Publisher McGraw-Hill and Indian software firm Wipro made an interesting announcement yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:
The McGraw-Hill Companies, a premier global financial information and education company, and Wipro, a leading technology solutions provider, will work together to develop "mConnect," an open-standard mobile learning platform designed to bridge the skills gap in emerging markets. Initial pilots in India will focus on the most critical needs for India's students and workers: test preparation for entrance into universities that will best prepare them for the workplace and English-language training, an increasingly essential skill in the global economy. The intention is to extend this program later to other countries in Asia and in Africa.
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. For students who want to establish and advance their careers by learning English, for example, mConnect will provide opportunities to hear conversations, review new vocabulary delivered via SMS and get personalized instruction that customizes the pace and presentation of material to match their learning needs.
Sounds like a great usage of text messaging. Read the entire release here.