Education App Development: Features, Process & Cost

Technology has affected almost every facet of modern life, and education is no exception. Is it, though? In some aspects, the education system appears unchanged, as it has been for many years. An image from the fourteenth century, drawn by Laurentius de Voltolina, shows an Italian university lecture. The scene’s similarities to the present day make it instantly recognizable. Classrooms nowadays do not appear all that different. However, you could find students staring at their computers, tablets, or smartphones instead of books (probably to open Instagram). A pessimist would say that technology hasn’t done anything to change education.

Nonetheless, to put aside all the skepticism, technology has significantly transformed education in several ways. First, technology has made education much more accessible. Books were scarce throughout the medieval period, and only a select few had access to education. Just as everything must change to become something more significant, the education industry is well on its way to evolving into a comprehensive system with educational apps. In fact, e-learning, digital classrooms, e-books, and many more educational innovations are vivid testimonials of digital transformation. According to reports, by 2027, the worldwide education app market is projected to be worth around USD 124,782.56 million. Thus, there is a massive chance for business owners to invest in education app development and profit from them.

What is an Education App? 

Education apps make virtual teaching possible and more accessible. They are not only for students but also for applicants, instructors, experts, online learning platforms, and everyone else looking to enhance their knowledge or abilities. Modern civilization is built on progressive education, and educational applications are just one tool to help you take advantage of these advancements and new opportunities.

The Significance of Education App Development Today

 

Learning is made convenient and simple by the availability of information at any time and from any location. To fulfill the recurring demands of modern education, you need the best educational apps created by a leading app development agency. 

• Enhanced Cognitive Growth

As a student moves from childhood to adulthood, two critical learning skills must be created: deliberate thinking and problem-solving. High-quality educational apps can significantly improve students’ cognitive growth and inspire greater diligence in the process.

• Remote Learning

Thanks to smartphones and various feature-oriented programs, students may learn from home and take their time, understanding concepts comfortably and with only a few clicks. The field of distance education has greatly benefited from the use of mobile apps in education.

• Contemporary Educational Methods

eLearning app development focuses on students’ psychology since it enables them to perceive and comprehend information from various angles. The app aids in their understanding of the topics through challenging activities, riddles, and instructional games. Students are intrigued and want to learn more about their courses.

• Accessibility and Flexibility

Educational mobile applications are accessible anywhere and anytime, making them a student’s continuous companion. Thanks to educational app development services, learning doesn’t have to happen in a classroom. Students may study and take tests whenever it’s convenient for them. 

Types of Educational Apps

The Edtech industry’s evolving software development trends provide remarkable opportunities for building an educational app. Mentioned below are the various types of educational applications.

• Subject-Specific Apps

These educational applications are designed to offer tools and comprehensive knowledge on a particular subject. They provide interactive learning environments, multimedia content, and self-assessment tools to assist people.

• Progress Tracking Apps

These educational apps assist students in assessing their comprehension of relevant details and test scores. They can readily provide practice exams, quizzes, and personalized comments to improve students’ performance.

• Language Learning Apps

Language learning apps are digital platforms that offer interactive courses, practice exercises, and immersive experiences. They can help students learn a foreign language, enhance their vocabulary, grasp grammar quickly, and gain cultural awareness.

• Gamification Apps

Gamification apps for students incorporate game components into instructional tasks to increase motivation and engagement. They make learning fun and engaging by providing points, rewards, challenges, leaderboards, etc.

• Versatile Learning Platforms

Creating these online learning environments benefits the education sector by providing many courses in one convenient location. People with any background can choose a particular subject and benefit from the learning material.

• Exam Preparation Apps

Exam preparation apps assist students in adequately revising course material, increasing confidence and exam performance. They also offer comprehensive study materials, practice tests, and exam simulations.

Also Read: Building an eLearning Platform Like Coursera

The Team Needed to Build an Education App

A development team is required to create a learning app for iOS and Android platforms. The following experts are needed to complete your project:

• Business Analyst
• Project Manager
• UI/UX designer
• Android app developers (One or two)
• iOS app developers (One or two)
• Flutter developers
• Back-end developers
• Front-end developers
• Quality Analysts

You can hire an in-house team or use the services of an outsourcing company to work with a custom application development company.  Each choice has benefits and drawbacks. Although working with in-house teams is easy, their costs are sometimes higher because of office rent and hardware. Meanwhile, developers from outsourcing locations provide excellent products at reasonable prices.

