Ethiopian startup AhadooTec is set to launch an educational mobile app to make study materials more accessible and to serve as a personalised learning platform, in efforts to boost secondary education in the country.
AhadooTec’s app – to launch in April – offers an interactive and personalised learning platform aimed at secondary school students, making educational materials available over feature and smartphones, as well as tablets and PCs.
Founder Amanuel Abrha told HumanIPO the accessibility and affordability of mobile is what gives it so much potential to assist in improving education.
“Increased affordability and accessibility of mobile phones as well as aspects such as easy maintenance, easy-to-use audio and text interfaces, make mobile learning very interesting,” said Abrha.
“In order not to exclude students with limited incomes, various possibilities from one device per student to one device for a group of students, to one device per classroom, are being considered.”
Abrha said the interactive and collaborative nature of the app will make it suitable for multiple users to learn at once, thus combating the possible shortage of devices, while the app will also be downloadable and used offline for those without constant connectivity.
For feature phones, Abrha said SMS and audio based versions of the app are also under development.
One of the subjects the AhadooTec app will teach is entrepreneurship, which Abrha said is of key importance to teach students soft skills.
“The current school system does not encourage students to follow their passion and make their own decisions,” said Abrha.
“With entrepreneurship students learn many soft skills, for instance to work in teams or negotiation skills.”
The launch in April will see trials take place in Addis Ababa and a rural location.
“The pilot will start in April 2014 in the capital Addis Ababa and in Rema, a rural village 250km up north from Addis Ababa in order to compare the urban and rural situations,” Abrha said.
