talk deliverd at Making It Happen workshop London 16 May organised by LinkedUp Project see linkedup-proect.eu. I reflect on issues in use and relevance of data from two case studies of mobile applications delivering learning in Africa

1. The Rush for Mobile Education
Let’s talk about user Data
London 16 `May 2014
Stephen Haggard
Consultant in Educational Technology
Reflections based on
case studies for
UNESCO and Web
Foundation
• SMS and USSD app for
pupil quizzing
• SMS Professional
learning app for farmers

2. CDRs - proven role for mobile data in
Development
Society:
traffic
management
Health:
epidemic
tracking

3. Adoption improvement – proven role
for data mining

4. What about data in mobile learning ?
“If you think technology can solve your
education problems, then you don't understand
the problems and you don't understand the
technology. The solution lies in process and
systems -- and people”
Mike Trucano

5. Data mining is most helpful to
disadvantaged learners
Impact of data-driven content recommendation on students in
4 US community colleges and state universities, 2013

6. Mobile Education app
reaching 200,000 pupils
Data Consumers
Learners guidance on:
Focus areas, targets
Parents supervise
Pupil performance
School performance
Education Ministry
monitoring results by:
School, region &
teacher

7. 100,000 users of rural smallholder
SMS education service
Benefits to sponsoring organisation
• Controls value chain, has satellite
surveys of all plots, owns user data
• (mis)perceived to be a source of
loans or subsidies
Benefits to farmers
• SMS guide reduces costs (<80%)
• Training centres, literacy,
numeracy etc. 40% participation
• Yield increases <25%
Data captured : farm
size, yield, name, age,
picture, phone number,
enquiries, sales, e-
commerce

8. Good for everyone ?

9. Issues
• Consent & ownership of data
• How can we spread benefts
• Incentivisations based on data-driven insights:
WHOM should they support
– Company revenue
– Best-progressing learners
– Most needy learners

10. Open Data Commons