Cell Phones Will Help South African Girls Learn Mathematics

April 28, 2008

South Africa's Department of Education is collaborating with Nokia and the nonprofit organization Mindset Network in a pilot project to improve the mathematical skills of tenth-grade girls. To do that, they have initiated a program called M4Girls, which uses Nokia cell phones that are loaded with mathematics.

South Africa's Department of Education hopes to improve proficiency in the key subject of mathematics among students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular the nation's girls.

Nokia's Micheline Ntiru said, “Young people are increasingly using their phones to gain knowledge via the Internet, social networking and interaction with their peers, so it makes sense to introduce learning through these devices.”  The program involves schools in the North West Province: the President Mangope Technical High School and the Thlabane Technical College. These schools' pupils can access the devices' educational material and mathematical content, which meet the needs of the national curriculum, according to Ntiru.

Vis Naidoo (Mindset Network) indicated, “It is urgent that we improve South Africa's proficiency in math. It is important for our youth to develop in this if they are to integrate into the fast-paced global economy. This pilot will help students achieve this.”

To increase the chances of success, Nokia is funding the training of teachers and school managers at the pilot schools; repairing classrooms; supplying library books; and offering volunteer staff assistance.

The latent potential of cell phones as a resource for the instruction of mathematics was explored in the "Math in the News" piece "The Cell Phone May Be the Next Math Lab" (7/19/07).

Source: IT Web