Following the introduction of a Master of Science Degree Program in Mobile Telecommunication and Innovation by Strathmore University at the Safaricom Academy that is planned to incorporate ‘goocus’, a mobile learning platform, the university is now set to launch two other mobile learning platforms starting April, 2015.
The launch announcement comes after Strathmore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in mid-March with Japan’s Castalia, who developed the mobile learning platforms that include the ‘goocus pro’ and the ‘goocus 3’ whose feasibility study will be introduced in the coming month and will be carried out by @iLabAfrica.
Through a partnership with Kenya’s largest mobile operator Safaricom, @iLabAfrica has been home to the Safaricom Academy that is designed to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the telecoms industry by taking advantage of the mobile cellular technologies since 2011 and now the Academy will use the study to provide students with an environment they can engage with mobile and social learning.
With Strathmore providing the existing learning material and Castalia supporting the conversion in order to integrate the material onto the mobile learning platform, the collaboration seeks to scale this implementation of mobile learning to Strathmore’s undergraduate programs as well once the feasibility study is complete and successful.
Introduced by the Castalia, a Japan company that develops educational digital content solutions and operates web media specialized for learning, the ‘goocus pro’ is a 2013 Android and iOS smartphone-based mobile learning platform for corporations and organizations that seeks to replace the traditional learning systems through eliminating the barriers of location, time and competition.
It is also designed to generate a unique learning experience that other PC-based e-learning systems cannot achieve, with mobility being a major focus as smartphones are something that learners can always carry around and use the application to view educational material anytime and anywhere they wish and through a push notification feature, reminds users what they have learned before.
