Education is one of the red-hot tech markets with developers and designers who want to create apps that inspire people. Some trends in online education technology include the rise of online classrooms and education apps. However, even though education is popular with developers, this does not necessarily mean that these apps or games are going to be successful. There are a few stumbling blocks that developers need to be aware of when creating education apps:
The academic and educational divide
Educational app developers need to assess what type of content they will include in the app. Academic apps have to be sophisticated enough for their market while educational apps need to include the right type of content so users feel like they are learning sufficient information. If developers want to go down the academic or educational route, working with experts in both of these fields is critical to figure out viability of educational apps.
Creating an identity for the app
The Independent reported that there are at least over 200,000 educational apps that are on sale in the AppStore from Apple. With such a huge number of apps available, it’s clear that consumers are spoiled for choice for what they can buy. If you want your education app to be successful, you need to have a unique idea that captures the attention of fickle app downloaders that are looking for the next best thing in education games.
Make design a top priority
Angry Birds has become a successful game because of its concept and its design that instantly grabs attention of the people who are playing the games. While Angry Birds is not an educational game, it proves that educational games and apps must be made with an enticing design that is colourful and encourages people to think.
Choose the right market
Will your educational app or game be for teenagers or adults? You need to know the people who are going to download your game. Instagram was a successful app because it catered to people who wanted to create beautiful images. Your educational app should be catered to a specific market that will keep people coming back to your app.
Find feedback
It’s crucial to receive feedback frequently from your users about how your education app or game can be improved. Feedback can be gained from social media or surveys; as the developer, it’s easy to get caught in a bubble about how your education game is worth attention. A fresh pair of eyes in the form of constructive feedback will help you polish your education game to ensure that it rises to the top of pack.
A developer who creates an educational game or app that is successful has done plenty of research about how to stand out from the crowd. Through a smart idea and execution, an educational app could be the next big thing to come out of the innovative app and games market.
This is a guest post by Kate Simmons, a freelance journalist and occasional blogger currently pursuing studies at University of Phoenix online.