Mobile phones can help children stay in school

As students are forced to stay at home amid the Covid-19 crisis, the use of internet-based technology has become increasingly important.

For decades, the internet was considered a luxury in many countries. Twenty years ago, Kenyans could only access the internet via office devices and cyber cafes.

Over time, schools began to use smartphones to enhance education through mobile learning.

In more recent years, mobile learning has become available to most of the poorest US school districts and to teachers and students worldwide.

Today, new research has affirmed that mobile learning has the power to make learning even more widely available and accessible and can help cash-strapped school districts give their students the opportunity to extend their learning outside the classroom through their personal mobile devices.

In Kenya, as self-isolation becomes the norm, mobile phones are one of the few ways to access the outside world.

Also, studies have found that one in five Kenyans has access to the internet. On top of that, the use of mobile phones has grown exponentially across the country.

In fact, there are 10 million smartphone users in Kenya out of a population of roughly 52 million, according to a "Global Mobile Market Report" by analytics firm Newzoo.

PERSONALISED LEARNING

New research from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a US-based learning-focused institution, has found that many educators are finding traditional classroom structures impractical.

These traditional and somewhat outdated structures are best described as learning practices where the same lessons are presented to a class of students and equal time and resources are allotted to all students for learning the material.

The ISTE research states that students in the same grade have different knowledge base levels and learn at different rates.

Therefore, they are more likely to succeed academically, emotionally and behaviourally when they are supported as individuals.

ISTE data states that with personalised learning structures that are available through technology and online, teachers and students can take charge of their education experiences.

In the Kenyan scene, MwalimuPLUS, an e-learning and tutoring platform, allows teachers and parents to use their own smartphones to take advantage of the opportunities that the platform provides.

PARTNERSHIPS

The system has been tried and tested in at least 14 schools in Kenya, with impressive results.

Students using the platform have posted higher test results, with one case reporting learning gains of up to 97 per cent.

This is especially impressive given that learning gains of just 20 per cent are already considered good to begin with. This proves that personalised learning and mobile education are indeed effective.

Concerns of equity will be addressed as players in the sector continue to partner with like-minded players soon. For example, MwalimuPLUS is looking to partner with mobile or laptop companies, whereby they will be able to ensure more affordable or free devices reach more children.

Technology is already in testing to ensure that parents may not require the internet to access platforms such as MwalimuPLUS - and with rural electrification project expansion, more homesteads and schools will be covered.

The writer is Nyandarua County’s Education executive and former Director, Centre of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa. [email protected]