The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Mobile (phone) classroom

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 27, 2005

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Opinion - News Analysis

Mobile (phone) classroom

Peter Kingston

A report on a successful experiment to use phone technology to lure young adults back to learning.

STATE-OF-THE-ART mobile phones have been found to be effective tools for tempting young unemployed adults back to learning. In a bold European experiment, youngsters in the Neet category — not in employment, education or training — were lent a range of portable devices programmed with games and learning material, and in most cases they rediscovered enthusiasm for education.

About 80 per cent felt the mobile games could help them to improve their reading, spelling or maths.

Marked improvements

Mentors taking part in the three-year project, called m-learning, confirmed there were marked improvements in these areas, particularly among young people initially described as being "less able" or with "very limited ability."

The experiment, involving young people from Sweden, Britain and Italy, set out to investigate whether mobile technologies can engage "hard to reach" young people in the Neet group in learning and help those with literacy and numeracy difficulties.

The project ended with the largest trials of mobile learning material and systems conducted to date, involving nearly 250 young people aged 16-24 in the three countries. Most were unemployed, many had dropped out of education or were considered to be at risk of doing so, and some were homeless or travellers.

Jill Attewell, programme manager for the m-learning project in the United Kingdom, says: "There are many different ways of learning. The traditional classroom situation doesn't suit everyone. What we set out to discover was whether we could use young people's interest in, and enthusiasm for, mobile technologies to engage them in learning."

Positive findings

The findings were very positive, says Ms. Attewell, who is also research manager at the U.K.'s Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA), one of the five organisations that collaborated in the project.

"It's clear that mobile phones and PDAs [personal digital assistants] have enormous potential as learning tools and we now have pocket-sized computers with the ability to deliver learning and provide access to online systems and services that are very sophisticated.

"Although the aim was to find out whether this mode of learning worked with the disengaged, clearly it has huge potential for others as well."

Educational games

This is not the first project to demonstrate that the alleged addictive nature of computer games and simulations can be harnessed to help youngsters work towards educational goals. "However," says Ms. Attewell, "to be effective, educational games must be carefully designed and deployed to appeal to and meet the needs of specific learners, taking into account their abilities, preferences, learning objectives and the context in which they are learning."

The project began in September 2001. Its organisers decided that the young people should be equipped with the most sophisticated kit available, including the hybrid mobile phone/PDA devices known as "smart phones."

There were some initial reservations about lending the devices amid fears they would be damaged or stolen, or that some recipients would use them inappropriately. It was decided to trust the participants and this proved the right approach, concludes the LSDA's report on the project, Mobile Technologies and Learning. Devices were lent to 216 young people, 32 of whom were homeless. Six were stolen and two suffered damage.

Among the key findings of the project was that mobile learning can engage young people who have been put off by traditional education methods. Two-thirds of the young people in the trials said they were likely to take part in further learning in the future. Nearly a third were assessed as having developed a more positive attitude to reading.

Mobile learning was also found to help remove formality from the learning experience. Mobile learning tools that allowed young people to work together were popular, but some appreciated the opportunity to learn independently in their own time.

It also helped combat resistance to technology and bridge the gap between mobile phone literacy and ICT literacy. The devices and programmes helped young people to remain more focused for longer periods and to improve their self-confidence. Being trusted with "cool," expensive technology was a new experience for some young people, which helped to raise self-esteem, build trust and encourage greater personal responsibility. —

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