Smart TXTBKS is a project in the Philippines to put school text books onto old SIM cards, using SMS messaging, and it works on any phone, however lowly and however ancient. It is momentous that Cannes Lions, a celebration of the world of advertising, should honor such a worthy, long-term and inclusive mobile initiative.
Here is the video case study for Smart TXTBKS, that accompanied the submission from the Philippines-based mobile operator Smart Communications and DDB agency DM9 JaymeSyfu:
Even in the mobile learning (m-learning) world some experts get hung-up on whether you can deliver learning via a small screen. At a recent roundtable discussion organized by the NGO Planet Earth Institute (PEI) which asked: Is mobile the future of education in Africa? a panel member waved a mobile handset in the air and argued that the screen size was too small to deliver meaningful educational content.
Smart Communications’ Smart TXTBKS service (like many other mobile services in the developing world) proves this argument wrong.
Yes, it is probably is easier to read and interact with learning content on a bigger screen, whether that is a laptop, tablet or e-reader. But mobile services shouldn’t be prescriptive or exclusive. It doesn’t matter whether you are delivering life-changing m-learning, m-health or m-banking services or simply engaging with your customers; mobile services must be device agnostic. They must work on whatever device the consumer chooses to use or can afford.
As the Smart TXTBKS submission to Cannes states: “In developed countries, tablets and e-readers have become the solution to large, heavy textbooks. But for Philippine public school students, even the cheapest model is worth more than what their families make in an entire month. In fact, the only gadgets most of them own are one to two old analog mobile phones, used mainly for texting.”
mobiThinking contends that even in developed countries low penetration and high cost of tablets and e-readers makes it debatable that these devices are the solution to large, heavy textbooks… and won’t ever be the solution unless every school child is provided with one for free (or for less than the cost of second-hand text books).
“Over six months, we collaborated with respected textbook authors and publishers to refine official school texts into 160-character text messages. These were then programmed into the inboxes of thousands of inactive surplus SIM cards. Which were then repackaged into brand new Smart TXTBKS. So it turned even the oldest analog phones into a new kind of e-reader. And old text SIM cards into a new brand of textbook.”
Smart TXTBKS is never going to be as elegant, beautiful or interactive as most of the other 1,061 mobile entries at Cannes, but it will be far more innovative, practical and effective. What is amazing is that a jury of high-flying advertising executives gave Smart TXTBKS the highest honor over a tsunami of smartphone or tablet apps, so many of which, one suspects, are highly creative, but eminently ineffectual in the real world.
“We launched it with partner schools that needed it most. And just a quarter after, this simple—and, in fact, low-tech—solution had made a profound, sustainable impact. With school bags 50 percent lighter, attendance was 95 percent, while average test performance was 90 percent during the implementation period.”
The best bit is you can see this service growing and evolving indefinitely:
“And with petitions and pledges from schools and education sector members, TXTBKS is going even further, with plans underway for more subjects and grade levels; kits so schools can reproduce as many TXTBKS as they need for free; and a roll-out across the entire Philippines. Fulfilling Smart’s mission to make text light and easy for all.”
Mobile isn’t about devices – it is about delivering meaningful services via wireless technologies. Returning to the question posed by the round table: mobiThinking believes that mobile is the future of learning in the developing world, because it’s hard to foresee fixed-line telephony delivering broadband Internet to all remote corners of Africa or Asia for a very long time, if ever. That means Web must be mobile – res ipsa loquitur. But mobile Web, and Web-enabled handsets, will not be available or affordable for all in the developing world for a long time. Until mobile Web becomes pervasive worldwide, SMS will continue to be the most inclusive channel for delivering essential mobile services – whether that is for learning, health, banking etc.
• Congratulations to Smart Communications and DM9 JaymeSyfu for a well-deserving Grand Prix Mobile Lion.
• Congratulations to the Cannes mobile jury for picking a worthy Grand Prix, that makes a bold statement about the essence of mobile.
• check out all the other mobile winners at Cannes Lions 2013.
• If you are interested in the future of mobile learning in the developing world, take part in the PEI public consultation.
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