Research Reviews

Learning programs that use mobile devices such as mobile/cell phones, tablets, Smartphones and the like are a topic of popular media and social discussion in the developed world. This is especially the case as new tablets and ereaders are being launched almost monthly with an accompanied media frenzy. However, with 69 million school children who do not have access to basic education and 759 million adults who have no formal education, cheap mobile devices may be able to overcome cost and accessibility barriers to traditional education in developing countries. Mobile devices may help to encourage innovation by enabling education for illiterate populations 80% of whom reside in developing countries (p. 5). An illuminating report, full of rich examples in a research-poor area of digital media and learning (DMAL), has been produced by the Development Fund of the GSMA or international mobile communications industry association. The delightful and instructive report mLearning: A Platform for Educational Opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid provides eight vignettes of mLearning trials in developing countries.