Recently there has been a discernible increase and a discernible shift in interest in using mobiles to support and deliver learning in Africa amongst the wider world of foundations, agencies, corporates and ministries. This may be based on a simplistic reading of facts and events: the ownership and acceptance of mobiles is near-universal and cuts across most earlier notions of ëdigital divides'; their use is based around robust sustainable business models; they are, unlike other ICTs, found at the base-of-the-pyramid amongst the ënext billion subscribers'; they deliver information, ideas and, increasingly, images. This seminar will attempt to get behind the simple narratives and the beguiling generalisations in order to explore whether mobiles are capable of supporting sustainable, authentic and appropriate education in Africa.

Speaker: Professor John Traxler , University of Wolverhampton