Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/139946
students and other teachers can access it for a fee. The cloud-based Learning with Vodafone Solution (www.vodafone.com/content/index/ about/foundation/news/learning_ india.html) combines content, a learning platform, mobile devices, and access technologies to integrate classroom curriculum with content from the web. It also allows children to take SMS multiple-choice tests outside the classroom. A number of other exciting initiatives are being unrolled in devel- oping countries. (See "Learn as You Go" on the facing page for a sampling.) While some of these target disciplines other than business, they all show how innovatively mobile technology can be used to connect people and expand what they know. The Future Is Mobile It's clear that an impressive number of organizations, mostly nonprofits, are already developing educational programs via mobile phones. While most online courses are created for Two Surveys: Who's Using What? To discover how technology is being used in the classroom, the Global Business School Network conducted an informal survey of its member schools. All respondents indicated that online and mobile delivery formats supplement rather than substitute for classroom instruction. One-third of respondents rely on technology to reach a greater number of students. Half are currently using interactive platforms and incorporating content created by others; the others are planning to do both in the future. Of the schools that offer technology-driven courses, more than half require students to have access to high-quality broadband; the rest make do with medium-to-low-quality connections. Two-thirds are planning to create massive open online courses (MOOCs); a handful plan to incorporate MOOCs produced by others into their programs. So what's stopping these schools from adopting technology more quickly? Almost all respondents—in advanced as well as developing countries—mention lack of faculty capacity. Half point to the school's insufficient IT equipment. In fact, occasionally the school's IT equipment is more of a constraint than the equipment used by students. A separate survey from UNICEF looked into the factors that affect mobile use for education and development. The global research report, known as Mobiles for Development (M4D), resulted in a case study of the way mobile services are used in 14 countries. For instance, SMS chat is popular in Iraq, while MMS (multimedia messaging services) is more widely used in Kosovo. The study also found a wide variety in the nature of mobile initiatives employed by each country. At the time of the study in 2010, health initiatives accounted for 32 percent of the total, followed by socioeconomic initiatives at 15 percent, agriculture at 13 percent, and education at 12 percent. More results can be found at www.cto.int/wp-content/themes/solid/_layout/ dc/ptojects/UNICEF%20Mobiles4Dev%20Report.pdf. students in industrialized countries, many are starting to be adapted for use in the developing world. Others are being created specifically for this audience. (For some examples, visit www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/03/ will-mobile-education-arrive-in-thedeveloping-world072.html.) Indeed, The African Management Initiative (www.africanmanagers.org) already is planning to produce MOOCs in partnership with African business schools. Once such programs are widely available, the reach of education, including management education, will increase as never before. And management education will see changes like never before. An increased reliance on online educational delivery is likely to transform the traditional integrated structure, in which universities supply the entire value chain, from knowledge generation to course delivery. Only schools with big endowments or access to public funding will be able to afford knowledge generation; most business schools will become "pedagogic engineers," whose role will be to adapt to local needs the knowledge that is created elsewhere. Indeed, online programming is enabling education in all fields, at all levels, in all geographic locations. Traditional business schools must figure out how to incorporate online and mobile delivery into their conventional formats so they, too, can profit from the disruptive technology that is shaping the future. Guy Pfeffermann is the founder and CEO of the Global Business School Network, headquartered in Washington, D.C. He previously spent 40 years as an economist at the World Bank, including 15 years as chief economist at the International Finance Corporation. BizEd July/August 2013 33