App for stay-at-home kids created by ninth graderーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

Key Concepts

• School Absenteeism: Students who are unable to attend physical school.
• Online Alternative School: Educational programs conducted online for students who cannot attend traditional schools.
• App Development: The process of creating a mobile application.
• MIT App Inventor: A software platform developed by MIT that allows users with no prior programming knowledge to create mobile apps by combining pre-built functions.
• Location Functionality: A feature in an app that allows users to see the geographical location of other users.
• Social Connection: The act of forming relationships and interacting with others.

App Development for School Absentees

A ninth-grade student from Higashi town, Hokkaido, Japan, named Monita Kau, is developing an application designed to connect students who, like her, experience difficulties attending physical school. This initiative earned her the top prize in an app idea contest for individuals aged 12 to 19, hosted by a venture firm in Tokyo.

The App's Functionality and Motivation

Kau's app aims to provide a platform for students who do not attend physical schools to engage in online chat. The core feature allows for one-on-one conversations, enabling users to discuss any topic they wish. The motivation behind this project stems from Kau's personal experience. She began facing challenges in her relationship with her teacher in the first grade, leading her to stop attending school after the summer vacation of that year.

Transition to Online Education and the Need for Connection

In her fifth grade, Kau joined an online alternative school. She observed that many of her classmates were in similar situations. This online environment fostered a sense of community, and she made numerous friends, enjoying activities like playing games and chatting. However, the desire to meet these friends in person, despite their geographical dispersion across the country, became a significant motivation for her app development.

Technical Approach and Future Enhancements

To build her app, Kau is utilizing software provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, known as MIT App Inventor. This platform is designed for individuals without specialized technical knowledge, allowing them to develop apps by assembling pre-defined functions, akin to stacking blocks. Kau expressed her excitement, stating, "What is so thrilling is that the program I've created this way actually works. It gives me great motivation."

Kau plans to incorporate a location function into the app's existing chat feature. This addition would enable users to see the general whereabouts of other individuals on the platform. Her hope is that this feature will facilitate connections among stay-at-home students living in proximity, potentially leading to in-person meetings.

Overcoming Challenges and Advocating for Change

Kau's app development has garnered support from friends who share her frustrations with school attendance. As a contest winner, she was invited to speak about her project at a conference in the US. Despite her English language proficiency limitations, she dedicated herself to practicing her speech repeatedly. During her presentation, a 14-year-old Kau, initially nervous and stumbling over her words, successfully delivered her two-minute speech, a testament to her hard work. She shared, "People said things like they were impressed or they liked my speech. So, I was really happy."

Kau views her app as an opportunity for personal growth and is committed to changing the perception of students who cannot attend physical schools. She stated, "There are no attenders who choose to take their own lives for various reasons. That pains and tortures me really badly. So I want people to know that there are fun places like my app where school absentes can make friends." She is determined to continue developing and completing her app.

Conclusion

Monita Kau's app development project highlights the critical need for supportive online communities for students facing school absenteeism. Her personal journey, coupled with her innovative use of accessible technology like MIT App Inventor, demonstrates the potential for young individuals to create impactful solutions. The app's future integration of location services aims to bridge the gap between online connections and real-world interactions, fostering a sense of belonging and reducing the isolation often experienced by these students. Kau's advocacy underscores the importance of recognizing and supporting the diverse needs of all students.