SGER: Designing and Understanding Intergenerational Mobile Learning Communities

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

This project develops and explores the use of mobile technologies to support intergenerational literacy experiences as a way to educate disadvantaged children. The project explores shared reading experiences on mobile phone platforms with local disadvantaged youths in order to develop principles and guidelines for a worldwide effort in distributing reading experiences on inexpensive and pervasive mobile technologies. This research has the potential to transform the use of mobile phones in the direction of literacy development as a complement to their current use for communication. The intellectual merit of this research comprises: an understanding of the design of image, text, and audio content on small screens to support literacy development in children; an understanding of effective collaborative literacy experiences when usability factors of mobile phones are considered in impoverished contexts; and an exploration of the opportunities provided by intergenerational learning when traditional classroom instruction is either not possible or has failed to reach learners with given resources. The broader impact of this project is the potential to focus researchers in other disciplines towards developing literacy, and the availability of the designs and content developed in this project to disadvantaged youths in other cities and countries.