How to Build an Educational App: Development Guide

Digitalization has revolutionized the modern education. Covid-19 sped up the shift to online learning and expanded the boundaries of educational opportunities. Education is now possible with online classes, interactive modules, webinars, virtual classrooms, training videos, and digital assessments.

By 2034 the global e-learning app market is expected to reach US $470.1 billion. So, the industry is still actively growing with a CAGR of 5.8%, according to FactMr studies. They say the growth is now limited by the higher need for self-motivation on the part of the learners. Other sources are even optimistic, Global Market Insights, for instance, expects a CAGR of 14%. So, today we’ll find out how to make an educational app and seize a piece of this pie.

Why Learning Apps Are Popular

The pandemic of COVID-19 caused the whole world to have a necessity to learn about the conditions of the global lockdown. So, in the crisis, people had to quickly reinvent the way of learning. Technology has become our routine in the high-tech world. More than that, the learners have adapted to the new technologies and started to seek convenience. The key focus now is to tailor educational approaches to meet each generation’s unique needs. That’s why various types of learning apps are in demand and people are increasingly turning to online learning.

Education through technology makes the process faster, easily understandable, and convenient. This gave rise to many educational apps and e-learning platforms. These technological solutions allow institutions to lower the cost of operations. They provide higher efficiency and easier management, as well as bring other business benefits.

Learning application creation is the third most popular category in the development world. In 2022, education ranked third among the Apple App Store's most popular categories. It comprises a whopping 9.75% share and these apps are still soaring in popularity. So, let’s check how to create an educational app and start with the key features.

Key Features of a Successful Educational App.

In every product, there are always the essential features that determine the functionality. They engage the users and enhance their learning experience. For an educational application, they are:

Course Catalog

That is the structured list of courses and modules offered in the app. This feature makes browsing and selecting courses simple and convenient for the users.

User profile

A user profile contains personal credentials, the courses studied and the progress achieved. There should also be a dashboard allowing learners to view all the info relevant to the course, class, or subject they are taking. It should include linked teachers, class and exam schedules, and lists of projects or tasks.

User Progress Tracking

This functionality allows a learner to monitor the progress in the course or module and stay on track а what is learned, what’s yet not, and the deadlines. Progress tracking helps estimate learning achievements. It can motivate and encourage students to complete the course.

Notifications

Notifications are the means to bring a user back to learning. They serve as reminders of the upcoming courses, modules, and lessons, deadlines due, platform updates, and much more. So, they keep the user informed of everything important about their learning.

Feedback and Ratings

This feature is valuable for both - learners and educators. It enables users to provide feedback and rate the learning experience they’ve got. The course creators can improve the quality of their courses based on the valuable insights they get from the user feedback.

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How to Create an Education App in 6 Steps

To give you a better idea of how to build a learning app we have listed below the 6 successive steps of educational app development. Let’s check them one by one.

Ideation

The first stage and the one that determines your app's success in the future is ideation how to build an educational app. At this stage, you need to research the target audience, their needs, and pain points. With this in mind, brainstorm ideas on how those needs can be met and problems handled. It’s vital to think about how users feel in the application. The look and features of mobile educational apps are also determined by the target audience, so consider this. Different age groups require different approaches. Different courses require different realizations.

Research

The next step is competitors and market studies. Look for opportunities and mistakes made by the other market players to figure out the present-day mobile app education landscape. You can spot the gaps in the market, and improve your app concept based on the existing strategies and market trends. Form your Unique Selling Proposition and write down the ultimate goals.

Creating UX/UI design

The app should be appealing to the users, so it’s crucial to craft a user-friendly and engaging app for learning. This stage is devoted to UI/UX creation and visual elements design. It involves prototyping, wireframing, and the creation of a style guide.

Development of a Learning App

The development stage involves programming, coding, integration of the necessary features and 3rd party services, assessment tools, and social learning. Carried out by professionals this stage is the guarantee of your app’s success. Professionals can not only build your app but prompt important technical nuances on how to make a learning app more efficient.

Testing

Testing and quality assurance are the vital steps of software solution development. At this stage, you can thoroughly test your solution, and ensure its functionality is consistent, and the app is bug-free. Beta testing, user testing, and quality assurance testing help you release a product of high quality and with faultless operation for your users’ learning pleasure.

Deployment

The world needs to know about your app in education. So you should deploy it to Google Play, App Store, and other online marketplaces. Create an app store listing, and optimize your solution for search engines. Think over a marketing strategy to promote your software solution.