The Tech Stack Required For Developing an Education App

Custom app developers use various tools to create an education app. Let’s look at the tech stack for education app development below–

For iOS apps	Programming language: Swift Networking: Alamofire
For Android Apps	Programming language: Kotlin Networking: OkHttp 3
Back-end development	Programming language: Node.js Framework: Express 4 Database: MySQL API: Swagger
Tools	Signup: Amazon SES, Amazon SNS Push notifications: FCM Storage: Amazon S3 Emails: Elastic Email Search: Elastic search Payment: Braintree

How to Develop an Education app? Step-by-Step Process

 

When you build an app, you must consider using a futuristic technology that will help your customers intuitively and responsively.

• Ideation

Ideation lays the groundwork for design, development, and deployment. Similar to strategy development, the goals of the discovery phase are to establish a mutual understanding of your vision and goals through thorough investigation, conversation, and education app ideas analysis.

• Research

After you have some concepts for your e-learning platform, the following step is to do a market analysis to determine how educational application development will proceed. In this phase, you have to choose whether or not to work with an educational app development company.

• Design UI/UX

The design phase is essential for an educational app to be user-friendly and entertaining. You must create the app’s visual components, user interface (UI), and user experience (UX). This phase includes wireframing, prototyping, and creating a style guide.

• Development

When the design is finished, your elearning app development company can start developing the educational app. Coding and programming are typically involved in this stage, integrating features like social learning, gamification, and assessment tools. 

• Test App Functionality 

Testing the app is an essential part of education mobile app development. After the app is created, it must be extensively tested to ensure that it is bug-free and that it works as planned. User testing, beta testing, and quality assurance testing are all part of this phase.

• Deploy to App Stores

After your education app has been verified and tested, it’s time to release it onto the app store or online marketplace. This step includes creating an app store listing, search engine optimization, and developing a marketing plan to promote your app.

• Maintenance & Support

Your eLearning software development company should continuously provide maintenance and support to the edtech app to improve, change, reevaluate, fix any bugs, and boost efficiency. 

Must-Have Features to Include in Educational App Development

 

Many educational applications are available for students, so choosing the best one can be difficult. Thus, we have researched and determined some of the most crucial components an online education app development should contain. 

• User Dashboard 

A dashboard is necessary for any top educational app. With the dashboard, students may create personalized learning profiles and keep track of their progress.

• Push notifications

Adding push notifications is a crucial feature to consider when developing e-learning software. Push notifications notify educators and students of any updates to the app, including new tutorials and study materials.

• Live Sessions

When developing online learning software, integrating this functionality facilitates live sessions and tutorials for instructors and students to ensure a smooth learning experience.

• Session Recording

Session recordings allow students to repeat the course after a face-to-face session, which can provide them with peace of mind. As a result, after the live session, learners can study the problematic concepts, filling in any gaps. 

• Search Bar

When there are excessive courses on the app, it may be difficult for students to select one. Thus, providing a search bar can make it simpler for students to choose the appropriate course.

• Offline Accessibility

Educational app developers can implement this functionality to enable students to download and access study materials even without internet connectivity.

• Video Learning Resources

Most education application developers incorporate this as one of their favorite and most popular features. With pre-recorded lessons and lectures, these educational platforms support students’ reading, writing, listening, and learning skills.

• Secure File Sharing

Having a file-sharing feature would be helpful. With this function, tutors can provide a wide range of multimedia content, such as images, videos, PDFs, and more. 

• Payment Gateways

This functionality would allow students to pay for paid courses, and teachers would collect their fees. It is recommended that you choose a secure payment option. You can offer simple payment methods like UPIs, bank cards, smart wallets, etc.

• Social Media Connectivity

Ensure that the students may share the results of their progress on their social media handles if they are satisfied. Free advertising within a group of individuals who are interested in things similar to yours is advantageous.

Also Read: A Complete Guide to Tutor Booking App Development

Emerging Technologies to Implement in Education App Development

Advanced technologies help companies build rich and immersive experiences using data-driven insights that hold and retain your target audience.

