Emerging Educational Technologies - very far from being applied in development

My (soon to be) colleague Diana Brandes just shared an article about 10 Specific Examples Of Emerging Educational Technologies by  Teach Thought.

The list provides some (heavily US-centric) examples about how some educational institutes are applying technology.

Cloud Computing, Mobile Learning, Tablet Computing and MOOCs are all listed in the "12 months or less" category, implying they are pretty much here already.  From where I'm sitting (well, standing most of the time, but that's the topic for another post one day), which is thinking how technology can revolutionize learning in a developing context (think large scale application of agricultural research in developing countries)  - this is still much more of a distant dream than reality.

Of all of these, the one I hold most hope for is mobile learning - but let's unpack it for a minute.  The article gives examples of a school in Australia using tablets for math applications, another use of tablets, this time in Switzerland, to create music on ipads, and finally a US school creating an iOS app for digital storytelling.  All very neat.  And very far removed from the reality of the vast majority of mobile users at the BoP.

Despite a lot of promise for (entry level android) smartphones about to boom in many Asian and African countries - the reality in my host country of Kenya - considered a hub, perhaps even the epicenter - of mobile innovation is that most users are still not on smartphones, and if you want scale in rural areas, you better think of the old school (Nokia) entry level phones.  None of the innovative applications mentioned in the article are mobile-compatible in this context. As far as timelines are concerned, I think we're certainly more than 12 months' away from any of these making a dent in mainstream applications of education, let alone in a development context.

The article's most exciting prospect for me personally is "Games and Gamification", slated at 2-3 Years away.  I think there's so much potential for engaging adult learners with games that we're not tapping into - it would hopefully take "only" one or two killer applications to come out to turn the tide and focus the world's attention to gaming for development.  Who knows, by then it might be a mobile app that does the trick?

Mobile learning - some initial thoughts.

I recently blogged about MOOCs, which prompted an interesting Twitter exchange with Guy Pfefferman of the Global Business School Network and Dan LeClair of The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

The starting point was Guy's recent article in BizEd, which focuses on mobile learning.

I have to admit, my first reaction was (and is till) skeptical.  When we talk of mobile learning in a developing country context, we're not talking iPads or iPhones.  We're not even talking basic android phones (yet).  Remember your Nokia handset from 1997?  Most times, that's the closer cousin to what you'll find.  I haven't researched the topic enough to make any kind of statement with certainty, but instinctively, this doesn't seem to be a great learning platform to me, with the obvious limitations of screen size etc.

Sure, it can work for many things - especially practical areas where you need a conrete piece of information.  Think market prices, medical consultation, etc.  These are not new, and there are lots of examples around.  For instance, my employer, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)  joined hands with others on such projects  - for instance mfarmer - where we provide agricultural value added services (Agri VAS) for smallholder farmers in emerging markets.  The purpose of these mobile services is to bridge the information gap faced by smallholder farmers and to improve poor farming households’ resilience and decision-making as a result of better access to relevant agricultural information.  You can read more about similar initaitves on the GSMA Mobile for Development website.

These are great initiatives, and I think they can make a real difference, and we are just scratching the surface.   But this is not mobile learning in the sense of what MOOCs are projected to do to classroom learning.  It is no substitute for traditional classroom education - at least not yet.  As Guy points out - we're still missing business models for mobile learning. A recent UNESCO conference touched upon aspects of this - including a mobile MOOC - have a look for yourself, some interesting stuff.  Still, not a game changer as far as I can see - and certainly no business model yet.  

At this early stage of thinking about the topic, I feel what we really need is to look at how technology (and with all the mobile hype, radio is still the king of rural) can be combined into blended learning that prepares youth for starting business or finding jobs.  Technology alone will not be a panacea.  

This said, I still need to do more reading and thinking about this exciting area.  Very much looking forward to ICT4Ag conference in Kigali, where I hope to pick up the thread.