DEVELOPING AN EDUCATIONAL APP: BENEFITS, CHALLENGES, FEATURES

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June 2021

Developing educational apps and learning software are exceedingly becoming popular among the global education community. They not only eliminate the hassle of carrying heavy books but also make learning more fun, interactive, and super engaging.

 

There are hundreds of eLearning platforms available that allow students to have easy access to information from anywhere anytime. Moreover, these apps offer intuitive features that enable students to learn at their own pace. On the other hand, this assistive technology automates the grading and student assessment process for teachers.

Teachers can build lesson plans, identify student’s weaknesses, and track their progress through a single platform. In June 2015, there were over 80,000 education apps available in the app store. Having said that, education software brings innovation to the education system – offering a whole different approach to learning and teaching without compromising the quality of education – which is why developing an educational app is the need of the hour.

In this blog, I will discuss some of the most popular benefits of developing an educational app, why your educational institution needs one, and the important features they should have. So stick around!

Benefits of Developing Educational Applications

 

Enhances learning for today’s tech-savvy students

Younglings nowadays are more familiar with technology than adults. Because of their curious nature, they like to spend most of their time on gadgets to explore new things – today’s tech-savvy children would know more about nursery rhymes than you ever did back in your day. Amirite?

Children and students, in general, seem to have a lower attention span, they tend to distract easily, therefore, educational apps with unique, colorful, and interactive interfaces bring back the interest and as a result enhances the experience – making it more interactive, engaging, and immersive.

Also, it is not that hard to motivate children to use an app for studying. They’d happily do it. Kids Academy app, for example, offers a learn-through play experience. The app has over 5000 activities, games, videos, worksheets, puzzles, songs – all designed around learning. Kid Academy offers a personalized learning experience, and gamification to bring the best out of kids and give them the necessary education they need.

 

Shifts attention to more meaningful content

The early years of a child’s development are very fragile. Their first learning experiences shape their future cognitive, emotional, and social development. Therefore, educational applications can shift a child’s focus to content that matters rather than wasting time watching endless TV or browsing the internet.

Leisure time is important but how about parents making sure that they spend their free time learning something new through an educational app instead?

 

Promotes individualized learning

Every student is different and therefore their ways of learning as well. Some are fast learners and others not so much. Some students rely on visual aid to understand things and others require practical simulations.

For that matter, an educational app is developed to cater to different types of learners. Additionally, such applications also encourage independent learning, where they can learn without constant supervision from teachers or parents, alike. 

 

Around the clock systematic learning

Through educational apps, students can learn anytime they want because the learning is not only limited to the classrooms. If students are having doubts about a concept while at home, they can refer to the application which not only gets the homework done but also promotes self-learning and understanding. Besides, self-learning raises a sense of achievement in students.

Just imagine you being able to solve a math problem without any external help? Thus, a systematic educational app intensifies the student’s yearning to learn new things on their own. 

 

Accessible learning options

Education is everyone’s right irrespective of individual impairments and disabilities. Therefore, technology offers numerous ways for children with disabilities to learn and grow. There are applications available for children with dyslexia or autism such as Read2Go is an online library that offers books for dyslexic students, and the talking calculator app that assists children with visual impairments.

Moreover, since distance learning has become the new normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions are increasingly making use of applications like FlipGrid, Google classroom, and others to teach remotely, without falling behind on class schedules or exams.  

 

Provides sustainable education opportunities

Educational software is redefining the education sector by supporting sustainable education. According to data from the Global Forest Resource Assessment roughly 80,000 to 160,000 trees are cut down each day globally with a significant percentage being used in the paper industry.

Hence note-taking apps for students such as Zoho notebook or Bear limit the use of resources such as notebooks and paper. All they require is just a download to get started. – which facilitates in maintaining the sustainability of the environment. 

 

Reduces costs for educational institutions

Educational mobile app development companies are developing high-quality yet cost-effective apps to facilitate educational institutions in their teaching endeavors such as the provision of great learning experiences.

