NOKIA and Pearson BridgeIT partnership
Summary
The Bridgeit Programme, locally called “text2teach,” is part of the global Bridgeit Programme, developed jointly by Nokia, Pearson, the International Youth Foundation (IYF), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The programme delivers digital learning materials to schools using mobile technology. Each school is equipped with a satellite dish, 29-inch television set with rack, a 40-gigabyte digital video server/recorder to record and store video clips and two to three mobile phones. The Philippines is the only Asian country in the Bridgeit Programme which enables grade 5 and 6 students from selected public and private schools to view educational science videos downloaded with the help of mobile phones and satellite communication systems right into their classrooms. It is expected that more than 13,000 pupils will experience this teaching approach.
Launched on May 16 2003, text2teach is spearheaded by Ayala Foundation in cooperation with the Department of Education and local partners Globe Telecom, Nokia-Philippines, SEAMEO INNOTECH, PMSI-Dream Broadcasting, and Chikka Asia. text2teach enables teachers to use Nokia mobile phones to access full-length science videos provided by Pearson to facilitate learning in the classroom. Upon texting, the videos will be sent immediately via satellite to a digital recorder connected to a television. This interactive demonstration of science concepts and ideas is expected to benefit both teachers and students.
The project will be implemented during the school year 2003-4, having started in June in the 5th and 6th grades of 40 schools in key areas such as Manila, Batangas, Laguna and Cotabato City. The Department of Education and SEAMEO INNOTECH have begun training 80 teachers to use the technology to benefit more than 10,000 students across the country. Meanwhile, Globe Telecom, Nokia-Philippines, PMSI-Dream Broadcasting, and Chikka Asia are providing technical support to meet the hardware, software and communication requirements of the programme. A successful and sustainable implementation of text2teach will encourage Bridgeit partners to develop similar cost-effective learning solutions globally. The Philippine pilot will provide a “blueprint” for the programme’s replicability in other less developed nations.
Since the project was introduced in elementary schools, teachers have begun to notice some changes in their pupils’ attitudes towards learning science. Students have been highly enthusiastic in embracing text2teach as way to improve their science education. It also helps that the mobile communications and satellite technologies used by the project are able to surmount physical barriers such as geographic location.