Nokia has launched a mobile mathematics platform aimed at helping South African high school pupils to better master the subject of mathematics.

The initiative, with the department of science & technology, is aimed at grades 10 to 12, and works on all Internet-connected mobile phones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers — and not only devices produced by Nokia.

Access to the Nokia Mobile Mathematics (MoMaths) portal has been “zero rated” on MTN and Cell C, meaning pupils don’t pay for the data they use while accessing the service. Nokia South and East Africa vice-president Gerard Brandjes says the company is hoping to offer zero-rated access on other mobile networks and that negotiations in this regard are ongoing.

The MoMaths portal gives high school pupils access to 10 000 exercises of varying difficulty. It also allows them to collaborate with others, compare achievements and get guidance on how to progress, according to Nokia.

“The service gives teachers the ability to better understand learners’ competence and areas of improvement,” it says.

MoMaths first launched MoMaths with a pilot for 260 grade 10 pupils in Gauteng, North West and Western Cape in 2009 using the Mxit social chat platform. Ahead of this week’s broad launch of the service, it had 150 schools with about 14 000 pupils using it who have completed 4m exercises to date.

“Of the registered learners, 53% became active MoMaths users, with 69% of teachers actively using the solution,” Nokia says. “Competence level of the users improved by 14% compared to learners who were not using the service and 82% of the usage happened outside school hours.” — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media