For those of us that have forgot what life is like at this age, here is a contemporary and heart-warming reminder.

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

Somehow I am currently finding the time to listen to nearly every new episode of the following podcasts.

• 99% Invisible
• Bytemarks Cafe
• Clockwise
• Dot Grid
• The EPT Podcast
• The Gist
• Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin
• Hawaii Narrative Project
• Inquisitive
• The Liturgists Podcast
• Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox
• New Tech City
• Out of School
• Planet Money
• Reply All
• Serial (on hiatus)
• The Slate Political Gabfest
• Systematic
• The RobCast
• This American Life
• TLDR
• The Untitled Sanspoint Podcast Project
• Welcome to Macintosh
• Whistlestop
• Working
• You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes