Making and Choosing Great Apps in Education

5 min read

These recommendations come from the wonderful hosts Bradley Chambers and Fraser Spears of the Out of School podcast in episode 117 titled What Makes a Great Education App?. The content is all theirs, I just took some notes.

I feel like they covered the gamut of successes and challenges with apps in education. Without putting word into their mouths, I don't believe they meant these suggestions to exist as the be-all and end-all deciding factors for neither educators nor app designers, but the considerations provided are very sound. I definitely recommend listening to the conversation for yourself and perhaps twice as I did.

Here are their recommendations:

Don't include in-app purchases
- make a separate app version (lite versions)
- good example: Tap Typing has one with IAP and one without
Don't assume internet connectivity
- issues of bandwidth
- speed
- correctness (web filters/site proxies)
- block pages etc.
Don't assume YouTube connectivity
- no instructional videos as embeds
- functionality is gone when YouTube is blocked, as is in most schools
Don't base design decisions on what you remember about school
- talk to teachers (may have great reasons for loving and hating the app/features)
- enter schools
- get real feedback from educators
Don't assume all users can read
- some can't to the comprehension level
- don't depend on too much text
- use age specific vocabulary
- don't use ok/cancel buttons
- use delete/don't delete buttons instead of confirmation buttons
Don't use push notifications
- becomes problematic for teachers when notifications pop-up during class time
Don't lock us into your cloud
- use a universal cloud
- bad examples: ToonTastic, previous versions of Adobe Voice
- good examples: Explain Everything
- we need to get work out of your app for portfolios
- don't forget local file servers
Don't promote signing on Facebook/Twitter
- users may not be of age to sign up for such services
Don't assume users are American
- speaking apps (should include regional voices)
- raises the question "why doesn't this app speak Pidgin?"
- think about where your customers are coming from
- regional app stores can deliver the right app to the right country
Don't get too difficult too soon
- bring students along slowly
- avoid early frustration
- seek for winning streaks
- keep enthusiasm high
- calibrate the difficulty ramp
- bad example: SliceIt
Don't assume your users have excellent fine motor skills
- avoid slight variations in gesture and touch
- bad example: Draw Racer
- tiny pixel differences should not cause such wide differences in gameplay
Don't encourage students to shake the device to do anything
- devices will certainly be more prone to break
Don't name your app sexual/derogatory name
- bad example: Procreate, Mental Case
- can be both offensive and awkward for teachers and users
Ensure inventory of ads are age appropriate
- if flashing content, avoid very rapid ads for possible epilepsy
Don't be creepy with user data
- data transfer must be kept aware of by IT
Be careful with location based services
Be fun to use
- good example: Stack the Countries, Stack the States
- if not engaging, enjoyable, or easy, you will struggle
- again, talk to teachers and test with actual kids
Prioritize stability over features
- if app crashes, a replacement will be quickly found
Provide a guide for students and parents
- in settings
- on the website
- give a teacher version of what students will be learning and how
- good example: ToonTastic (teacher guide and parent guide)
Support data export on the device
- don't go crazy on services
- choose the most common (Drive, Dropbox)
- allow converting this file into another
- good example: iWork can send out as PDF, .pages, .doc
- give ability to toggle on and off extensions
Warn users if files being exported are over the limit
- iOS photos app won't allow certain sizes to be emailed
Think about how to motivate students
- be mindful of what keeps students using and learning
- game mechanics
- good example: Math Bingo
Penalize random tapping
- students shouldn't be able to tap through the game w/o learning
- avoid random guessing if possible
Include the ability to record/playback user activity
- useful for teachers to provide feedback to students
- good example: Brushes (as you draw it records)
Consider localization
- localizing your app may provide new sales
- English and Spanish
Consider differentiation
- good example: Garageband Smart Guitar vs. Guitar
Support projectors (different for screen and local on iPad)
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Airplay/mirroring