During the recent MLEARN 2003 conference a delegate asked whether there is a danger that using mobile phones in basic skills learning might be counterproductive. He wondered whether the use of SMS (text messaging) would result in poor spelling and grammar. At the conference -which brought together educationalists, researchers and companies with a common interest in mobile learning -this was not an unexpected question. I have been asked similar questions many times in the three years during which we conceived and started our mobile learning project - m-learning. The answer is dependent upon context.

Some mainstream teachers have expressed similar concerns and there are reports of examiners finding SMS abbreviations and slang in GCSE English papers. This is worrying, although enquiries should perhaps focus on how teachers have prepared their pupils for the examinations rather than on the students' use of mobile phones. However, many young adults with poor literacy are not taking part in traditional education, but they do have mobile phones, which they use frequently and enthusiastically. We believe that the desire to communicate in text is a vital early step towards literacy and researchers have observed that young people who would not normally write messages are often enthusiastic texters (Plant, 2001).

M-learning's target audience is young adults who have not succeeded in traditional education, particularly those with literacy and numeracy problems. It is a research and development project which started in 2001 and runs to September 2004. Our work includes research focusing on technologies and interfaces, and users and uses of mobile phones, palmtops and computer games. The research is coupled with development of learning materials and experiences, accessed via mobile phones and palmtop computers, and supporting learning management and intelligent tutor systems.

Very little of the existing research into mobile phone use includes any effects on literacy. Kasesniemi and Rautiainen made a detailed studied of SMS use by Finnish 13 to 18-year-olds. They reported that "Finnish teachers have been worried about the negative effects that the free-form, often quickly written text messages may have" particularly as "SMS communication does not rely on traditional grammar or punctuation required for texts written for school." However, they observed positive benefits especially for boys who "have a tendency to resent official teaching of Finnish " and because "the unique writing style provides opportunities for creativity."

Of course literacy is not just about spelling. Speaking, listening and discussion are essential to improving reading and writing skills. Therefore it is encouraging when a researcher writes that teenage girls interviewed reported noticing that their male counterparts "had become far more chatty and communicative since getting used to using mobile phones" (Plant, 2001).

Stephen Heppell, director of Ultralab at Anglia Polytechnic University, emphasises the importance of the skill of oracy. He has observed that "the ability to storytell, to speak in public, to show and tell, has historically been valued as a mark of a literate citizen". Nowadays the mobile phone offers young people unparalleled opportunities to speak in public and storytell.

Some observers have expressed the concern that young people's social and communication skills may be damaged by too much reliance on mobile phones. However Taylor and Harper (2002) found young people often sat together using their mobile phones and engaged in gift-giving rituals by exchanging content or phones. Similarly, trials of our early prototype learning materials found that the learners were very keen to communicate with each other and to learn collaboratively. In our next phase of learner research, in addition to trying out new materials and systems, we will be exploring a variety of pedagogic approaches to mobile learning.

References

E. Kasesniemi and P. Rautiainen (2002) Mobile culture of children and teenagers in Finland. In Katz and Aakhus (eds.) Perpetual Contact: Mobile Communication, Private Talk and Public Performance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

A.S. Taylor and R. Harper (2002) Age-old practices in the 'new world': a study of gift giving between teenage mobile phone users. Paper presented at the Conference on Human Factors and Computing t Systems, CHI 2002, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. (20-25 April 2002).

S. Plant (2001) On the Mobile: The Effects of Mobile Telephones on Social and Individual Life, Motorola.

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