Apple explains how students are developing a language learning app> Macerkopf

IPad is already used in many schools for teaching. Students will also find new ways to use the tablet. For example, Apple today shows how students in New Zealand are using an iPad to develop a language learning app for the Samoan language after a language teacher has left school.

Develop your own learning application

When children at Bromley School in New Zealand learned that their Samoan teacher would transfer to a local high school, students decided they wanted to continue studying Jajana Samoa – the language of the Samoan Islands – but no alternative teacher was available.

Then a group of students aged 8-11 years old asked the principal if he could help them find a way to continue studying. Fortunately, every Bromley School teacher and student owns their own iPad. There is an Apple TV in every classroom and a fleet of Macs for programming. Students formed a research group, Digi Navigators, and began using technology to find solutions. That’s a dedication students who pay for homework can’t imagine.

First, they explored the apps, books, and websites they thought might help, but many of them were not suitable for younger learners. It was often too text-heavy and did not provide audio files to support pronunciation. Often the pictures were missing to enhance understanding. Students also looked in vain to support teaching methods such as mini-games in apps.

So they had to find their own solution, which is why Digi Navigators created a prototype of an app for learning the Samoan language. Since the school is widely equipped with Apple devices, the young developers were able to get started right away. This is how Jeremiah Loviseau, a student at Bromley School explains:

“We decided to prototype an app called ‘Let’s Learn Samoan’ because all the kids in our school had access to an iPad and we wanted it to be accessible to everyone. ‘

For starters, use the Keynote app. It allows you to combine text, graphics, audio recordings, animations, and hyperlinks in one place. Additionally, Millie Togyasu, a teacher at Bromley School, used Apple’s free “Everyone Can Code” curriculum to guide the group through the development process.

After brainstorming and creating wireframes for their application, students split into teams to create the app. She followed many exams and followed the help of an expert from Jajana Samoa from her community. In September 2020, Navigator Digi was finally invited to present their idea at an event.

The app was enthusiastically received in front of an audience of 50 local experts, investors and tech gurus, which is why the local owner store has already pledged its financial support. The app is still in the works, but Mele Togiaso already knows that students learned a lot in the course of the project, not just the language and the technology:

“In Pacific culture, we achieve something together. It is not about individual success – no one is negligent. This experience showed our students that it is not enough for a smaller team to stand out. In order to achieve something, everyone must work together and make sure everyone moves forward. Together. “