MMTI Theses and Dissertations (2012)

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    Modeling of a secure distribution framework for topical digital materials to enhance m-learning in secondary schools
    (Strathmore University, 2013) Mwogi, Christopher Sang
    and lecturers in our local institutions have been writing educational materials which find wide acceptance by their students, some of these write-ups are topical learning materials. Topical learning materials are write-ups made by teachers and lecturers to cover certain topic in curriculum. These materials are low cost reading materials that on most cases do not make economic sense to publishers but of high value to students. Considering a large number of topical books and materials which are in circulation in our academic institutions it is imperative that a way is developed to nurture and encourage use of these materials in an economical way, in addition, students at remote areas ought to benefit from such refined materials. These learning materials are low value items that may not attract established publishers eye. The purpose of this research was to determine existence of e-learning frameworks in secondary schools that utilizes mobile platform. Smartphones are becoming popular and cheaper each day and it is finding wider usage and the rate of growth in sales is increasing at rate of 42.5% year over year as illustrated by IDC (2012). The findings of the study showed low penetration of mobile technologies as an aid in education. The study also showed a lot of willingness by academicians to adopt m-learning since it is more interactive, involves more contact, communication and collaboration with people (Vavoula, 2004). The result of the study is the design and implementation of m-learning distribution framework for topical digital materials used in secondary schools i.e. revision guides, test papers and other relevant materials, over mobile platform. The target audiences were mainly focus on lecturers, teachers and students. An elaborate secure digital distribution platform can really harness m-learning while allowing development of local content digital stores, and boosting sharing of educational materials easily by teachers and students in Kenya.
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    Accessing Maternal Healthcare Information Using A Mobile Application
    (2013-11-14) Kioko, Shadrack
    The ubiquity and penetration of mobile phones in Sub-Saharan Africa presents the opportunity to leverage maternal care information provision in both prenatal and postnatal cases. The slow progress and funding constraints in attaining the Millennium Development Goals for child and maternal health encourage harnessing innovative measures, such as mHealth, to address these public health priorities. Mobile health (mHealth) encompasses the use of mobile telecommunication and multimedia into increasingly mobile and wireless health care delivery systems and has the potential to improve tens of thousands of lives each year. Being pregnant can be very challenging to mothers especially if they are expecting for the first time. In Kenya, many women rely on information that is down from one to another which may not be accurate as experience from each pregnancy can be different from one pregnancy to the other and from one person to another. Matters are made worse when information past down is mixed with cultural taboo. The aim of this research was to determine the challenges expectant women face when accessing maternal healthcare information in Kenya, to determine the current sources of the information and their limitations, determine the design requirements, the best mobile platform to develop the mobile application on and lastly to develop and test the mobile application. The findings of this research show that only a few expectant women currently access information from Internet sources. In developed countries, mobile phones are widely used to provide maternal healthcare information through mobile applications, SMS. In Kenya, few women use mobile and Internet to access this information because they rely on books, stories and doctors information which they receive rarely. The research established that mHealth has a great potential in increasing access to maternal information in developing countries. LEA, a Java based mobile application, was developed to provide maternal healthcare information to expectant women. It represents a proof of concept that mobile applications lead to sustainable prenatal and neonatal mHealth services.