These applications help institutions save a handful of money on textbooks, stationery, and other tangible learning materials which can then be utilized elsewhere – in doing something more meaningful such as hiring qualified staff, conducting training workshops, and even buying an inventory of learning devices or paid applications. 

 

Assists teachers during an assessment

Every teacher would agree that the traditional marking system is a tedious and daunting process. It takes hours for teachers to grade assignments or term papers – and we are only talking about a single class here. But now with educational applications student assessment and grading have become a lot easier.

Apps like Socrative teacher and Quick grader are assisting teachers with their routine administrative tasks such as grading. Moreover, they allow teachers to interact with students, track their attendance, download reports, and provide feedback in real-time.

 

Personalization for improved academic performance

Technologies like Artificial intelligence and Machine learning promote accelerated learning through personalization. AI in education fills in the communication gap between teachers and students. It not only drives efficiency, personalization but also streamlines admin tasks allowing teachers to focus more on individualized learning in a class of 20 students.

According to studies, experts anticipate AI in education to grow by 43% in the period 2018–2022, which is remarkable. AI identifies student struggling areas and gaps in knowledge to provide personalized learning plans where appropriate.

 

Provides insights into students

Tracking student progress is one of the most important functions of an educational app. Teachers, as well as parents, can stay informed about their child’s performance at school through online report cards.

Along with the performance, teachers can see how each app is helping students in improving their skills – which in return facilitates educational institutions to modify their program content as needed to match the expertise level of students.

 

The Downside of Educational Apps

Even though educational software offers more good than harm yet they have some downside to it too. 

    •  A traditional classroom setting has a lot to offer to students. While working in groups, they learn self-control and empathy. Educational applications may limit the much-needed social interaction which is very important for a child’s emotional development and confidence. 
    • Since educational apps require the internet to function, some regions may not have access to the internet which may restrict the learning process. 
    • If students are learning through a device chances are they may lose their concentration or get distracted with something far more interesting. 
    • Excessive screen time can lead to health problems such as insomnia, weak eyesight, and stress. 
    • Many teachers may not be trained enough to use EdTech for class lessons.
    • Financial costs for educational institutions to launch a mobile application. 
    • Software and hardware issues can disrupt learning. 

Developing an Educational App: Must-Have Features

    • Notification for updates and course activities – reminders about assignment due dates.
    • Usability of the app should be coherent with the user’s age. 
    • Clean, minimalist User interface design. 
    • Don’t overcrowd the app with too much content – may overwhelm the user.
    • Students should be able to attend live tutorials and interactive group sessions through online video tool integration such as Zoom etc.
    • Ability to conduct mock tests. 
    • Multilingual platform to support every language for optimal learning experience. 
    • Upload option for adding reference materials. 
    • An in-built dictionary with voice pronunciation.
    • Reports showing students’ performance graphs. 
    • Attendance feature.
    • A complete record of student’s achievements and teacher’s remarks. 
    • Gamification features such as puzzles, games et al.
    • Other accessibility features for students with impairments.
    • User Profiles.
    • Search Functionality and Filters
    • App Rating And Feedback

 

Cost of Developing an Educational Application

The total cost of developing an educational app depends on the target audience, the number of functionalities, level of feature complexity, development time, and operating system, and tech stack.

Developing an app for preschoolers may not cost as much when compared with application development for university-level students. But the estimated cost of an educational app with basic features and functionality can fall somewhere between $10,000 to $30,000+ – all depending upon the scope of the project and your business engagement model in case you plan to outsource a software development team.

Moreover, if you want to have a complex design and features such as 3D interfaces, AR/VR, and AI then it would cost you 3 times more than the estimated cost. 

Looking for an educational app development company? Contact us to share your requirements and get a custom quote, today. 

author

Fahad Ali, Author

Fahad is PM at ARFASOFTECH but has a knack for writing. He enjoys writing about the latest technologies and evolving trends. Most of his writings revolve around trending technologies and their integration into operations.

Comments (1)

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Muhammad Shameel

July 08, 2021 06:02:30

Subject: Random Comment

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