MANILA, Philippines – Digital arts and information technology (IT) students from Far Eastern University Institute of Technology (FEU Tech) have been tapped to help develop an educational app for children in conflict-hit areas in Mindanao.

The project is the result of a partnership among telco Smart Communications, the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), and FEU. (READ: TIMELINE: The ‘liberation’ of Marawi)

The app will be aligned with the Tahderiyyah kindergarten curriculum implemented in Islamic schools. The students will be tasked with digitizing the Tahderiyyah content, originally developed by the BDA. Stakeholders are expecting to launch the app in 2018. 

The students will primarily be doing software development and animation work for the app. Smart assisted the students as well by organizing animation, sound design, and app development workshops facilitated by experts from professional studios OrangeFix and Click Multimedia Studio.

The Tahderiyyah app project is also part of Smart’s larger initiative to develop learning apps in various local languages, with the hope of enhancing education using mobile and digital technology.

Earl Hilary Marollano, one of the students helping out in the project, said the opportunity to do some good provides more motivation.

“It’s a big deal to be able to help anyone. What we usually do at school is only for ourselves. This project is for Muslim kids affected by what’s happening in Mindanao. We are more dedicated and inspired to work harder because this isn’t just for us; this is for kids who are the future of this country,” he said.

For another student involved in the project, Pamela Ferreros, digitizing the content doesn’t only help with increasing accessibility, it also makes things more engaging and fun for young students. “Kids are interested in fun things. Let us use that to educate them,” she said.

“Because this is for kids, we will make it more creative and animated. If we can’t communicate with them using a common language, we can help them understand concepts visually,” added Marollano. – Rappler.com