Mobile Literacy in South Africa explained

Mobile literacy in South Africa refers to informal education initiatives that support literacy and digital fluency using mobile devices, especially mobile phones. It is also known by the abbreviation mLiteracy.[1]

The mobile literacy ecosystem in South Africa was mapped in January 2015, using the UNESCO study "Reading in the Mobile Era: A Study of Mobile Reading in Developing Countries" as a starting point.[2]

Ecosystem of mLiteracy in South Africa

The ecosystem in South Africa includes authors, users, content providers, platforms, mobile networks, funding agencies, and training facilities, including schools and libraries. Most of the projects use Creative Commons licences. Their target groups are primarily children, teenagers, and young adults.

Content providers

Contribution and license activators

Library-based projects

Research into mobile literacy

Researchers at the University of Cape Town studied the link between mobile literacy and multilingualism and [4] the significance of public access locations like libraries and cybercafes in promoting mobile literacy.[5] This expands on research that investigated how technological improvements might promote media sharing on mobile devices[6] and characterizes the nature of mobile-first digital literacy practices.[7]

International affiliated organisations

Developments and challenges

Since implementation in 2009,[8] the mLiteracy landscape in South Africa has seen a rise in smart phones. [9] But even with the increase in projects, and related content, the lack of Africa-relevant content, and content in African languages, as well as the cost of airtime that allows for access, remain major problems.[10] [11]

See also

Literature

Notes and References

  1. Book: Pegrum, Mark . https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137309815_6 . Mobile Learning . Palgrave Macmillan . 2014 . 978-1-137-30981-5 . London . Teaching Literacy/Ies with Mobile Devices . 157–187 . 10.1057/9781137309815_6.
  2. Web site: Reading in the mobile era: a study of mobile reading in developing countries . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210175648/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002274/227436e.pdf/ . 2015-02-10.
  3. Web site: The African Storybook . The African Storybook . 27 April 2015 . The African Storybook.
  4. Web site: Archived copy . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217174855/http://m4lit.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/m4lit_mobile_literacies_mwalton_20101.pdf . 2013-12-17 . 2015-02-08. Walton, Marion: Mobile Literacy & South African Teens: Leisure reading, writing, and MXit chatting for teens in Langa and Guguletu (December 2009) (Retrieved 2.8.2015)
  5. http://www.globalimpactstudy.org/in-depth-studies/mobile-internet/ Walton, M., & Donner, J. Public access, private mobile: The interplay of shared access and the mobile Internet for teenagers in Cape Town. Global Impact Study Research Report Series., 1–69. (2012). (Retrieved 2.8.2015)
  6. Web site: Walton . Marion . Hassreiter . Silke . Marsden . Gary . Allen . Sena . May 18, 2012 . Degrees of Sharing: Proximate Media Sharing and Messaging by Young People in Khayelitsha . University of Cape Town . pubs.cs.uct.ac.za.
  7. Donner . Jonathan . Gitau . Shikoh . Marsden . Gary . April 8, 2011 . Exploring Mobile-only Internet Use: Results of a Training Study in Urban South Africa . International Journal of Communication . 5 . 24 . ijoc.org.
  8. https://m4lit.wordpress.com/about-the-project/ "...the pilot phase of the project a mobile novel (m-novel) was written and published in September 2009 on a mobisite and on MXit". (Retrieved 8.2.2015
  9. http://www.gallup.com/poll/168797/africa-continues-going-mobile.aspx/ "Nearly two-thirds (65%) of households in 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa had at least one mobile phone in 2013, with median growth of 27% since 2008 and median annual growth of 5%." (Retrieved 8.2.2015)
  10. Web site: Where is Africa on the Internet? . 2015-02-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150215103302/http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2013/02/article_0006.html . 2015-02-15 . "There are more Wikipedia articles written about Antarctica than all but one of the 54 countries in Africa." (Retrieved 8.2.2015)
  11. Web site: Archived copy . 2015-02-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160325212001/http://researchictafrica.net/publications/Country_Specific_Policy_Briefs/Internet_going_mobile_-_Internet_access_and_usage_in_11_African_countries.pdf . 2016-03-25 . Research ICT Africa Policy Brief No 2: Internet going mobile - Internet access and usage in 11 African countries (Sept. 2012) (retrieved 8.2.2015)