Abstract:

Marginalised youth often possess low education and qualification levels. They are more likely to drop out from school or to leave school after compulsory education. Similarly, they are also more likely not to participate in life long learning activities. Often they are faced with limited access to the educational system and they lack educational role models. In many cases they have gathered bad experiences during their time at school. Therefore they should be addressed with alternative forms of education since conventional educational offers do not reach marginalised young people (MYP).
How to integrate them again into learning processes is the main research question of the EU-funded Pan-European research project ComeIn - Online Mobile Communities to Facilitate the Social Inclusion of MYP, coordinated by the Spanish institution ATOS origin. Within this 7th Framework Project study we have conducted expert interviews with academics and practitioners in the fields of Information and Communication Technologies and marginalised youth and focus group discussions with young marginalised people themselves. Based on these empirical results we have worked out three main requirements of marginalised young people concerning learning tools: First of all, easy access to any learning activity, concerning availability and its usability. Secondly they prefer a playful approach, different from the one at school. And thirdly: The participation in learning activities has to be voluntarily and informal.
Mobile learning offers several advantages especially for young marginalised people: It can be used in their own place and time; compared to hardcopy and computer-based applications it is less threatening and intimidating, and with the novelty and status of the devices and its visual and auditory appeal its usage is more motivating than conventional features.
Studies across Europe show high penetration rates of mobile phones among youth. We found that also almost all of the MYP have their own mobile phones. It is an important communication tool for their teenage identity and friendships. Similar to a front door key it is an essential daily life tool for them.
For MYP the mobile phone is the appropriate tool to take part in mobile learning. The mobile phone functions as an important interface, it is an intermediate between the individual and the learning environment, and its collaborative features support learning activities between peers as well.Mobile learning via mobile phones for MYPs allows for:
1. Access
The setting of m-learning seems practical for MYPs, because it is not a typical class room environment. The youths themselves decide on time and place of learning and can work in their own learning style.
2. Approach
The playful side of learning is key, information can be dosed in little bits, and content can be tailored to the target group needs.
3. Participation on a voluntarily basis
MYPs should participate according to their interest; practicable and exciting contents should attract them. Self evaluation should motivate them to continue.
On a long term sight MYP could experience: Learning is possible, it can be joyful and it can enable new insights into important contents, and thus it could motivate them to take part in the concept of lifelong learning. The ComeIn pilot studies in the United Kingdom and Austria will reveal if mobile learning applications will be accepted by MYPs and if they will use these and similar applications further on.

Keywords:

mobile learning, marginalised youth, inclusion, user requirements, digital divide.