The interaction with the M-Thuto system

An evaluation of the learners’ interaction with the system was conducted in order to monitor the support that mobile learning could give to informal multilingual learning.

The first step in this process was to establish if the support provided by the mobile

device had motivated a higher learning frequency. There were issues to be

considered such as learners being initially excited by the new objects and only later

seeing electronic devices as a learning tool by which time they had lost interest in

the concept of technology-supported learning. However, it was interesting to note

clear and positive changes in learning patterns through the use of the mobile phone.

The interaction monitoring process also focused upon the use of language in the

following areas: the participants’ mobile learning process, the learning process itself, and the usability and efficiency of the devices as a learning support.

Language support

In creating the requested sound clips when asked which languages the learners

used (in appendix B, question 33), only 20% of the learners used solely the English

language to create their notes. The Sepedi language was the other dominant

language, with 58% of the learners using it alongside English to create audio notes.

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the participating school is located in a largely Sepedi-speaking area which proved

the strongest influence on the language selected by the learners.

Figure 5. 4 The languages used to create the audio clips

Figure 5.4, illustrates the percentages of languages used and also once again, the

same pattern of using a single family of languages which included Sepedi,

Setswana and Sotho was reflected in the languages used to create the audio clips.

Switching between English and these three languages while creating the clips, the

learners drew upon the same family of languages that the teachers used during

lessons.

The learning process

The creation of personal notes for learners shifted the responsibility from the

teacher to the learner so allowing learners to create their own learning environment.

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them to be responsible for their own knowledge acquisition, this was their first

experience of using mobile technology in that process.

The notes designed by the learners were very comprehensive. The learners created

them as a formal audio presentation of their reflections on what they had learned,

even if they were learning in a more relaxed environment. It was also interesting to

note that some learners worked together to create notes based on a topic they had

learnt during the day in school.

Through the use of mobile phones, learners had access to a personal environment

that allowed them to truly express their understanding of the topic area. Listening to

the learners’ audio notes, you can hear that they were relaxed when creating them. At times they would even mention that they did not understand what the teacher

meant in a particular study area. Learner A states in one of the recordings: “ Mam to be honest on the issue of electrodes, I was not clear what you meant on this

issue….”. Giving their views on the audio notes, the learners expressed the feeling that they could relate well to their personal notes and were subsequently open to

admitting where they did not understand. It was also interesting to note how they

were able to critique their own understanding when reflecting back on their own

recordings.

Learner B mentioned the benefit of re-recording to the process of creating the

recorded notes because it allowed her another chance to express her ideas

whenever she felt that what she was saying did not make sense.

There were also various complaints from learners regarding the slow pace of

uploading and downloading their voice clips. This reflected the challenges of

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The teacher in this class felt that, “It is helpful for me to access the audio clips of the learners. The learners are free when making them, which helps me realise the

challenges that they might not be able to talk about during class.”

Frequency of use

The participating learners were questioned (in appendix B, question 37) on their

frequency of revising what they had been taught during their lessons using their

created clips through the support of the mobile learning system. There was now an

increase in the number of learners who were learning on a daily and a weekly basis.

All learners fell into the categories of learning frequencies outlined in Figure 5.5. It is

also important to note that learners may lose the motivation to use technology if it

becomes an essential part of the learning process.

Figure 5. 5 The frequency of learning during the use of the M-Thuto system

Most learners were creating the clips on a daily and weekly base with no learners creating clips at later intervals.

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