The Goethe Institute of Johannesburg this week hosted an mLiteracy Networking Meeting to examine the opportunities and challenges for mobiles to increase literacy development, especially in Africa. It was an incredibly valuable, interesting and much-needed gathering by some of the old and new players in this space, including FunDza, Nal’ibali, Mxit Reach, Worldreader, Creative Commons SA and the Kenya National Library Service. Prof Marion Walton was there, who walked the Yoza journey with me from the start, conducting invaluable research.

The notes from the meeting are here. My own speaking notes are below.

Since launching m4Lit in 2009, what has, and has not, changed in 6 years of mLiteracy? As background to the question:

• Sept 2009, m4Lit. One story, told in daily chapters. In one month: 63,000 subscribers, 17,200 reads
• “It’s great … for me it really hard to pick up a book to start reading but i don’t mind reading on my phone” dotty1
• Aha moment: “Mobiles phones are a viable distribution platform for longer form content and for enabling user participation — in South Africa” (not just in Japan)
• Today: Yoza Cellphone Stories: 31 m-novels, 18 poems and 5 Shakespeare plays. All CC-licensed or public domain

Since 2009, what has changed?

The space has grown and matured

• Only Karen Brooks when Yoza started
• Now there are a number of initiatives

Mobiles for reading

• Lots of different types of initiatives
• Reading in the Mobile Era (UNESCO)
  • 15 projects reviewed, divided into categories: reading practice and instruction; access to reading content; and language learning
• Mobiles for Reading: A Landscape Research Review (USAID)
  • 44 projects reviewed, categories of projects: formal learning and instruction; informal learning (BBC Janala); content (Yoza and Worldreader); training (TPD or aimed at parents as intermediaries for childrens’ learning); data collection (rapid assessment of individuals and monitoring, e.g. Tangerine); communication and dissemination (foster social exchange and dialogue, where literacy practice is a by-product, e.g. Fundza and Yoza)

Technology rising

• Mobile uptake still massive
• Smartphone numbers rising
• Major tablet implementations around the world

Mobile usage / societal shifts

• Has society become even more mobile?
• IM is number one app category
• Increase in visual culture (photo sharing)

Perception shifts

• Slow acceptance of mobile as educational?

Ecosystem view

eBooks

• Competing with traditional publishers?
• Where do m-novels end and ebooks begin?

Evidence

• Reminders to parents increase contact time
• Increased motivation and increased reading

Since 2009, what has NOT changed?

Sustainability

• Remains a challenge
• Over-reliance on external funding
• Profitability an issue

Visibility

• Remains a challenge – obscurity is the biggest threat

Overuse of supply-side approaches to design solutions (USAID report)