In the wake of South Africa’s political history, marked by differential access to education, the provision of quality general education to all South African citizens faces significant challenges. A shortage of qualified educators, limited access to basic resources including electricity, and limited economic power are among the many obstacles that much of the population faces. In such an environment, there is a desperate need for education initiatives the have the potential to overcome some of these obstacles. M-learning, and more specifically m-learning using mobile phone technology, presents a new platform by which to respond to this need.

The mobile phone industry is arguably the most successful ICT industry in South Africa in terms of its reach. The growth of the mobile phone industry is reported to be faster in developing countries and the current penetration or density rates in South Africa are estimated to be around the 90% mark. It is further reported that the majority of mobile phone subscribers in South Africa subscribe on a pre-paid basis, and are likely to represent the poorer communities. What this means is that mobile phone technology, more so than other traditional Information and Communication Technologies used in education such as the World Wide Web, enjoys a much wider coverage reaching people in both urban and rural settings, with high and low socio-economic status.

Only in the recent past have initiatives been developed in South Africa that take advantage of the pervasiveness of mobile phones for educational aims. This paper reports on the development, implementation and preliminary evaluation results of one such pilot project run by a non-governmental organization (NGO) and a prominent mobile phone company. The project targets specifically the subject of Mathematics at the Further Education and Training level (the last three years of school). Nokia 6300 mobile phones were loaded with educational material and were issued to twenty learners in an underserved community. Educational material was presented in three formats. Firstly, two easy-to-navigate games were installed. One was modeled on Mastermind and presented mathematical problems explicitly. In the second game, a simulation game, the mathematics was implicit as users built and grew a fashion empire. The second format included short, explanatory video clips on various mathematical topics, and the third included animated ‘mobisodes’ that further explored mathematical concepts.

The paper begins with a critical examination of what m-learning means in the context of a developing country, and then moves on to detailing the experiences of the NGO in implementing and evaluating the project. Emphasis is placed on the preliminary results of the evaluation which include the receptivity of the target audience and the integration of the mobile phone and its content into the learners’ experiences. Attention is then drawn to the implications of increasing the use of mobile phone technology in the education sector of South Africa. The major promise of incorporating mobile phones is an increase in educational interventions and accordingly an increase in learning opportunities. While the potential value of mobile-based learning is not denied, the paper also considers possible threats to effective use of mobile phones in education, such as the quality assurance of material and integration with current teaching and learning practices.