TY - JOUR
T1 - Less (in Context) is more (Creativity)
T2 - M-learning as a Short LIved Traveling Idea at the University of Pretoria
AU - Bon, Anna
AU - de Schryver, Tom
AU - Twinomurinzi, Hossana
AU - Jordaan, Dolf
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Technological innovations in ICTs have unleashed new educational practices worldwide. Most
higher education institutions nowadays use different kinds of e-learning. In this paper we will
show that constraining local conditions have triggered fast adoption of mobile technology in the
distance education – coined m-learning - by the University of Pretoria. Because many distant
students in South Africa only have a mobile device instead of a computer at their disposal, the
University of Pretoria was prepared to adopt m-learning quite early. While ten years ago most
South African distance students only had simple mobile devices, without the possibility to access
internet, the UP resorted to m-learning, even before the conditions for optimal use of m-learning
were present. This was only possible by transforming the innovative idea of m-learning in a first
experimental phase to the local South African context. Because the m-learning experiments at
the University of Pretoria consisted of both elements of adoption and transformation, the
introduction of m-learning should be framed a traveling idea. We will also show that the process
of adaptation stopped once the local constraints vanished, that is, once more distance students
obtained smartphones.
AB - Technological innovations in ICTs have unleashed new educational practices worldwide. Most
higher education institutions nowadays use different kinds of e-learning. In this paper we will
show that constraining local conditions have triggered fast adoption of mobile technology in the
distance education – coined m-learning - by the University of Pretoria. Because many distant
students in South Africa only have a mobile device instead of a computer at their disposal, the
University of Pretoria was prepared to adopt m-learning quite early. While ten years ago most
South African distance students only had simple mobile devices, without the possibility to access
internet, the UP resorted to m-learning, even before the conditions for optimal use of m-learning
were present. This was only possible by transforming the innovative idea of m-learning in a first
experimental phase to the local South African context. Because the m-learning experiments at
the University of Pretoria consisted of both elements of adoption and transformation, the
introduction of m-learning should be framed a traveling idea. We will also show that the process
of adaptation stopped once the local constraints vanished, that is, once more distance students
obtained smartphones.
U2 - 10.33423/ijba.v3i2.1165
DO - 10.33423/ijba.v3i2.1165
M3 - Article
SN - 2155-6237
VL - 3
SP - 75
EP - 87
JO - International journal of business anthropology
JF - International journal of business anthropology
IS - 2
ER -