m-Learning, is it a Buzz word?

Mobile Learning Technologies challenges and opportunities ...First there was correspondence learning. Then came distance learning. Now we talk about e-learning. Is mobile or m-learning next? Are these terms meaningful? Or are they just buzz words? One could ask the question whether we will ever get back to plain old learning.

Mobile learning (learning using devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants or combinations of these technologies) has the capability to revolutionise the way we think and learn about education and development. If distance learning is about providing access to education then no technology has greater potential to bring education to the people (as opposed to bringing people to education) than mobile learning.

Using these technologies people can learn when and where it is convenient for them. We have reached learning on demand. In fact this article is being written in a public park.

The text messaging capabilities of mobile devices seems to be particularly powerful with respect to m-learning. Using text transmissions to transmit information from teacher to learner concerning assignments and content vastly speeds up previous communications. Perhaps more importantly text messaging allows learners to communicate with each other thus creating a learning community that extends far beyond the life and confines of traditional learning environments.

More practically m-learning devices allow users to literally lighten the load. PDAs and cell phones are small enough to carry around easily and are easier to maintain than desktop or even laptop computers. It is no longer necessary to cart kilograms of equipment in order to pursue learning and the equipment itself is far less expensive than traditional computers.

But what about the infamous digital divide? In this case the digital divide may not be as gaping as we think. According to a recent survey in The Economist, mobile phone subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa rose by more than 150% last year.

This growth is outpacing that in many developed nations and is, in fact, “leapfrogging” more standard technologies like fixed wire telecoms and the Internet. Perhaps in this case, for the developing world at least, m-learning will be more than just a buzz word used by the north, but, will be a meaningful concept and technology with the capacity to provide learning for all.