Microsoft, in partnership with the Ministry of Communications, Science, Technology and Tigo Tanzania, have officially launched an innovative mobile education service called Nokia Mobile Mathematics. This service is now being managed by Microsoft, after the company acquired substantially all of Nokia’s devices and services business.
Nokia Mobile Mathematics is a service that enables learners across Tanzania to access quality mathematics content in an engaging and interactive manner directly from their mobile phones, completely free.
Mobile Mathematics offers over 9000 exercises, mapped to high school level, and can be accessed by any person with a data and browser-enabled device. In addition to the exercises, the learning service includes theories, sample question and answers, as well as social features like collaborative groups messaging and competitions. The key differentiator for the service is the ability for learners to compare their scores with peers, integrating an element of competitiveness into their learning.
“In many developing countries, the lack of engaging learning opportunities leads to high drop outs and failure rates in schools, especially in high school grades. Mobile Mathematics offers high quality learning opportunities and reliable interactive learning features for teachers and learners, thus increasing access to high quality education,” says Lilian Nganda, East Africa Communications Manager, Mobile Devices, Microsoft.
The learning service is fully browser-based and works on any connected phone, tablet or PC without needing to download an app. After a quick sign-up process, learners can practice exercises in a number of categories like algebra, trigonometry, calculus and statistics mapped to the Tanzanian curriculum. Nokia Mobile Mathematics will also help the East African community standardise education levels, and open more job opportunities for region.
Mobile Mathematics was first launched in South Africa for grade 10 – 12 learners. The content has now been localised by the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) and will be rolled out in select schools for form 1 to 4 students, as well as other users nationwide.
Tigo General Manager, Diego Gutierrez.
‘’Learning and technology have become inextricably linked and co-dependent. Mobile technology in particular has been the most powerful catalyst of change, redefining the educational approach including content delivery. It is Tigo’s desire to contribute to improving education and knowledge transfer by enabling students all over the country to improve their maths for free, ’’ commented Tigo General Manager, Diego Gutierrez.
Mobile Mathematics can be leveraged as a platform to deliver content for other subjects like physics, biology and languages. The service provides an opportunity for learners to extend their learning outside of the classroom in a fun and interactive manner.
Research data collected from South Africa indicates that learners’ competence levels improved by 14% compared to learners who were not using Mobile Mathematics. Additional statistics point out that 53% of students became more active users of the service, with 82% of the usage happening outside school hours.
The Mobile Mathematics service is available at https://momaths.nokia.com/tz
Source:dewjiblog
