EDUcal

Educal strives to keep students, teachers, and parents connected with their online solution to the daily planner.

This app build needed to match the already existing web application in use by educators. Keeping their brand and functionality matching between the two not only keeps it looking great but also keeps the ease of use.

Problems

EDUcal’s main challenges that needed to be addressed within their new app:

• Not having quick access for students to view their EDUcal schedule
• Keeping branding and ease of use consistent with the web application

The team behind EDUcal didn’t want this to be just another software used by educators; they hope to see it be adopted by districts, eliminating children’s homework and class notes being spread across multiple locations online. “We want this to be something that benefits a district and a teacher,” says Tyler, “We want it to really bring value to their daily classroom.” Developing a mobile app would only strengthen that value over other competitors.

Solutions

We worked with EDUcal to craft a custom mobile app counterpart to their existing platform by:

• Building an easy-to-use application in React Native 
• Translating EDUcal’s design style to fit mobile formats 

Outcomes

The team at Codelation crafted a brand-new app build based on EDUcal’s existing software. 

Tyler references the elementary kids’ spelling list or reminders about field trip lunches “All those things that get shoved in the bottom of backpacks of Elementary, and even High School kids- we’re just trying to become that crumpled up piece of paper in a digital form.” Having this app available to students, parents, and teachers strengthens the communication across all parties involved.

Connected on the go

The EDUcal app is synched with the main software, meaning updates to student’s agendas, notes, and more are viewable even more quickly while away from their laptop or classroom. 

This project had Software Engineer Tim Whitney dipping his toes into the world of mobile app development. “I had never done mobile development, so the project was a crash course into that world,” Tim shared, “I appreciated getting experience with it.”

Appealing Look

EDUcal’s new app not only had to function and work alongside their existing software, it also had to look as similar as possible in the small format. Translating the design carefully helps young students (and less technology-savvy teachers and parents) navigate the mobile app!

Gold star success

Over the year of 2020 EDUcal saw a lot of growth in users due to the shifts to distance learning. Tyler reported “Back in February/March, we were getting close to 200-300 users a month”. He shares, “Now that school’s picked back up again we’re right around that 200 new users a month area”.

While Fargo Public Schools were the beta testers and biggest supporters, EDUcal has seen classrooms from around the world start using their software. Their growth will undoubtedly continue and be used by more and more educators worldwide!