Why This App: Do App Store Ratings, Rankings, and Educational Features Affect Parents' App Selection? (Poster 11)

• In Event: Sunday Poster Session 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Multiple Perspectives of Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

High quality educational apps have the potential to serve as effective learning tools, but selecting such apps is a challenging task. Researchers recommend that parents look for five benchmarks as indicators of quality apps (i.e., scaffolding, curriculum, development team, feedback, learning theory). However, user ratings and Apple’s app rankings might influence parents’ app selection. This study investigated how user ratings and Apple rankings affect parents’ app selection behavior. One-hundred and fifty parents from North America evaluated 18 educational apps that varied in terms of educational quality (benchmarks vs buzzwords), user ratings, and rankings. The results indicate that user ratings play a central role in parents’ app selection, regardless of the educational features of the apps.

Authors

• Armaghan Montazami, McGill University

• Emma Liptrot, McGill University

• Heather Ann Pearson, McGill University

• Adam Kenneth Dubé, McGill University