Mobile technology and e-learning

Employers and educators are finding that mobile technology can be used to promote learning and training, in any location, using any standard web browser.

Smartphones are no longer available to only a select few, and with the increase in users there has also been a surge in app development companies. In a development that hints at an exciting future for the mobile technology industry, Skype has acquired the mobile software company responsible for the Qik platform which lets users enjoy real-time video across multiple mobile platforms. The potential to use this platform to provide successful, multimedia e-learning is clear.

In our opinion, Smartphones can, and should be used as tools to supplement online education and training. Mobile platforms enable the dissemination of educational material to widely dispersed workforces, overcoming previously insurmountable logistical obstacles. eLeap claims, “To date, e-learning has focused on other platforms, but it’s inevitable that some e-learning applications will move to the smartphone, at least as a supplementary method of educational training.”
(eLeaP)

Mobile web’s South African explosion

According to research conducted by World Wide Worx, at least six million South Africans have Internet access on their mobile phones. The study showed that social networking sites are favourites among mobile users, with mobile email fast becoming more mainstream. Cellphone banking is also booming - the report found that 37% of South Africans in urban and rural areas aged 16 and above now use cellphone banking. The benefits to rural South Africans are especially significant, particularly in terms of time and money saved.

However, the study also showed that although many cellphone users have access to these applications on their phones, at least 40% of them don’t use them - citing either cost concerns or ignorance. World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says, “it is clear that the cellphone has the potential to take South Africans across the digital divide, but the phones themselves need to become more user-friendly, and a vast amount of consumer education is needed.”
(World Wide Worx / BizCommunity.com)