International Day of Education

On her first day in a coding class, she didn’t imagine building a game. Weeks later, she created a learning game, one that introduces Ethiopian cultural musical instruments, their sounds, and the stories behind them. 

“My name is Yemariyam Misraketsehay, and I am a Grade 10 student at Dilla Don Bosco High School. During last year’s coding training, my four friends and I worked on a project that was assigned to us. Using Scratch software, we created a learning program focused on Ethiopian cultural musical instruments. The program begins by introducing three traditional instruments: Begena, Kirar, and Masinko. When you click on Begena, it shows the history of the instrument, explains what it is, and demonstrates how it can be practiced. In the history section, the content is narrated, and users can also read it by themselves. The following pages explain the biblical history of the Begena.  Another section introduces the different parts of the Begena. By touching each part, learners can understand its meaning and biblical background. For example, when you touch the Kenber, the program explains what it represents. The final section, which we believe is especially helpful for the PVA (Performing Visual Art) subject, is the training section. Here, students can hear the notes of the Begena by exploring each string. Many children see instruments like the Begena or Kirar and call them a guitar or piano instead of identifying their correct cultural names. This is why we created this project—to help students better understand Ethiopian cultural instruments, especially elementary school students. It can also strongly support students’ learning PVA. While music is often taught theoretically in class, access to real instruments is limited. With these computers, students can practice more, explore freely, and learn by interacting. Since many students are eager to touch and experience these instruments, we hope this program will help them practice, learn, and explore more. In the future, we hope to add more features. For now, we hope students will use what we have created and continue learning through it.”