Text messages to help students study by phone

"Cd Hamlt's deth b dscrbd as 'poetic justis'?"

Students will get cellphone text messages delivering bite-sized revision notes in a plan to teach them on their own terms in a language they identify with.

In what is understood to be a world first, students at several tertiary institutes have been piloting the programme.

And this week secondary school students at Trident High School in Whakatane will test the project for NCEA English revision.

Instead of having their phones confiscated, year 10 and 11 students will be able to text a number and receive a reply with notes on Shakespeare in a matter of seconds.

Liz Stevenson, who is co-ordinating the project at Trident High, said almost every student had a cellphone and the pilot was about putting them in control of their education.

"It's not just what is in the message, but it is encouraging students to own their learning and to learn in groups.

"The messages are not only chunks of Shakespeare, but hints on learning with content focused toward the exams."

If successful, the school plans to extend the trial to maths, social sciences and physical education.

Other companies and education institutions around the world have developed methods of sending out texts reminding students to study a certain subject, or giving them exam preparation tips.

But this is the first system where students can download a complete, albeit condensed, revision package. The technology is much the same as that used to download music, screen pictures, videos or games.

Peter Mellow, senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, came up with the idea after seeing his students throw their cardboard "flashcards" straight in the bin. It wasn't "cool" to sit on the bus looking at flashcards, but gazing at their phones was not a problem.

He said existing systems were "push" factors - unsolicited texts, which could be regarded as spam. StudyTXT was the world's first "pull" system in schooling, where the students actively sought the information.

"It's about getting the information to students on their terms rather than trying to force them into accepting the way we want to teach them," said Mr Mellow.

"It's a modern incarnation of flashcards that students can study and review at any time in any place."

He developed StudyTXT and began running it for his first-year AUT anatomy students at the end of last year. Now more than 700 students access study notes for 12 papers.

"We are finding between 30 and 40 per cent of students are using it. Obviously it's not for everyone and some will always prefer traditional methods of learning, but it's a significant portion."

It costs 50c to download a message and 30c for subsequent messages in the same subject.

But the younger generation, who are always at the forefront of the technological revolution, are already finding ways to stay one step ahead.

"They are getting together in informal study groups, downloading a few pages each, then texting them to each other on free text weekends," said Mr Mellow.

"And that is also inadvertently helping. They are focusing on study outside normal study time."

It is not the first time mobile phone technology has been harnessed for education or use in schools. A British mobile phone service has condensed the works of Shakespeare into text language, while the Bible has also been translated to text message form in Australia.

Some schools text students examination times and study tips.