A new kind of Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI)

The typical Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) model (e.g., see Improving Educational Quality through Interactive Radio Instruction) is used most often in primary education and couples face-to-face group-based activities, facilitated by a tutor, with a radio broadcast. But this approach cannot effectively reach a highly distributed (or overly busy & overburdened) population that would have difficulty gathering in a single place.

Well, what about this?


Now that mobile phones are nearly ubiquitous (at least within our target population of degree-level healthcare providers), why can't we use them to "close the loop" back to the instructor? Instead of a local facilitator, why not use ICT - mobile voice &/or sms - to connect the learners directly back to the point of instruction?

One reason you need the local facilitator in the traditional IRI model is that radio is a one-way medium. But why not combine multiple ICTs to make the information and communication flow two-way? Then learners could ask questions, reply to polls, submit answers to scenarios & case studies, etc. to a central location obviating the need for gathering as a group.

Just a thought...