Since the new pandemic of 2020, various industries have experienced dynamic paradigm shifts towards digitization. Many industrial processes are now digitized, with traditional models fading into the background.
The educational app development industry is no exception (find the Topflight app guide at this link). Remote education, like remote work, is quickly becoming the norm. And more than ever, there is a huge demand for educational app development to serve the growing population of remote students and teachers.
With this “peak” digital age in the education industry, now is undoubtedly the best time to develop educational apps – the faster you join the market, the higher your possible market share. But the big question is, “How?” This comprehensive mobile learning app development guide will help you find the answer(s) to that!
let’s dive in
First, what are the types of eLearning applications available?
There is a lot; It largely depends on what you’re looking to create. Here are some educational apps that are already gaining ground in the market:
Language Learning Apps: Most people find it difficult to learn and master a foreign language. And with the advent of e-Learning apps like Duolingo, many people have found that mastering the language is much easier and, more importantly, less time consuming. Learning Management System (LMS) Apps – This app is designed for tutors and organizations to manage and track their students’ activities. LMS applications make it easy to create and track course enrollment and delivery, generate reports for employee training, and more. Classroom Education Apps – This app models the traditional classroom setup. With a classroom education app, teachers can effectively manage their classes from their comfort zone. They can easily grade students, assign projects and homework, etc. Similarly, students can take notes, study for exams, etc., using this app.
Other e-learning applications that you may consider developing include:
Educational application for children. Test preparation apps. Online course applications.
Main features to consider when developing an educational application
Below are the features commonly implemented in various mobile learning apps:
Registration tab. Classroom. Parent/Student Dashboard. Assistance management system. Practice test section. Search option. push notifications Comments. multilingual. Offline mode. friendly interface.
Step-by-step guide for the development of educational applications
Step 1: Discovery Phase
What are you developing? Who are you developing it for? Does your proposed target audience need your app? Is that what they need?
Ask yourself these questions and more at this stage; The answers you choose here will significantly determine how successful your mobile learning app development process, and the app itself, will be. See this stage as your “post-ideation phase.”
Step 2: Competitor Research
Nothing is new; chances are your e-learning app isn’t either. Do some in-depth research to discover other developers who have gotten ahead of you. They have done? What have they not done? Where have they gone wrong? What can you improve? More importantly, is the market (or niche) saturated? Do you have room to thrive?
Collect user feedback from your competitors. Identify your unresolved pain points. Beyond your competition, also discuss with neutral potential users: students and teachers. What are your wishes? Understanding your competition is as important as knowing your product; an imbalance could ruin the entire educational app development process.
Step 3: What is your creative differentiator?
Using the data obtained in the previous step, you can now brainstorm (with your team), identifying the best way to approach the market. What will make you stand out from your competition? What will make your potential users download your current software over yours?
For example, PhotoMath allows users to upload images of their math problems and solve them with one click – just the photo. Kahoot makes boring classrooms more exciting by introducing engaging games and quizzes in the middle of the class. What will yours be? This is the setting to find out!
When choosing your creative differentiator, remember to stay creative and simple. If your users won’t understand it at a glance, it’s not worth developing.
Step 4: Recruitment
You have all your data; Nothing can stop you now! The final stage is to hire an educational app development company to help bring your idea to life.
This is a very critical step and must be treated with caution. Any mistake at this stage can ruin the whole process. Hiring the wrong company is as good as scrapping your idea.
When choosing, be sure to consider the track record of said company, their experience in your niche (the type of educational app you want to build), etc. Price may also be a factor to consider. However, please understand that expensive does not mean quality and vice versa.
final thoughts
The development of educational applications has grown and continues to grow over the years, thanks to the digitization that hit the education industry during the pandemic.
However, it is not enough to develop a learning application: what problem are you solving? Remember, the main goal is to shorten the distance between tutors and students, ensuring that anyone can learn from anywhere in the world. So, does your e-Learning application directly or indirectly contribute to solving this problem?
Don’t just join the bandwagon; be the necessary change. If you still have more questions about how to develop educational apps, feel free to leave a comment below; we will be happy to discuss them with you.
