Cell Phones Have No Boundaries

Image from an article on elearning; Mobile Phones revolutionizing education in Africa, Kevin James Moore.

The last time I visited Tanzania one of the grandiose changes that I witnessed was the looming presence of cell phone towers, high on hills and in the remote skylines of National Parks. However unsightly the 'vodacom' spires are, they are making cell phone reception possible from the slopes of Kilimanjaro to the distant bush of Serengeti. This kind of accessibility is unprecedented - in places where there are no schools, or running water - there is mobile reception. One reoccurring style trend around the world today is the mighty cell phone, clasped in hand.

Last week here in New York I had the opportunity to take part in The Economist's Ideas Conference on Human Potential. There was much sprightly discourse on new ways of thinking and doing. The Economist has recently launched an initiative called the ‘ InnoCentive Challenge’ in which the floor is opened to unconventional ideas which press forward. The last challenge was focused on the challenge of ‘21^st century Cyber Schools.’ The challenged winner is awarded a small grant, and be given more opportunities to present the proposed idea at the upcoming Economist conference.

The winner for the first challenge in 21^st century cyberschools is Andrew Deonarine, a Public Health and Preventative Medicine resident at the University of British Columbia, a facility reputed for the sciences. He won for his proposal on “Educell,” a start-up that uses cell phone technology as a platform for basic literacy through “phonecasting.” A teacher anywhere in the world can use the mobile medium to write and load curriculum in multiple languages using simple coding. The lesson is then published to a server, compressed and sent out to cell phone users in audio and video format (obviously necessary for literacy learning).

Deonarine is pushing the limits by bringing together medicine, biology and computer science in order to advance learning across demographics. The beauty of this idea is that most people around the world have access to and are willing to invest in a mobile phone. Even some of the most rural areas in India and Sub-saharan Africa, where there is no running water or electricity, people have access to mobile phones and coverage. This would be a fantastic move, and not unrealistic to do, especially in teaching basic literacy and rudimentary health promotion.

Most teachers prohibit the use of mobiles and texting in schools, however, might this be one of our most untapped, and tapped-in resources? Students send hundreds of texts a day, they access information and engage with one another. Could we be using cell phones, which are available to youth throughout the world and across demographics to foster more dialogue, and to spread more conscious learning initiatives? This is an idea that could help push things forward in both western, and developing nations.

Texting could also be used between students in classrooms from Kentucky to Kochi.