Abstract
Increased concerns about food security in the context of increasing climate variability and globalized trade in agricultural commodities have led to a realization that scalable and technology-enabled methods of learning are necessary to help farmers access new science-based information. We have proposed an innovative Mobile Learning System based on simple (dumb) phone technology, which enables learning through voice calls. In Hindi, the word Mali refers to a semiskilled horticultural worker. A series of Mobile for Malis (MfM) Audio MOOCs were developed and delivered to open up access to learning materials and processes to the unreached usually hindered by limitations such as data connectivity, distance from experts and limited literacy. We conducted two large-scale trials, the objectives being threefold: to test our system to see if all the different components behaved as expected in a live situation. Second, we wanted to observe the human response and behavior to such an innovative learning system. Third, we wanted to confirm some of the pedagogical hypotheses we had assumed during the design of our audio lessons. A total of 1900 learners were involved. Audio materials were in Hindi language as spoken in the State of Uttar Pradesh, which is the largest province of India. The results proved that the innovative arrangement involving basic cell phones, telephony infrastructure, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, Hindi speech recognition and a web-based course management system was highly effective. Our trials have also opened up to some major research avenues in Mobile Learning which need to be further investigated.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our colleagues from the Media Lab at IIT Kanpur for their support and collaboration that made this project a success. They are: Prof. J.R. Yadav, Dr. Sharwan Kumar Shukla, Dr. Vinod Kumar, Mrs. Sughatha Chaturvedi, Mr. Krishna Kumar Dubay, Mrs. K.T. Revathy, Mr. Gaurav Shukla, Mr. Deepak Kumar, Mr. Prashant Gautam and Ms. Akanksha Rastogi. We would also like to acknowledge help received from Ms. Jennifer Lam (COL).
Sponsors
This research is sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Research-I Foundation and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kanpur.
Award
This research project won the eUttara: Manthan Award for Uttar Pradesh, India in the category of e-Agriculture and Environment.
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Glossary
- ASR
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Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) allows real-life speech interaction between humans and machine
- DTMF
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Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) is a signaling system allowing digits to be represented and recognized as tones over the phone lines
- IVR
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Interactive Voice Response (IVR) allows human computer interaction over the phone either via voice or DTMF/mobile keys over the phone
- LMS
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Learning Management System (LMS) is a software tools that allow the management of learners, courses and assessment
- MOOC
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Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participant with open access contents
- PBX
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Private Branch eXchange (PBX) is a telephony system within an organization allowing the routing calls for intercommunication to both internal and external parties
- SOFTSWITCH
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A software switch (SoftSwitch) is software that allows the routing and management of calls over IP network and allows intercommunication with other networks such as landlines and cellular phones
- VOIP
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Voice over IP(VoIP) is a standard for the delivery of voice and Multimedia content over the IP infrastructure
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Moloo, R.K., Prabhakar, T.V., Balaji, V., Khedo, K. (2018). Successful Delivery of a MOOC Via Basic Mobile Phones: A Case Study of Mobile Learning in India for Increasing Awareness of Science-Based Production Practices Among Semiskilled Horticultural Farmers. In: Yu, S., Ally, M., Tsinakos, A. (eds) Mobile and Ubiquitous Learning. Perspectives on Rethinking and Reforming Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6144-8_17
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