[Feature Request]: Andriod app background music

[Legaltechiee]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

The andriod app is too quiet for an app that deals mostly with children.

Describe the solution you'd like

I would like to have 'kids-friendly' music that plays once the app is opened and user signs in up until user selects a lesson and the music stops incase the voice-over is activated.

Describe alternatives you've considered

No response

Additional context

No response

[seanlip]

Hi @Legaltechiee, thanks for your suggestion. I think this needs some product input. Do you have some examples of apps that play such music? What is the impact of not having such music?

Also I think you've filed this in the wrong place -- the Android app github board is at github.com/oppia/opipa-android. I'm moving this issue there.

[Legaltechiee]

Yes @seanlip thanks for moving it here.

About adding the background music and sounds to the android app, you may want to check out apps like Lingokids and Math kids (Rv App Studios) to see samples of math apps with music. It is a nice to have and not a must have feature however.

Music and sound help create a fun and immersive learning experience that can keep children interested and motivated to learn.

Not having it is not detrimental to the learning of the child but it can help reinforce mathematical concepts and make them more memorable.

Also, it may be good to have Oppia identifiable by a particular sound just like cocomelon for instance.

[BenHenning]

Hmm this might be something we could somewhat easily test in a user study by having a facilitator play music on the device while the learner is using the app to see if it actually helps with their engagement. It wouldn't give us a holistic view on effectiveness of adding sound, but it might give us some indicator if this is something we should consider in future product work. It also doesn't quite feel like something where we'd discover the need for it directly since it's sort of an "unknown" productivity booster if it has that effect. @seanlip WDYT?

[seanlip]

@Legaltechiee Thanks for the elaboration. I think it would be helpful to do a test similar to what Ben mentioned. Would you be interested in trying a few things out and letting us know what you find -- even just something like playing background music while the learner is using the app?

[Legaltechiee]

@seanlip Hello Sean,

So I tried this out and I noticed that music indeed does a difference. Oppia currently is only enjoyable to kids that can read fluently. But for kids that are yet to learn how to read very fluently, the music retains their attention and makes them to want to keep looking at the screen. If they form a habit of always wanting to open the Oppia app to hear the music they will begin to enjoy the lessons there as well.

One of the kids from the schools I visited to conduct a pilot study seemed to enjoy the math quizzes better. I noticed as he kept nodding his head to the tune I was playing. I used the cocomelon song (instrumental) and Kids Nursery Rhymes (instrumental) in very low tunes to avoid distractions.

Of course I would like to re-iterate that this is a nice-to-have feature not-a-must have but I mean if it it increases user experience it should be taken note of, for future increments maybe.