Since the novel 2020 pandemic, several industries have experienced dynamic paradigm shifts into digitization. Many industrial processes are now digitalized, with traditional models fading into the background.
The education app development industry isn’t an exception (find the Topflight Apps guide by this link). Remote education – like remote work – is rapidly becoming the norm. And more than ever, there is a high demand for education application development to cater to the growing population of remote students and teachers.
With this “peak” digital era in the education industry, undoubtedly, now is the best time to develop educational apps – the faster you join the market, the larger 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 e-Learning Applications Available?
There are a lot; it largely depends on what you’re looking to create. Here are a few educational apps gaining traction already in the market:
- Language Learning Applications: Most people find it challenging to learn and master a foreign language. And with the emergence of e-Learning applications like Duolingo, many people have found language mastery much easier and, more importantly, less time-consuming.
- Learning Management System (LMS) Applications: This app is designed for tutors and organizations to manage and track their students’ activities. LMS applications aid easy creation and tracking of course enrollment and deliveries, report generation for employee training, etc.
- Classroom Education Applications: This app models the traditional classroom setting. With a classroom education app, teachers can manage their classes effectively from their comfort zones. They can easily grade students, assign projects and homework, etc. Likewise, students can take notes, study for tests, etc., using this application.
Other e-learning apps you can consider developing include:
- Educational Application for Kids.
- Exam Preparation Applications.
- Online Courses Applications.
Top Features to Consider When Developing an Educational App
Below are the commonly implemented features in several mobile learning applications:
- Registration tab.
- Classroom.
- Parent/student dashboard.
- Attendance management system.
- Practice test section.
- Search option.
- Push notifications.
- Feedback.
- Multilingual.
- Offline mode.
- User-friendly interface.
Step-by-Step Guide to Education Application Development
Step 1: Discovery Phase
What are you developing? Who are you developing it for? Does your proposed target audience need your application? 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 eventual app itself—will be. See this stage as your “post-ideation phase.”
Step 2: Competition Research
Nothing is new; most likely, your e-learning app isn’t, too. Conduct in-depth research to discover other developers that have gone ahead of you. What have they done? What have they not done? Where have they gotten it wrong? What can you improve upon? More importantly, is the market (or niche) saturated? Do you have room to thrive?
Gather feedback from your competitors’ users. Identify their unsolved pain points. Beyond your competition, also discuss with neutral potential users – students and teachers. What are their desires? Understanding your competition is as important as knowing your product; an imbalance might ruin your entire education app development process.
Step 3: What’s Your Creative Differentiator?
Using the data obtained from the previous step, you can now brainstorm (with your team), identifying the best way to approach the market. What will stand you out from your competition? What will make your potential users dump their current software for yours?
For example, PhotoMath allows users to upload pictures of their math problems and solve them with a click – just the photo. Kahoot makes boring classrooms more exciting, introducing engaging games and quizzes mid-class. What will yours be? This is the stage to find out!
When choosing your creative differentiator, remember to stay creative and simple. If your users won’t understand at a glance, it’s not worth developing.
Step 4: Hiring
You have all your details; nothing can stop you now! The final stage is to hire an education application development company to help bring your idea to life.
This is a very critical step and should be treated cautiously. Any mistake at this stage can ruin the entire process. Hiring the wrong company is as good as binning your idea.
When choosing, ensure you consider such a company’s track record, their expertise in your niche (the type of educational app you want to create), etc. Price may also be a factor to consider. However, understand that expensive doesn’t mean quality and vice versa.
Final Thoughts
Education application development has grown and is still growing, over the years, thanks to the digitization that struck the education industry during the pandemic.
However, it is not just enough to develop a learning app – what problem are you solving? Remember, the primary goal is to bridge the distance between tutors and students, ensuring anyone can learn from anywhere in the world. So, is your e-learning application directly or indirectly contributing to solving this problem?
Don’t just join the bandwagon; be the change needed. Should you still have more questions on how to develop educational apps, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below – we’ll be glad to discuss them with you.
