The mSchools program is recognized by the 2014 Global Mobile Awards

February 25, 2014

The mSchools program, a pioneering, worldwide initiative designed to promote the adoption of mobile technologies in the classroom through the creation and use of mobile solutions, has received a special prize at the 2014 Global Mobile Awards in the “The Connected Life Awards” category.

GSMA CEO and director John Hoffman delivered the mSchools award to the president of Catalonia’s regional government, Artur Mas. With this special award GSMA recognizes mSchools’ commitment to implementing mobile technologies in the educational sphere, enhancing the skills of students in the digital environment, improving their academic performance, and reducing dropout rates.

The Global Mobile Awards are the best-established and most respected program of their kind in the mobile technology industry, designed to recognize the world’s leading mobile telephone devices, services, applications, and technologies.

mSchools, a trailblasing program with a present and future

mSchools is a groundbreaking global initiative intended to encourage Catalonia’s high school students to work in the classroom with mobile technology through the creation and use of mobile solutions. The initiative, promoted by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, in collaboration with the Regional Government of Catalonia, the City of Barcelona, and GSMA, was implemented this 2013-2014 academic year in Catalonian schools.

With the aim of improving academic performance and reducing dropout rates, mSchools features complete curricular development linked to the application of mobile technology in the social and economic sphere. In addition to basic programming knowledge, mSchools introduces notions of Economics and Business Management into the educational curriculum in order to equip students with tools that foster entrepreneurial spirit and teamwork.

mSchools currently includes the following:

• Let’s Mobilize Computer Technology: An elective for 4th-year ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education) students which teaches almost 6,000 pupils at 196 high schools to conceive and design apps to provide solutions to global problems and improve daily life. In order to introduce this subject into schools mSchools previously trained 240 teachers, making available to them a downloadable computer program featuring the content and tools necessary to properly teach the program.
  Students also work with industry professionals, who serve as mentors on their projects, guiding them and supporting them in the making of decisions. To facilitate the participation of these professionals the mSchools platform was launched, a tool that facilitates contact between specialists and teachers to maximize the benefits of their participation in the program. Professionals from companies such as Incubio, Softonic, Social Point, King, Catalunya Apps, Appszoom, Barcelona Loves Entrepreneurs and A Crowd of Monsters are already working with the students.
• Mobile Learning Awards: a prize program this year marking its second edition and which recognizes innovations by students, teachers, and schools in the creation and use of mobile solutions in education.
• Mobile History Map: an initiative that allows Catalonian students of all ages to geotag and describe cultural sites of interest near their schools. This part of the program calls for the application of mobile technologies to non-technical subjects and in the Humanities.
• Encouraging entrepreneurs in the ICT-Education sector: through a program designed to encourage and promote local initiatives in the field of mEducation.

mSchools is present this year at the Mobile World Congress in the Mobile World Capital Barcelona area, where it will share the program’s most significant advances with all attendees.