Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/139946
Learn as You Go Mobile technology is being used to support a wide range of learning opportunities in developing nations. Several are aimed at promoting literacy: ■ Worldreader (www.worldreader.org/) aims to make digital books available to children in the developing world by bypassing e-readers and moving straight to mobile phones. Thus far, the Worldreader app is on 3.9 million handsets; 245,000 e-books have reached 1,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa. ■ M-Ubuntu (www.m-ubuntu.org.za) connects South African teachers with literacy coaches in the U.S., England, Sweden, and Italy. Teachers use recycled smartphones to bring handheld computing to their classrooms as they develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Other initiatives address a broad range of topics: ■ Souktel: JobMatch (souktel.org) allows job seekers and employers to find each other through a mobile phone information service. ■ mHealthEd (mhealthed.org/mhealthed.html) relies on mobile phones to supply health education, advice, and training to patients, volunteers, community health workers, nurses, and other medical staff. As an example, the organization can send broadcast text messages advising people how to avoid malaria or how to get tested for HIV/AIDS. The phones also put diagnostic and data collection applications in the hands of rural health workers. ■ The Jokko Initiative (www.rapidsms.org/case-studies/senegal-the-jokkoinitiative/) uses text messaging to communicate information to wide, dispersed networks of people—for instance, it alerts women about income-generating events they can attend. Education Is at Hand In the developing world, the use of mobile phones for education is the next frontier. As more individuals in developing nations acquire cell phones and other devices, more online content will be designed for mobile delivery, which will again accelerate both supply and demand. GBSN recently commissioned education writer Emily Heron to research initiatives that are using mobile technology to deliver education in developing nations. One of the most exciting initiatives can be found at Regenesys Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa (regenesys.co.za/freeedu/). Operating over an online platform accessible from smartphones, tablets, or PCs, the school offers MBA and BBA degrees, postgraduate diplomas in management, and higher certificates in business management. The program is built on a "freemium" model: Learners have no-cost access to Regenesys 32 July/August 2013 BizEd In Africa, sales of cloud-based e-learning products are increasing at nearly 40 percent a year. Worldwide, the growth rate is 7.6 percent, with revenues exceeding US$35 billion. Free Business Education, which includes study guides, tutor videos, e-books, webinars, academic articles, Google hangouts, business tools, and examples of exams and assignments. However, students must pay fees if they want to take exams, receive assignments, and earn degrees. Students who are in the degree and certificate programs also must meet entry requirements and complete graduation requirements. Regenesys is accredited with the Council on Higher Education, the Department of Education, and the South African Qualifications Authority. It has partnered on the freemium initiative with Pearson, South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper, Internet Solutions, the Human Resources Development Council, and the Trade and Industry Ministry. The director aims to educate one million people in the next three years. Various other initiatives are devoted to using mobile technology to provide education to learners in developing nations. While the following programs aren't built around business, they do show how cell phone learning is taking off. For instance, Nokia Education Delivery (projects.developer.nokia. com/NED) offers free, open-source software that carries educational material to mobile phones via mobile networks; a group can share media files by connecting the phone to a TV or a projector. Nokia is also involved in Momaths (projects.developer.nokia.com/ Momaths), which gives users access to math content via mobile phones. BridgeIt Programs (www.iyfnet. org/bridgeit) allow teachers to download video content using cellular phones, which are connected to TVs in the classrooms. This gives remote schools and communities access to a vast range of educational content. Safari Blackboard (safaricom.com/safaricomblack board/) allows teachers to record their lessons and store digital content on the Safaricom Cloud, where