Why do college students buy study apps?

Buying study apps or learning apps has become a necessity as they enhance and simplify the education process. Depending on the type of study software, it may help during lectures, individual coursework, or help improve the file management process. Before considering the reasons why college students buy study apps, it is vital to understand what types of apps exactly students buy.

What are study apps?

Educational applications help students or anyone who wants to learn in their aspiration for new knowledge. With a growing trend of digitalization and life-long learning (LLL), there are many types of edtech apps for different needs. Thanks to them, one can learn languages, remember important things and build life habits.

Study apps are critical for the modern user. Colleges and universities do not forbid the use of apps, and sometime are backing their creation. This makes the learning process much easier. Here are some of the best study apps for college students:

• Evernote
• Duolingo
• Google Keep
• Clockify
• Quizlet
• Be Focused
• MindZip

Apps to study English

The apps that support learning foreign languages are in particularly high demand amongst college students. These study apps allow learning new languages, including English for non-native speakers, in an interactive and gamified manner. Their main benefit to college students is the ability to learn on the go, including during the commute to university, work, or back home. In our recent guide, we discuss what all successful language learning apps have in common.

Apps for taking notes

The apps assisting with the lecture notes allow shifting focus from taking notes during the lectures to thinking about the material delivered. The most common technology behind such apps focuses on recording the audio and providing the ability to re-listen the lecture afterward. A more advanced category of these apps goes further by transforming the audio into text. The accuracy of these advanced study apps increases with the machine learning mechanisms and broader databases.

As an example, it is possible to list a SoundNote app for iOS on iPads. It allows recording audio and taking notes simultaneously. Similarly, Office Lens, which is available on the Android system, allows capturing whiteboards and transforming images into various formats, such as Word, PowerPoint, or PDF. It also supports file sharing through cloud-based platforms.

File sharing apps

The value of file-sharing apps stems from the ability to store files in the cloud, work on the same file in groups, and prevent losses of work in case of hardware malfunctions. Storing files in the cloud allows for saving storage and accessing these files from any device. Group work is highly common in college and university, which means that simultaneous access to files with editing capabilities allows for studying remotely.

The solutions of large IT companies dominate the market for file-sharing apps. For instance, Google Drive and Dropbox are amongst the most commonly used service providers. Both offer free limited cloud storage, which is particularly important for students on a budget.

Apps for revision

Revisions remain a critical part of the study process, which usually relies on additional aid, such as flashcards and charts. Revision apps allow creating just that, concise visuals supporting the review of study materials. StudyBlue is among the popular apps using course information as input for creating revision cards. Students may also create and customize these cards. GoConqr supports the creation of charts, notes, quizzes, and flashcards. These apps also allow collaboration between students in teams.

Exam preparation apps

Preparing for an exam is usually a stressful endeavor when any help is welcome. In this regard, exam prep apps may perform various functions. Some apps, like Exam Countdown, keep track of time before exams and help structure the study process. Other apps, like BenchPrep, have networking functionality in preparing for standardized exams. It is also possible to use apps focusing on planning, including Class Timetable for iOS and My Class Schedule for Android. These apps help manage time between work and studies.

Technical and niche apps

This category includes apps that assist with the specific elements inside or outside the educational process. For example, EasyBib assists with academic referencing by scanning the barcodes of books and turning them into references automatically. Some apps offer additional safety to students, such as Circle of Six. Other apps focus on the fitness and health of students based on their study schedules and routines.

How to build study apps?

If you’ve been inspired by the success of well-known educational programs, maybe it’s time to create your own? Since educational programs are second only to games in popularity, this can be a good choice, especially if you find your niche. In addition, it can bring good earnings because people are ready to pay for quality education. But if you hire a whole team or company to create an application, then consider the development study apps fees. Here are some steps of mobile development study apps:

• Choose your proposed contribution
• Perform market research 
• Enable options
• An application development platform should be defined
• Employ a mobile application development company
• Introduce and market your app

Reasons for buying study apps

Although various educational applications already were popular in the past, the covid-19 pandemic proved their importance. A lot of people found themselves cut off from the world they knew before, but they also gained a lot of free time. 

Not surprisingly, the popularity of educational applications grew rapidly adjusting to the educational process in the circumstances. The benefits of educational applications are bespoke:

• innovative technologies
• opportunity to study anywhere in the world
• educational process monitoring
• access to open code solutions and crowdsourcing
• forum discussions and peer review
• encouraging future student learners

Educational apps for students make their lives and studies much easier.

Why are educational apps so useful?

When deciding where it is necessary to pay for an app students usually consider whether an app can deliver value for its worth. In this regard, it is common for the apps to offer a limited functionality version free of charge while requiring payments for the extended versions. Google Drive and Dropbox rely on such a model by offering limited cloud storage space free of charge and providing additional storage for the extra fees.

Given the budget limitations, students buy study apps when the perceived benefits outweigh the costs. Thus, the primary reasons behind an app purchase include:

• Time savings
• Assistance with structuring the study process
• Simplification of the studies
• Additional safety
• Ability to earn while studying

The list may go beyond these reasons, depending on the individual circumstances and preferences of each student. However, certain student groups may have shared needs, which allows the development of apps specifically for these groups.

It’s important to ensure the quality of the app development and its ability to match the needs of college students. Outsourcing the app development process to a reliable company with experience is one way to do so. TRIARE has significant experience in developing solutions for the education industry.

Need to develop a study app?

Education remains among leaders in digitizing. Despite the growing market and competition, there are still niche areas to invest – and for students to buy study apps. There is no one recipe: exist both benefits and risks for choosing custom development for study apps. We at TRIARE are ready to assess your true needs and clarify your business goals for the learning app sector.