• Artificial Intelligence

AI in education improves the learning process for instructors and students alike. AI for educators provides improved accessibility, automated grading and administration, and streamlined processes, to name a few advantages. You can consult a trusted AI app development services provider to integrate advanced features into educational app development. 

• Augmented Reality

Using AR in education, teachers can quickly create immersive learning experiences in the classroom. Students can also gain confidence in making three-dimensional presentations.

• Virtual Reality

VR in education enhances students’ comprehension. It develops their skills in various disciplines and industries by allowing them to explore complex ideas, participate in simulations, and practice real-world tasks.

How Much Does it Cost to Make an Education App?

The cost of developing an education app can range between $20,000 and $150,000. The intricacy of an app idea, the size and location of an education app development services provider, and other variables all influence the cost. Let’s examine a couple of things in more detail. 

• App Complexity

The application’s concept complexity directly affects education app development costs. The software’s complexity is determined by the complexity of the business logic, which includes factors like the number of roles, features, integrations, monetization type, and in-app purchases.

App Complexity	Average Cost
Simple education app	$20,000 – $50,000
Medium complexity education app	$50,000 – $75,000
Complex education app	$75,000+

• App Development Team

The Duolingo like app development cost may also depend on where the development team is based. Teams in nations with lower living costs could charge less for their services than teams with higher living costs.

Team Location	Approximate Cost (Per Hour)
USA	$40 – $150
UK	$50 – $150
Australia	$35 – $150
Eastern Europe	$30 – $100
Western Europe	$40 – $120
India	$20 – $50

• Type of Application

When projecting the educational app development cost, it’s essential to consider the kind of product you’re creating. For instance, an edtech app for one platform will be less expensive than one for multiple platforms.

• Type of Platform

Another aspect to consider is the operating system. Certain native apps have been created specifically for a particular OS type, and hybrid applications are compatible with iOS and Android education app development. 

Monetization Model For Education Application Development

When it comes to monetizing educational apps, there are several options you can take. Here, we will look at the top 3 ones. 

• Freemium 

Offering a freemium model, in which users can access certain basic features or information for free but must pay for premium services or content, is one of the most popular ways to monetize educational mobile apps. 

• Advertisements

One of the most popular forms of app monetization for educational content is advertising. Putting relevant businesses on the screen of your educational app can bring in steady revenue as most of them are trying to establish a name for themselves.

• Subscription

The subscription-based learning model is transforming our approach to education. It offers students flexibility and a customized learning experience, and it gives teachers and content producers more opportunities to reach a larger audience and make money. 

Also read: The Strategic Guide to Duolingo-like App Development Costs

Collaborate With SparxIT to Create Future-Ready Educational Applications 

Education app development is changing the face of education and increasing its effectiveness, accessibility, and engagement. Due to the widespread use of mobile devices and the constantly growing app ecosystem, how students of all ages access and interact with educational content has changed dramatically. Mobile app development will continue to significantly influence how learning is shaped as the field of education changes. 

We at SparxIT have extensive expertise in developing educational apps. We can be an extra team member and help you create an end-to-end educational app. Before designing successful, scalable applications, we completely understand your business objectives and target audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:1 What are the key considerations before creating an educational app?

A: Important considerations before developing an educational app include:

• Identifying the target audience.
• Defining learning objectives.
• Selecting appropriate technology.
• Ensuring accessibility.
• Resolving security problems.
• Preparing for continuous maintenance and upgrades. 

Q:2 How long does it take for elearning mobile app development?

A: On average, educational app development takes 4 to 7 months, depending on the number of features and integrations.

Q:3 How much does education app development cost?

A: The average cost to create an educational app can range from $20,000 to $150,000, depending on its complexity, features, and the development team creating it.

Q:4 How can an education app development company help my business?

A: An education app development company may assist your business by developing custom apps tailored to your requirements, increasing user engagement, and boosting learning outcomes. 

Q:5 How can I ensure the security of user data in edtech app development?

A: To maintain user data security in edtech app development, use strong encryption, follow industry regulations, and update frequently. You can also implement strong authentication and conduct security audits.