Attaining university degree is now just a smartphone away

Forget about worrying how you will beat heavy traffic to make it to an evening lecture, there is an affordable learning system that can give you the same learning experience as the physical classroom.

A mobile phone learning application dubbed mLearning is the latest undertaking at the International Leadership University formerly referred to as Nairobi School of Theology targeted at allowing students to follow lessons from the comfort of their mobile handsets.

Similar to e-learning that largely embraces computers, mLearning students can make flexible payments for their courses and download video clips of lessons, take tests and interact with other students in a virtual classroom.

The development of this software began two years ago by David Rodgers, an American PhD student with input from the University.

“We were involved in every step. We felt it is important that we advise him on what we expected the software to offer,” said Emmanuel Bellon, the vice chancellor.

The first pilot of the software was done using the informal training programme at the University.

Students taking the Leadership Training for Christian Leaders programme were introduced to the software and given a chance to access learning from their mobile phones.

At least 34 students undertaking the course used the software for three months from September last year.

The pilot ran together with a group of 23 students taking the same course but attending physical classes at the university.

According to Zach Okere, an IT technician at the university, 60 per cent of the students who attended physical lessons completed the course compared to 100 per cent of those under the mLearning pilot.

“What we noticed is that students who physically came to attend lectures rarely made it through all the classes because of busy schedules and heavy traffic. Those who used the mobile phones had an easier time as they could comfortably access all quizzes and only needed to turn up at the University for the final exam,” he said.

Second pilot

The second pilot followed early this year, this time encompassing more proposed features. For example, there was need to test if it was possible to load the entire course into the system and only allow students to access content for the courses they have paid for.

Also, it tested if the lessons would allow students to have breaks of at least 15 minutes after which they would attempt quizzes and send short messages with their answers to the server.
“These are additional features that we got after the second pilot. Now the school community shares the interface and students interact with each other, access only lessons they have paid for and get fast results of their quizzes,” added Mr Okere.

The software also has the option for students to pause the video, take notes using the mobile phone and roll out the notes after the end of the lesson.