Mobile Innovations in Education: Reaching Out to Transform Education

1. Mobile Innovations in Education: Reaching Out to Transform Education Dr. Mohamed Ally Director and Professor Centre for Distance Education and President International Federation of Training and Development Organizations (IFTDO) Mobile Innovations for Social and Economic Transformation From Pilots to Scaled-up Implementation September 16, 2009 World Bank Washington, D.C.

2. Why Did I get Involved in Mobile Learning • Research Agenda • Global impact • Bridge the learning divide • Reach people who live in remote areas • United Nations Millennium Development Goals • Dialogue between Nations – Indigenous Peoples

3. From e- to m- • E-commerce to M-commerce • E-business to M-business • E-health to M-health • E-government to M-government • E-library to M-library • E-learning to M-learning

4. Some of the problems in the world today are caused by: • High illiteracy rate • Lack of functional education • Lack of communication between peoples of the world • Lack of teacher training

5. Who Needs Access to Education • Foreign workers • Homeless • Females who do not have access to education • Disabled • Remote citizens • Indigenous peoples • Nomads

6. Empower Learners • We Underestimate the ability of people in remote regions and developing countries to use technology • Hole in the Wall Research(Sugata Mitra)

7. Learning Divide • Digital divide will be (is) something of the past • We now have the learning divide – those who have access to learning materials and those who do not have access

8. How mobile technology help in Education • Education is more than one way delivery of information • Interactive • Support • Practice • Practical application

9. Examples of Educational Use of Mobile Technology • Make a concept map summarizing a chapter • Keep track of class schedules, assignments, and grades • Increase content accessibility for those with disabilities • Use a tutorial for self-study • Take part in a collaborative simulation • Do research on the web • Participate in a collaborative project • Track a community service learning project • What to do in disaster situations • Sustainable development

10. Examples of Mobile Learning Projects • Mobile phones in Language Training (Athabasca University) • Mobile phones for accent reduction (Athabasca University) • Use of games for HIV/AIDS Education in India • Providing support for teacher training in Kenya • Use of mobile technology by Indigenous peoples around the world, especially in remote locations, to access information and learning materials from anywhere and at anytime.

11. Millennium Development Goals: Role of Mobile Learning • Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty • Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education • Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women • Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality • Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health • Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases • Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability • Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

12. My Current Initiatives • Setting global standards for Nomadicity and mobile learning • Making libraries mobile friendly • Pushing for more open access learning materials • Use of mobile technology in formal and informal learning

13. Books1. Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training (2009)http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/1201552. M-Libraries: Libraries on the Move with Mobile Access (2008)

14. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS UNITED NATIONS - Article 26 • Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.  • Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups.

15. Education is a human right • All humans are entitled to get an education to meet their individual needs • Education is a nourishment for the mind • As educators and experts we have an obligation to help prevent intellectual starvation

16. What people are saying about Mobile Learning • No one can learn from mobile phone • Children will use mobile phones to do unethical activities in the classroom • Battery life on mobile phones is too short • Mobile phone may become the opportunity for examination malpractices • Mobile with camera creates lots of teenage related issues (violence etc.) within the school environment • Educational content cannot be delivered to millions over phone (cost) • Mobile phones are distracting while at school rather than enhancer • SMS are play things for teens rather than educational

17. Famous Predictions that were Wrong • "I predict the Internet...will go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse" (Inventor and 3Com founder, 1995) • “640K ought to be enough for anybody," (Chairman of Microsoft, 1981) • "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home" (President, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment, 1977) • "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" (Chairman of IBM, 1943)

18. Technology is Here • Use of mobile technology growing at an exponential rate, especially in developing countries • Manufacturers of the technology are seeing the value for education • Technology will become our “sixth sense”

19. With Mobile Technology “Education for All” is within reach