In New Delhi: McGraw-Hill, a financial information and education company, and Wipro, a technology solutions provider, have entered into collaboration to develop an open-standard mobile learning platform, mConnect designed to bridge the skills gap in emerging markets.
According to the joint release, the initial pilots in India will focus on the most critical needs for Indias students and workers, like test preparation for entrance into universities and English-language training. The intention is to extend this program later to other countries in Asia and in Africa.
The companies have an opportunity to deliver high-quality, low-cost education to students and workers in rural areas and cities with limited access to resources, said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies, in his statement. In a country with more than 700 million cell phones, mobile learning will help level the playing field for education in India in ways never before possible. The success of our pilots in India will serve as a powerful example of how business, schools and governments around the world can harness the power of mobile learning to give more people the skills to succeed in the global Knowledge Economy, remarked McGraw III.
According to the company, mConnect will offer low-income, rural or otherwise underserved students and workers personalized, adaptive education and assessment programs that can provide direct feedback in multiple modalities through cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices. Students will be to hear conversations in English, review new vocabulary delivered via SMS and get personalized instruction that customizes the pace and presentation of material to match their learning needs.
The goal is to use mConnect as a way to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and reach of education across the globe. We have made this an area of strategic investment and are honored, as a long-term partner of McGraw-Hill, to be part of this unique opportunity to blend our expertise in technology along with world-class educational systems and content, remarked Azim Premji, chairman Wipro.
Most cell phones in emerging markets today, including India, are SMS-based, 2G phones. In the near future, analysts foresee an era when inexpensive mobile devices and phones will offer web-browsing capabilities.
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