Michelle Widjaja’s award-winning project, PIADDO, is a creative fusion of mental math and musical play, designed to make arithmetic practice both engaging and enjoyable for children. This innovative iPad app helps users strengthen their mental addition skills by incorporating piano-based interaction, transforming learning into an immersive musical experience.

In PIADDO, players solve math problems by pressing piano keys that correspond to the correct answers. Each correct answer adds a note to an evolving melody, allowing users to "build" a song as they progress. The experience begins with a short, interactive backstory to capture the player’s attention. Tapping the screen advances the narrative, eventually leading to the main game interface- a digital piano with a play button on the left and a countdown timer on the right.

Once the play button is tapped, the melody starts. Every five seconds, the music pauses, and a new addition equation appears on screen. Players have five seconds to input the correct answer using the piano keys before the melody resumes. This cycle continues until the one-minute song is completed, incorporating a total of 12 math challenges.

After the session, players can view their responses alongside the correct answers, offering a chance to reflect and improve. PIADDO masterfully combines music and math, making learning intuitive, interactive, and fun- earning Michelle recognition at Apple’s prestigious Swift Student Challenge at WWDC 2025.

---

Article written by Shuaib Khan (Junior College Teacher)