1. Mobile Learning
and the
Education For All
Conversation
Shafika Isaacs
International Consultant ICT in Education
shafikai@telkomsa.net

3. EFA in Historical Perspective
155 Governments
World Conference on Education For All 20 IGOs
Jomtien, Thailand 1990 150 NGOs
1500 delegates
Framework for Action
to Meet Basic Needs
1. Universalizing access and promoting equity;
2. Focus on learning;
3. Broadening the means and scope of basic
education;
4. Enhancing the environment for learning;
5. Strengthening partnerships.
World Education Forum, 164 Governments
Dakar Senegal, 2000 And partner organizations
Dakar Framework for Action
On Education For All

4. EDUCATION
FOR ALL
BY 2015

5. COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT (vi) implement integrated strategies for gender
equality in education which recognize the need
for changes in attitudes, values and practices
i) mobilize strong national and international
political commitment for education for all, develop
(vii) implement as a matter of urgency
national action plans and enhance significantly
education programmes and actions to combat
investment in basic education;
the HIV/AIDS pandemic;
(ii) promote EFA policies within a sustainable and
(viii) create safe, healthy, inclusive and
well integrated sector framework clearly linked to
equitably resourced educational environments
poverty elimination and development strategies;
conducive to excellence in learning, with clearly
defined levels of achievement for all;
(iii) ensure the engagement and participation of
civil society in the formulation, implementation and
(ix) enhance the status, morale and
monitoring of strategies for educational
professionalism of teachers;
development;
(x) harness new information and
(iv) develop responsive, participatory and
communication technologies to help achieve
accountable systems of educational governance and
EFA goals;
management;
(xi) systematically monitor progress towards EFA
(v) meet the needs of educational systems affected
goals and strategies at the national, regional
by conflict, natural calamities and instability and
and international levels; and
conduct educational programmes in ways that
promote mutual understanding, peace and
(xii) build on existing mechanisms to accelerate
tolerance, and that help to prevent violence and
progress towards education for all."
conflict;

6. “The world is NOT
ON TRACK to
achieve the EFA
targets set for
2015…..most
of the goals will be
missed by a wide
margin”

7. “We can, and should, celebrate the
progress we’ve made, but we also need to
be frank about where all of us – developed
and developing countries alike – have
fallen short. … We (must) also look at:
how we can foster the innovations that
can be the game-changers in
development.”
[President Barack Obama at G8 Summit, 2008]

9. What/ Who are the game changers?
New Actors/ Coalitions Technology Innovations Concepts and Ideas
Since 2000 in Education in Education
1. 21st Century Skills/
1. Multinational Private 1. PC to Mobile
Learning Models
Sector 2. Internet to Social Web
2. New Literacies
2. NGOs 3. Open Education Resources
3. Inclusive Knowledge
3. Global Campaign for 4. Broadband
Societies
Education since 1999 5. Cloud Computing
4. Commonwealth Education
Fund
5. World Economic Forum
(education initiatives
since 2002)
6. US Basic Education
Coalition
7. International Business
Leaders Forum
8. WSIS

10. State supported
Systematic, organized
Structured and administered
Set norms Not compulsory
Structured Curriculum Most activities outside of the
Involves the institution
teacher, student, institution Less contact between teacher &
Formalized Assessment student
Qualification Flexible curricula & methodology
Adaptive to needs of students
Does not lead to formal certificate
No obligations
No curriculum
No qualifications
Learner-centered

11. "To serve the basic learning needs of all
requires more than a recommitment to
basic education as it now exists. What is
needed is an ‘expanded vision’ that
surpasses present resource
levels, institutional
structures, curricula, and conventional
delivery systems while building on the
best in current practices."
Article II, Jomtien Declaration

12. Towards a Global Learning Architecture for
Life Long Learning?
Architecture implies
conscious design of the
whole, organizing the
elements in a way as to
integrate and
harmonize each
component so that the
ensemble has a unity
that is greater than the
sum of its parts

13. Clarify our
assumptions about
mobile technologies
and their game-
changing potential
Evolve a shared
understanding of
mobile learning
What are the
implications for
the design and
practice of
transformational
policy

14. Thank you for your
attention
Shafika Isaacs
shafikai@telkomsa.net