M-learning delivers
Students in the Philippines explore
the power of mobile learning through
an interactive multimedia program called
“text2teach” that brings enhanced teaching
methods to the classrooms of some of
the world’s most remote schools.
T
eachers use mobile phones to access a study in the provinces of Maguindanao, the mobile learning materials to see the
a library of educational videos. The Cotabato and South Cotabato that tested impact of the test elements on academic
programs are then downloaded to a the project’s effectiveness in improving performance.
digital video recorder connected to a class- the teaching of English, math and science In Cotabato and South Cotabato, the
room television. Teachers can play the video, in grades five and six (13-14 year olds). studies showed dramatic learning gains
introduce activities and lead discussions. Randomly selected students were tested for pupils receiving m-learning and mod-
All totaled, 3,297 students took part in against control subjects with no access to est gains for control students; while in
Maguindanao, learning gains were lower
than the other two provinces - but for
control groups, almost zero learning gains
were experienced. The learning gains in
Maguidanao appear higher at grade six,
suggesting that longer exposure to text-
2teach may have a positive cumulative
effect.
As well as generating more positive at-
titudes towards science and technology, the
program increased teachers’ competence in
using technology as part of their teaching.
The program now runs in more than 200
schools, enabling 120,000 students to improve
their learning opportunities. Text2teach is the
result of a collaboration that includes Nokia,
the Ayala Corporation, the Philippine Depart-
ment of Education, Pearson, the International
Youth Foundation (IYF), and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP). ■
3/2008 Expanding Horizons 17
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