Kontax, a teen m-novel
Steve Vosloo
The world's first m-novel written in English and isiXhosa has
launched. It's a teen mystery story set in Cape Town about four
graffiti writing friends.
Read the press release for more info at http://tinyurl.com/kontax-pr2.
Or read the story at http://kontax.mobi (on your PC or from your
WAP-enabled phone).
The Shuttleworth Foundation believes that m-novels have the potential
to be big in Africa and wants to explore this space through the m4Lit
project (from a practical and research perspective). Kontax was
written for mobiles -- it's participatory, social and cross-media --
reaching young people through the devices which they love.
Research will be conducted with 50 teens in Cape Town to understand
their experience of the m-novel within a broader literacy context. A
preliminary paper will be presented at mLearn 2009 later this month.
Teens can win R100 every day by leaving a comment, e.g.
http://www.kontax.mobi/index.php?action=chapters&n=1&id=20. And
there's a big competition at the end of the 21 day / 21 chapter story:
submit an idea for a sequel and win R2000 in airtime (for the best
English idea AND same for the best isiXhosa idea).
So, please get your learners and children reading and writing into
http://kontax.mobi.
Thanks,
Steve
--
Steve Vosloo
Reuters Digital Vision Fellow 2007
Stanford University, California
Web: www.vosloo.net
Blog: www.innovatingeducation.wordpress.com
Twitter:stevevosloo