The aim of this project is to develop a series of mobile first resources to enable students to develop their skills in Maths and English by using their Smartphones to find and interact with Near Field Communication (NFC) hot-spots outside of the classroom.

This was  tackled by developing a solution which harnesses the existing technology which most students already use, their smartphones and Wi-Fi. A mobile-first VLE was created which hosts a collection of 35 interactive quizzes which challenge students to apply English or Maths skills in a given (often unusual and humorous) situation. The quizzes were developed with support from a team of advanced teaching staff who teach GCSE Mathematics and English. Unlike other resources these activities will be aimed at students outside the classroom, thus bridging the gap between educational resources and culturally relevant contextual media.

In a typical interaction a student would participate by finding a “hot-spot” placed around College which when scanned or tapped with their smartphone/tablet, will direct them to an activity in their device’s web browser. Students will be asked to answer and interact by providing answers to a series of questions. Students will be asked to log in using Facebook or Google ID when first using the platform.

NFC Technology was chosen as a primary method of interaction due to its ease of use. NFC does not require an app to be installed and launched, so technical barriers to interaction are removed. NFC Technology is not new, but it’s still emerging with  a growing proportion of current smartphones supporting it. However it’s adoption is widely expected to increase in coming years.

Please click here to view our Project Presentation.