BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: STORIES, CREATIVITY AND THE FUTURE OF LEARNING

From Cultural Heritage to Digital Creativity: Al Azhar Cairo Islamic School Banda Aceh Educators Share Their Practices at FOLSEA 2026 in Jakarta

Education is full of possibilities when teachers are willing to explore new ways of helping students learn, create and connect with the world around them. Earlier this month, two educators from Al Azhar Cairo Islamic School Banda Aceh had the opportunity to to share their educational practices as presenters at Future of Learning South East Asia (FOLSEA) “Humanising Technology:Putting People at the Centre of the Future of Learning” workshop, bringing two different perspectives on meaningful learning. Although their presentations explored different topics, both reflected the importance of fostering student agency and placing learners at the centre of meaningful learning experiences. The head of education and presenters from Al Azhar cairo Islamic School, Banda Aceh, pose with Dr Paviter Singh, Apple Regional Development Executive, Education, Southeast Asia, and Robert Appino, Apples’s Education Lead for South Asia, Australia and New Zealand, during FOLSEA 2026. The gathering brought together educators to Muallimah Dwi Rizka Febryani focused on preserving the Acehnese language through folklore storybooks. In a world where cultural heritage can easily become distant from younger generations, folklore offers a meaningful way to introduce children to their language, stories, and cultural identity. Through storytelling, local wisdom can continue to be shared and appreciated by the next generation. Beyond exploring folklore through storybooks, students were encouraged to bring local tales to life through digital storytelling. Using Procreate, they experimented with animation to reimagine traditional characters and scenes, transforming stories passed down through generations into engaging visual experiences. This approach Muallimah Dwi Rizka Febryani presents the highlights of how culturally rooted story telling can enrich students’ learning experiences and strengthen connections with their local The learning experience also extended into comic creation, giving students another way to interpret and communicate local folklore through illustrations, visual sequences, and storytelling. By creating their own animations and comics, students moved beyond consuming traditional stories to becoming active creators of cultural narratives. In doing so, they explored not only the possibilities of digital tools but also the importance of preserving and sharing their cultural identity through contemporary forms of expression. UNLOCKING LITERACY GROWTH: HOW ACEHNESE FOLKLORE TRANSFORMED STUDENTS INTO DIGITAL AUTHORS ON IPAD? Lorem Ipsum Dolor 25 October 2026 Lorem Ipsum Dolor 3 Muallimah Hayatunnisak presented how she explored the creative possibilities digital technology through the work of Grade 5 students at Al Azhar Islamic Elementary School Banda Aceh. Using Procreate and Apple Keynote, the students transformed their ideas into digital artwork and animations that became part of a live stage performance displayed on a large LED screen. “For me, one of the most memorable moments of the presentation was hearing the audience say “wow” each time I revealed my students’ final creations. Those reactions filled me with pride, not simply as a presenter, but as a teacher witnessing children’s ideas receive recognition beyond classroom”, she stated. “Keynote is widely known as a presentation application, yet my students used it to explore animation, movement, and visual storytelling. Their work reminded me that meaningful creativity does not always required the most sophisticated tools. Sometimes, a familiar application can become a space for extraordinary ideas when children encouraged to experiment and express themselves. It came from witnessing experienced, talented educators rediscover the creative possibilities of something familiar and accessible: Apple Keynote”, she added, reflecting on her experience as one of the 60 presenters, she shared the key lesson she would carry forward FROM DIGITAL CANVAS TO LIVE STAGE PERFORMANCE Muallimah Hayatunnisak shares how grade 5 students use Pro Create and Keynote to transform their ideas into digital artwork and animated visuals for a live showcase. “It came from witnessing experienced, talented educators rediscover the creative possibilities of something familiar and accessible: Apple Keynote” -HAYATUNNISAK (Apple Teacher AT AL AZHAR CAIRO ISLAMIC SCHOOL BANDA ACEH) Sharing these experiences at FOLSEA was a valuable opportunity to reflect on the many possibilities within education. Whether through preserving a local language or exploring the creative potential of digital technology, learning can become more meaningful when students are given opportunities to connect what they learn with the world around them. For parents, these experiences offer an important reminder: children's learning is not limited to memorising information or completing classroom assignments. It can also involve discovering their cultural heritage, developing their imagination, solving problems, and finding their own ways to communicate ideas. As educators, we continue to learn, explore, and share because our students deserve opportunities to discover what they are capable of achieving. And sometimes, those possibilities begin with something as familiar as a storybook—or as simple as an application we already have. Both can become starting points for something meaningful when guided by purpose, creativity, and a belief in children's potential.