AUT pulls in the texting generation with StudyTXT

AUT is a CWEA finalist in the tertiary and commercial education category

Computerworld - 15 June 2006

Auckland University of Technology's first-in-the-world mobile study-support service has proved so successful it is already almost self-funding.

Called StudyTXT, the service is a mobile phone-based, on-demand study support system. It is one of three services developed by the university.

StudyTXT works by texting a specific message code to the StudyTXT server; students can then order SMS text messages, with short information, about a chosen subject. These messages can then, in turn, be stored on the student's cellphone and reviewed anytime, anywhere, creating a digital version of the traditional paper flash study cards. The service is available on both Vodafone's and Telecom's networks.

StudyTXT was set up with the aim of providing a national mLearning - mobile learning - service to New Zealand educational institutions and was the first of its kind in the world. The service is free to all tertiary- and secondary- education providers in New Zealand.
It's a user-pays service. Students pay 30-50 cents per message download, but many students work around this cost by sharing messages in study groups, as well as by swapping messages during the telcos' free-text weekends or when their "$10 for 500 texts" promotions are on.

Feedback from students and academic staff has been positive. The number of messages being downloaded is now close to the threshold needed for the project to be self-funding - it has been operational since last October.

Computerworld - 15/06/2006