Changing Formal and Informal Learning Practices Using Smartphones: The Case of Market Women of Ghana

Abstract

Smartphones have afforded women opportunities to overcome some of the constraints they face in the informal sector. The culture of traditional learning for women in the marketplace refers to sharing common standardized practices of learning from each other, conducting business, communicating, and making money. Sharing information, knowledge, and experiences is already embedded in the culture of the informal sector therefore a network connection through smartphones will bring a new light of opportunities to the learning environment. Using a case study of market women in Ghana, the authors of this chapter focus on these women's experiences learning with video animation in smartphones and predict how they will envision a new way of learning that combines the formal and informal learning with easy capabilities such as visualization, simulation, technical proficiency, and accessibility to information.