Mobile phone use in two secondary schools in Tanzania

Mobile phone technology in Tanzania has grown rapidly but there is insufficient data on its application in schools. This paper aims to show how students in the first and third year (F1 and F3) teachers in two rural secondary schools perceived its use. F1 and F3 students completed a questionnaire. Teachers and students in F1 and F3 discussed the uses and misuses of mobile phones in separate focus groups. Although they served similar areas the two schools differed in students’ use – and awareness of misuse – of mobile phones. Most students had access to a mobile phone, but were not permitted to bring them to school. Few teachers could see a positive use for the technology in the curriculum. There is an urgent need for pedagogical resources to support the introduction of mobile technology into classrooms but equally it is crucial that any such introduction is through a process of engagement with the concerns of students, teachers and the wider community with frank discussion about both the dangers and the potential benefits of using mobile phones in learning.