Sri Lanka has an enormous potential in penetrating the South African market by providing digital learning systems and creating software content for mobile learning as it has become an individual process and the learning space is out of the classroom in many parts of South Africa, Teeemu Kiijarvi, Area Manager of Finnish mobile software company Mobietools International Ltd told the Business Times in an interview in Colombo last week.
He noted that there is a paradigm shift taking place in learning in South Africa. Therefore Sri Lankan IT companies should explore the possibility of entering this market as Sri Lanka has well educated and talented IT experts to develop innovative projects to teach various subjects for students, in the African region, he said.
Mr. Kiijarvi has been working in IT and mobile learning industry for past 15 years and he is heading the Mobiletools office in Pretoria.
He revealed that an innovative cell phone based programme aimed at improving maths performance is being piloted in two schools in the North West Province of South Africa.
The pilot project uses cell phones that are pre-loaded with educational material to help improve the mathematics performance of Grade 10 students, he said.
It was developed in conjunction with the Department of Education in South Africa and, a not for profit organisation that draws on satellite technology to distribute educational materials on mass to schools across Southern Africa. The games were developed in South Africa with a specific focus towards the country’s mathematics curriculum, he added.
Mr Kiijarvi said, "Young people are increasingly using their phones to gain knowledge via the Internet, social networking and interaction with their peers, so it makes sense to introduce learning through these devices,”. "This project demonstrates the potential of mobile phones to enable social development and improve education especially in underprivileged areas,”.
Sri Lankans have the capacity and capability in developing programmes, visions, concepts, and technologies to enter into this specific segment of South African market, he added.
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