The process of education application development may seem challenging and time-consuming. Yet, with proper planning and careful execution, it can be a rewarding endeavor that will transform the way of contemporary learning.

Educational App Development Best Practices

The software can significantly enhance learning experiences. To make a solution engaging, user-friendly, and effective, incorporate the best practices of educational app development. Let’s look at some most popular:

User-centered design

An educational app should be designed with a target audience in mind: students, tutors, or educational establishments. Consider their age, educational background, and learning style, and the challenges they face. Make good use of beta testing feedback and ensure the app is simple, intuitive, easy to navigate, visually appealing, and meets the actual needs of its users.

Gamification

Gamification is a modern effective technique to motivate learners. It makes the educational process fun and engaging. Points, badges, and leaderboards are the means to increase engagement. They make the process of studying more enjoyable and rewarding.

Interactive content

Incorporating interactive quizzes, puzzles, storylines, and other elements will keep users engaged. More than that, it will help reinforce the material through active involvement.

Adaptive learning

This is the approach that adjusts the educational experience based on the ability of the learner and the progress already achieved. By implementing adaptive learning, you can personalize the learning experience and provide the audience with content relevant to their level of knowledge.

Social learning

This collaborative approach presupposes group activities, forums, discussions, and peer feedback. Thus, you can foster a sense of community, which is often a good support to learning interest. Besides, it encourages students to learn from each other.

Assessment tools

Assessment tools help learners understand their progress and see the areas that require improvement. So, providing the tools for progress measuring and immediate feedback allows students to get insights into their strong and weak points and guides them on their learning journey to make it more effective.

Scalability and security

Keep in mind the scenario that your app user base will grow and ensure your mobile solution can handle increased loads. Maintaining data security should be your supreme focus for any app size and user base. So, implement robust security measures and create your solution with scalability in mind.

Educational value and outcome focus

Educational outcomes should be your top priority. The content and app functionality should serve the overall learning goals and align with your app's educational objectives. To better understand and keep the focus, let's deal with the types of apps for learning.

Types Of Educational Applications

Educational software solutions are created by various entities and organizations.

Educational Institutions

Modern schools, high schools, colleges, and universities craft e-learning applications to supplement traditional studies. It provides remote learning opportunities for students and enhances their educational experience. Such apps organize students’ learning materials. They allow them to track their progress, and stay on top of their coursework and deadlines.

These solutions offer interactive learning modules, personalized learning paths, assessments, and interactive games. More than that, they allow communication and collaboration in groups. it makes the learning experience dynamic and engaging.

EdTech Startups

StartUps in educational technology develop software as part of their business model. Their specific is creating solutions and approaches that disrupt traditional learning. They offer innovative ways of acquiring knowledge.

Non-Profit Organizations

Charities, foundations, and NGOs create educational applications to promote education. They increase access to learning opportunities for underserved populations. They also deliver training to their staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries. NGOs increase their impact and improve the outcomes of their programs with the help of the apps, making them a part of their mission.

Government Agencies

They may be the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, or other agencies. They create educational apps to promote learning and development and encourage innovation.

Governmental e-learning solutions may provide ongoing professional development opportunities or deliver compliance, safety, and security trainings. These applications can ensure that the staff is skilled and knowledgeable enough to serve the public effectively.

Corporations

Organizations have many reasons for creating educational apps. Firstly it helps them provide training and professional development to their employees. Secondly it increases the skills and knowledge of their workforce with experiences relevant to their job functions.

What is more, learning apps can be created for clients to give them a better understanding of the company’s products and services. It increases the user satisfaction and loyalty.

Key Benefits of Learning Apps

Some benefits of mobile learning apps are already quite clear, the others are not so obvious. So, let’s sum this matter up a bit.

The major benefits of an educational application that should be mentioned are:

Accessibiltiy

The very concept of e-learning is that it allows access to knowledge and education from any part of the world and at any time, regardless of the physical location of teachers or learners. A user downloads an app and gets easy access to the educational materials, by the way from many devices. It becomes possible due to the cloud storage. Modern mobile solutions often allow offline access to their content, so one can study even if temporarily offline. A mobile app allows to communicate with people all over the world and learn the best from them.

Permanent Source of Education

In the continuously developing world, people require continuous access to knowledge. That’s exactly what mobile devices can provide. A student can have all the handy materials at their disposal and complete work at any time. Mobile applications make uninterrupted training and learning possible in regions of military conflicts and even catastrophe zones.

