Apps for learning

Emerging markets are largely driving educational app usage, with four of the countries with a larger than average market for education apps being South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and India. This is according to MEF (formerly “Mobile Entertainment Forum”, which has released the third report in its Global Consumer Insights  series, this time on mobile education. Apps have changed how many people access the internet, from banking to reading the daily news, entertainment, and, most importantly, education.

 Educational apps are also the most controversial, as parents are often under pressure to choose the best apps for their digitally native children to spend time on.But not before they themselves learn to discern between apps that can offer their child something in terms of their education, and apps that don’t (this would of course include simpler considerations like American vs. British English for reading apps, et cetera). There are also different levels of engagement that one looks for across the age groups. Just because an app claims to be “fun” does not mean it should be dismissed. This is particularly true with apps for younger children.

“Those apps may seem to be doing nothing educational, but are actually developing key skills, like gross and fine motor skills. In assessing your options, look at what the app aims to do and question what its relevance is in the focus area it is attempting to address. Most importantly, make sure it fits with the learning level of your child”, says Micheal Goodman, Group content manager for Via Afrika Publishers, in an article on Mail & Guardian online in April. Another factor to consider is that the quality of e-books and educational apps for children varies wildly. On a parenting blog for The New York Times, author Annie Paul warns: “Because the app market allows for the distribution of materials without the rigorous review process that is typical of traditional children’s book publishing, more caution is necessary for choosing high-quality texts.” What constitutes an educational app?

A PDF of a textbook accessed via an app on your smartphone or tablet is technically an educational app, but it doesn’t offer much. Educational apps should facilitate and encourage e-learning, not merely move the rote learning process from a page to a screen. Goodman’s article put it quite succinctly: “E-learning refers to digitally interactive textbooks (or “e-textbooks”) and educational apps for tablet and mobile phones (mostly smartphones), which allow learners to interact with their learning material using audio, video and graphics.” Educational publishers that work on developing apps that work within the educational system are under ever more pressure to produce high quality e-learning materials.

South African solution Via Afrika Publishers recently launched an ‘augmented reality’ app for grade 10, 11, and 12 textbooks, called LivingPages. The LivingPages app works by enabling certain pages of Via Afrika textbooks to ‘come alive’ by enhancing printed books with digital content that can be streamed directly to a smart mobile device.

“The publisher’s mobi reader allows users to download books into a shelf that they can easily access. The LivingPages app gives students the opportunity to learn through interactive student and video demos. Aside from the initial download of the LivingPages app, users do not have to be connected to the internet to experience the rich media content provided. This is vital in South Africa where a large number of learners do not have consistent access to the internet. The rural areas in South Africa that mostly suffer from poor education standards are unlikely to have access to the smart mobile devices that have functionality that Via Afrika’s apps require. In order to broaden their reach, the company is partnering with Breadline Africa to launch container libraries, the de facto rural solution in South Africa, fully equipped with computers and Android tablets for students to use in some of the poorest schools in the country.

Due to the relative dominance of Android in Africa and South Africa particularly, Via Afrika has developed its apps for Android devices only, though they may extend the range of devices that their apps work across in the future. Benefit of tablets in schools  “E-learning technologies are designed for learners to engage more deeply with the subject matter, while – crucially, in today’s technology driven world – allowing them to become comfortable with using digital technology. But remember that just as these apps are not a replacement for educators, they also aren’t a replacement for you as a parent. Even after finding the right apps for your child, make sure that you remain an active participant in their education. That is the only way to ensure that the best of what these apps offer actually makes a positive impact on their education,” says Michelle Atagana in a feature she did on Via Afrika for the “Built in Africa” series on Memeburn.

Parents and teachers should help children in transferring what they know about print reading to e-reading. Children may not automatically apply reading skills they have learned on traditional books to e-books, and these skills, such as identifying the main idea and setting aside unimportant details, are especially crucial when reading e-books because of the profusion of distractions they provide. Lastly, adults should ensure that children are not overusing e-book features like the electronic dictionary or the “read-to-me” option. Young readers can often benefit from looking up the definition of a word with a click, but doing it too often will disrupt reading fluidity and comprehension. Even without connecting to the dictionary, children are able to glean the meaning of many words from context.

• Built in Africa: Via Afrika wants to use technology to educate the continent, Michelle Atagana,

• How to pick an educational app, Michael Goodman,

• Growth markets drive education apps,

• Students Reading E-Books Are Losing Out, Study Suggests, Annie Murphy Paul,