Presented at the WSIS Forum, Geneva, 14 May 2012 (World Summit on the Information Society)

1. UNESCO Regional Review:
Mobile Learning Policies and
Mobiles for Teacher
Development
Steve Vosloo
WSIS, Geneva, 14 May 2012

2. The mobile revolution
UNESCO Nokia Partnership: How can mobiles support Education for All?

3. Background
• Initial focus of partnership: policies and teachers
• UNESCO Working Paper Series on Mobile
Learning
– 5 regional review papers on mobile learning and
policies
 Inform Guidelines on Mobile Learning Policies
– 5 regional review papers on mobiles for teacher
support and development
 Inform UNESCO’s 4 teacher projects in 2012/13

4. * Note: Papers are not a comprehensive review, rather a scan for illustrative examples

5. MOBILE LEARNING AND POLICIES

6. Overall view
• Many excellent mobile learning initiatives around
the world
• Spanning the full range of education support:
content delivery, tutoring, administration,
testing/assessment, informal and non-formal
learning
• Especially reaching previously unreached
communities
• Variation: government support or not for mobile
learning initiatives

7. Overall view: Policy vacuum
• Many countries have ICT in Education policies
• BUT, written in the “pre-mobile” era
• Some national and local level policies ban
mobile phones
• Tension between old and new approaches to
mobile learning
• Need for more active involvement from
government, enabling policy environment …

8. Guiding
principles for
policies related
Change to mobile Infrastructure
management learning and
and advocacy connectivity
Inclusive
Technology
mobile
provision
learning
Online safety
and disruptive Cost of usage
behaviour
Mobile
learning
Review of policies and
existing
national- and projects: Key Funding
local-level
policies issues
Education
planning and e-Waste
management
Professional
Content
development
Supporting
Curriculum formal, non-
and formal and
assessment informal
learning

9. MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES FOR TEACHER
SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT

10. Urgent need for …
• Increase in education quality
• 8.2 million teachers by 2015 to achieve
universal primary education
• Teachers that are qualified and
motivated, especially in sub-Saharan Africa
Are mobiles being used for teacher support and
teacher development?

11. Overall view
• Some good examples (next slide) but …
• Mobiles for teacher support and professional
development (PD) in infancy
• Emerging
• Led by champion teachers, schools and
NGOs/corporates
• Sparse in empirical evidence

12. Existing examples
• Supporting teaching and pedagogy (Bridge-IT/Text2Teach)
• Administration and communication (CED, Mobile Skole, Mobile
Oxford)
• Streamlining assessment for immediate and rich feedback
(Momaths)
• Flipping classrooms (Stanford University, Clintondale High
School, Khan Academy)
• Video recording students and student teachers (Fairfax county
Schools, Cornwall College)
• Online support communities (Teaching Biology Project)
• Increased access to online repositories (OER Commons)
• Teacher training part of mobile learning initiatives (Momaths)

13. Four influencing “factors” …
Perception factor Supply and awareness factor
(Mobiles are distracting and disruptive, shallow (Universities and TTIs not training teacher pre- or in-service
content, sex/drugs/gangs, cheating, bullying, damaging to teachers, mobiles not used in the actual PD process,
health) unawareness)
Ecosystem factor
Inertia factor
(Policies, legislation, cost of
(Why change? Just another thing to learn, Need for more
usage, partnerships, leadership, tech support for mobile
learning)
Mobile evidence and easier to use tools)
technologies
for teacher
support and
development

14. Teachers more important than ever
• Mobiles do NOT replace teachers!
• Teachers must help learners develop digital
literacy and critical thinking
• To be safe and responsible online
• To support formal and informal
learning, bridged by mobile technologies

15. Drivers
• Widespread access to familiar devices
• The need to improve poor performing education
systems
• Teachers wanting PD
• Investment by mobile companies and donor agencies
• Lowering costs
• Educational benefits of mobile learning, e.g.
personalised learning, increased access to resources,
etc.
• Supportive policies and vision statements

16. Future
• Growing potential for mobiles to support
teachers and PD (job-
embedded, flexible, personalized, available
anytime-anywhere-any pace, alone or in
combination with other ICTs)
• For widespread teacher support and
professional development through mobile
devices a holistic approach is needed that
addresses all factors

17. Thank you
Working paper series:
www.tinyurl.com/unescomobilelearningseries
Mailing list: www.tinyurl.com/unescomobilelearninglist
se.vosloo@unesco.org
@stevevosloo