring another one like this one. IT WAS MWAAAH!!Blessed 1
Summary ofKontax 2, 3, 4 Yoza Young Africa Live (YAL)
Summary For Yoza per se:
Novelty factor is real -- number of reads not as high as for initial Kontax launch
Number of competition entries also lower But, high number of comments And comments are generally longer Older crowd
For m-novels on Yoza and YAL High number of reads, comments and competition
entries
2. Lessons for m4Lit
Lesson:Mobile is a content monster
Waiting for the next chapters kills me!Suzi*
Lesson:Mobile is instant (and we didn’t always moderate in time)
Y0h weneva i ryt a bludi c0ment they dnt add it wat da f*** IZ GNG ON U R FLIPN WOKN ON MA NERVZ ND I TKE DA DECENSY 2 READ AL DA CHAPTERZ SO0O B0RING:e:((z)Cheeky
Lesson:Mobile is always on
0
100
200
300
400
1:00 AM 3:00 AM 5:00 AM 7:00 AM 9:00 AM 11:00 AM 1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM
Times of responses
Solution: moderate constantly
Lesson:Platform matters
Traffic via yoza.mobi: 1%, via MXit: 99%
Also: compare Confessions 1 on Yoza and on YAL (has established user base)
Solution: use someone else's platform if you can.
Lesson:Marketing matters
Uptake directly linked to marketing
Tradepost message:Heya! Kontax is a new mystery story about Sbu, a missing girl & a cellphone – Visit Tradepost > MXit Mix > Education > Kontax now to start reading the exciting chapters, meet the characters & download awesome wallpapers. Be a part of this story… P-)
(Walton, 2010)
Tradepost messages
Lesson:It's hard to sustain interest
26-Aug-2010: Tradepost message (advert) increased unique visitors to Yoza by 6.9 times10-Oct-2010: Tradepost message increased unique visitors to Yoza by 1.3 timesNovelty factor?
Lesson:General audience is fickle, fans are loyal
Most prolific commenters on Yoza, 22 August to 22 September 2010
Some fans left more than 50 comments on Yoza in a month.Is the drop in numbers from launch to subsequent episodes a problem? Perhaps it is just the curious onlookers drifting off, while those really interested come closer ... the shift from quantity to quality?
Lesson:When reading becomes “snacky”, it’s hard (but not impossible) to make it sticky
Lesson:Comments can be rich feedback or absolute rubbish
Lesson:You might end up with something you didn’t expect
Not all stats are in, and the age categories have changed slightly since the start of the project, but ...There is a clear increase in uptake in the 19-25 age group (we aimed for ages 11-18).Solution? Expect the unexpected.
Lesson:For us it’s not come cheap
Marketing: one Tradepost message = EUR3,500Content developmentHostingSoftware development, but that is once off and platform will be open-sourced with Praekelt Foundation (developers)Solutions? 1. Find someone with money, e.g. Nike, and get them to pay for it.2. Formalise in the education system.3. You can do it for free, e.g. Wordpress with mobile plugin ... but don’t expect big numbers.
Lesson?Are we mainly reaching people who already read?
Many user comments are by people who say they don’t read much.Majority of competition winners say they love to read.Based on the feedback we are reaching both.
So ... mlearning in Africa
“book poor”“mobile phone rich”e-reader of Africa
HUGE potential as m4Lit has demonstrated
The stories r interesting nd fun 2 read, they kip ma englsh gngHlengiwe gulube
Kontax: Coverage and awards
Future
Not just literacy but social messaging contentKeep experimenting in this spaceExperiment with more interactive storytelling formats, e.g. Choose your own adventureAllowing teens to self-publishMove into formal education?
Key sources
Two research reports produced for the pilot phase:
Klk cc ... Supporting Indigenous Literacies in the Digital Space
By Ana Deumert, March 2010Linguistics, University of Cape Town
Mobile literacies & South African teens: Leisure reading, writing, and MXit chatting for teens in Langa and Guguletu
By Marion Walton, March 2010Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape Town
Reports available at: m4lit.wordpress.com/reports
m4lit.wordpress.com
Questions
1.Effects of texting on non-English mother-tongue speakers?2.To what extent will teens allow “us” to occupy “their” space?3.Who is excluded from the mobile internet? (Walton, 2010)4.When reading becomes snacky, what does it do to
concentration abilities?5.“There is a distance and conflict between mobile literacies and
school literacies. This needs to be explored and better understood because mobile literacies are so pervasive in young peoples' lives” (Walton, 2010). What do we do with this?
But isn't txtspk bad for literacy? Various schools of thought on this (Vosloo, 2009)
"The more exposure you have to the written word [including txtspk] the more literate you become and we tend to get better at things that we do for fun" (Plester, 2009)
But, [while skills in mobile networking can be a valuable coping strategy,] “experience in chatting is unlikely to help teens produce written academic genres, or to qualify them for middle class jobs and careers” (Walton, 2010)
