Dianah Nampijja is a PhD student at the University of Agder studying increasing access to mobile learning among smallholder farmers in Uganda. Her research focuses on the Grameen Foundation's Community Knowledge Worker Programme, which uses local intermediaries and smartphones to provide farmers in remote communities with agricultural information through one-on-one meetings and group discussions. Key findings include that mobile phones support conversational and collaborative learning but have had challenges with slow adoption, technical issues, and sustainability. Emerging issues include how mobile phones can reach more farmers while addressing gender divides and not replacing conventional extension methods. Future work will explore how mobile technologies can strengthen social capital in communities.

1. Dianah Nampijja
PhD Student
University of Agder
Department of Global Development and Planning
Increasing access through Mobile learning. A Socio-technical
tale of mLearning Actor-Network among Smallholder farmers
in Uganda.

2.  Mobile phones are among the fastest diffusion technolo
gy in communication history (Castells, 2011).
 In Uganda, mobile subscriptions reaches up to 90% with
17 million mobile phone users (UCC 2014).
 65% of the population is in informal sector, yet
agricultural extension is at its low performance with (1:2
5,000).
 Smallholders need to be adaptive learners too!
Context

3. Smallholder Farmers
Who are they?

4. Research Objective
To foster mobile learning as a strategy to increase access to learn
ing among smallholder farmer communities in Uganda

7. Methodological Choice
 Purely Qualitative (semi ethno studies)
 Case study design (multiple case studies with fifty farmers) Grameen
Foundation Community Knowledge Worker Programme.

8. Case 1. Grameen Foundation – Community Knowledge Work
er Programme (CKW)
 Since 2009, serves farmers in re
mote communities through a
network of peer advisor
 CKWs are trusted local intermedi
aries serving farmers
 Smart Android Phones
 Two-way communication system
(Data from the field )

10. Key findings
 One-on-one/individual
meetings
 Cluster/Group meeting
 Conversational learning
 Collaborative
 Authentic/Situated
 Digital libraries
 Online interactions/Whats

11. Challenges
 Slow adoptions
 Lack of funds
 End of project contract
 Technical problems
 Some community resistances
 Less pay
 Failure by some CKWs to use
phone functions

12. Emerging Issues
 Mobile phones support learning
 But few are reached
 Religion, culture and male dominance are hindrance
factors
 Committed mobile users are women
 Gender vs mobile phones ownership

13. Emerging Issues
 Strongly supported by social capital in communities
 Need to broaden measure of learner performance
 Mobile phones can not replace conventional extension.
It just supports to reach the unreached
 Sustainability of these projects is questionable

14. Future Work
The need to explore the role of mobile technologies in facilitating and
strengthening social capital and vice versa.
Key References
Ally, M., & Tsinakos, A. (2014). Perspectives on Open and Distance Learning: Increasing Acce
ss through Mobile Learning. Athabasca University: COL.
Castells, M. (2011). The rise of the network society: The information age: Economy, society, a
nd culture (Vol. 1): John Wiley & Sons.
Sharples, M. (2006). Big issues in mobile learning: Report of a workshop by the kaleidoscope
network of excellence mobile learning initiative: LSRI. University of Nottingham.
UNESCO. (2013). UNESCO, Policy Guidelines for Mobile Learning: Paris, France: UNESCO.
UCC. (2014). Communications Sector performance. Retrieved 4/03/2015 http://www.ucc.co.u
g/files/downloads/Communications%20Journal%20-%203.0.pdf

15. Acknowledgements
Makerere University, Uganda
Thank You 