The Global Grid and Mobile Learning

In the McKinsey & Company special report “What happens next?”, the authors identify five pillars of innovation that will shape the coming decade. One of these pillars is the global grid, which refers to the reach and depth of a web of interconnected global networks and channels that enable real-time interactions at scale. As the authors note, the negative effects of this “highly integrated ecosystem” are felt during times of economic downturn – as was the case with capital markets and the decline of trade in 2007-2008 – but the benefits particularly to emerging markets can be significant. With mobile phone connectivity, billions of people in the developing regions of the world now have access to a wealth of information previously not available to them. Furthermore, mobile connectivity is providing many with their first entry into the global economy, reconstructing how people learn, interact, work, and share.

In his working research paper “Mobile Learning in Developing Nations”[1], Athabasca University Professor Scott Motlik outlines how the applications of mobile phone technology and eLearning are not only shaping learning environments that are available to more people in developing regions, but how the adoption of mobile learning – or mLearning – among children is usually the first step in gaining entry to a global society.

Professor Motlik’s working paper is relevant to our discussion of the global grid and the many interconnected networks of global society as mobile learning is not simply a phenomena occurring in emerging markets, but the devices we use to share and learn are radically transforming how those in developed regions access and share knowledge sources. As we have seen with the creation of Salman Khan’s Academy, mobile and cloud-based learning is providing a first opportunity for many in developing regions to have access to basic education and information while the Khan model has encouraged many Western education policy practitioners to reevaluate the current education model.

Professor Motlik’s working paper is important to this discussion in considering how and where innovative approaches to education and mobile learning can take root best on the international stage. A central premise of Motlik’s paper is that there is great promise for the use of mobile phones in education in Africa through SMS delivery because SMS has already proved to be cost-effective, efficient, and has received a high level of adoption.

While Professor Motlik and many other advocates of mobile learning outline the many benefits of the global grid and increased interconnectedness, we should consider some of the obstacles to practical delivery of learning via mobile devices in the developing regions of the world.  Many in developing countries have adopted mobile technology, but with infrastructural deficits and high levels of illiteracy, mobile does not sufficiently broaden access to education. Moreover, access to internet technology and the cost of open curricula make it difficult for larger scale adoption. With infrastructure deficits in many developing countries, what are the available infrastructures to guarantee mobile learning? What should the level of readiness be for open and distance learners with mobile learning?  

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[1] http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/564/1039ch