Improved Customer Engagement

Well-built solutions, crafted with respect to the target audience and best practices of educational app development, keep users interested and engaged. It’s often difficult to keep students’ attention in class. However there is often no problem to make them use computers. The app itself is engaging with interactive tasks, images, PPTs, storytelling, and videos.

Diversified Content

Today, lots of content is available online. Educational apps are also abundant, so users can choose their favorite platforms to study. But there is also a chance for you to create unique content and stand apart from the crowd. Content is king, but your software solution should be innovative and user-friendly.

Interactive Learning

Customization and personalization is what makes the process of learning interactive. It is the secret of motivating students and not forcing them into the app. At the same time, applications allow learning at the student’s individual speed, in the most suitable format, and comfortable conditions, at home or wherever. Virtual learning has brought the interactive approach to quite another level.

Round-the-clock Availability

Most online classes have the form of recorded lectures with all the necessary materials stored. They are available at any time and users may return to the lesson whenever they choose. It facilitates a more relaxed way of studies and releases the tension from managing education, life, and work. Education can be at any convenient time and not according to a strict timetable.

Cost Effectiveness

Online learning is cost-effective. You are online and do not need space and conditions for studies. You record and create materials once for the course and use them later. You also do not need to pay salaries to employees all the school year-round but cooperate on win-win conditions.

Systematic and Improved Learning Ability

Educational applications are smart and systematic, the content is well-organized in a specific manner. So, students can follow a logical flow without much effort. What’s more important, mobile apps are much more environmentally friendly than “old-style” learning. The latter requires tons of paper, multiple pens, pencils, and other stationery.

Educational App Development Trends

Let’s now pay some more attention to trends.

Personalization

Everyone adores being unique, so the trend for personalization seems to be evergreen. Personalization in e-learning allows educators to adapt the process of studies to the user's skill level and learning behavior. AI and machine learning help tutors and developers deliver personalized learning experiences through their apps.

Customized courses

Another way to increase engagement in a learning application is tailoring content to match specific interests of learners and with their needs considered. So, educators can create a more relevant learning experience for the students. What is more, the integration of virtual and augmented reality helps to craft immersive environments for learning.

Gamification

Gamification creates thrills and chills from learning. The original intention of using all the rewards, badges, puzzle-style activities, and leaderboards is to cause a specific state of a learner’s mind to increase their motivation to learn and engagement.

Social Learning or Forums for discussions

Forums are a means to communicate, interact, and collaborate with other students in the learning community. Fostering a sense of community discussion forums, peer-to-peer communication, discussion boards, or collaborative projects can encourage students to learn from each other. So, do not underestimate the sense of community and the benefits it may bring you.

Offline access

Nowadays, offline access is a crucial factor. Learners should be able to access the course materials even if they do not have internet access for some time.

These are the key trends that evolve and help educational apps transform the way people learn. But what about the monetization options for educational apps? – Go on reading to find out.

Education App Development: Monetization Strategies

Marketing an educational app and monetizing it is an important step for gaining revenue. While the strategies for mobile app monetization are more or less similar, we’ve picked up some of the best and most workable for e-learning solutions.

Freemium

The model presupposes a free version with limited features available for everyone and a paid variant for those, who want more and are eager to pay for additional features.

Paid subscriptions

It’s access to premium features for a regular fee. The subscriptions can also vary according to the level of the learner, the period of subscription, and the number of features offered.

In-App purchases

You can offer your users additional content created by you as well as cooperate with vendors and sellers of educational services and goods, real or virtual.

How Much Does It Cost to Create a Learning App?

Nobody can ever answer the question of how much does it cost to make an educational app without an accurate estimation of a specific project. The type of application, the tech stack, and the level and location of developers are the factors that influence the cost.

The cost of an educational solution will most likely go over $100K. However, a rapid prototype can cost you about $20K. Then you can proceed to MVP and finally develop a full-fledged product based on the interests and feedback of your users.

Conclusion

The sphere of online education has tremendous potential nowadays. Yet, to engage learners and make them loyal you should develop a really cutting-edge product. So, do what others do not. The best option is to turn to a professional development team. Experienced developers know how to do research to detect the weak places of your competitors, the pains of your potential clients that are not yet closed by the existing solutions, and the trends of the market to implement the best.

With all these facts they can also prompt the best and the most effective tech stack to craft your custom educational app in the most cost-efficient manner. Stfalcon does all these for clients. You can stop here and сontact us today to discuss your opportunities and perspectives in learning application development.