Q: What is the difference in a branded vs. non-branded app for individual schools?

Branded apps are listed independently in the app stores and the app is represented on user devices with an icon featuring your schools logo. Also, the name of the app is your school's name. Non-branded apps are accessed through the eTaaleem App which is represented in the app stores and on user devices with our company logo and name. The first time a user opens the app, they will be prompted to select your school to access the content.

Q: What is the difference in a single-campus vs. a multi-campus app?

Single campus apps are limited to one-campus-level content and push notifications can only be sent by one-campus-level administrators. Multi-Campus apps include individual sites for every school with all of the features and content available and segmented for each school. School administrators can send notifications to every user and school admins can send notifications that are only delivered to users that have selected their school.

Q: How long does it take to launch an app?

30-60 days from when we've received a completed enrollment form, PO or payment and required graphic assets.

Q: Do you offer any discounts?

Yes, we will be happy to discount our pricing by 5%, 10% or 15% with a 2, 3 or 5 year purchase. Most schools and districts opt for the 3 year option with a 10% discount.

Q: Do you accept PO's?

Yes. You can email a PO or any required vendor forms or instructions to info@etaaleem.com. Make sure and complete the enrollment form, as well.

Q: How can you provide so much service for such a minimal cost?

We designed our product to keep the investment for your school as low as possible. All we do is mobile apps for K-12 schools and school districts, so we’re really good at it. Our management and advisory team includes school administrators, teachers, a coach, parents and even a few kids, so we know what is important to schools and their stakeholders & have designed a powerful platform that allows us to offer our services incredibly competitively.

Q: I see the term 'Content Management' throughout your website. What exactly does this mean you do for us?

Developing and publishing an app is only the beginning of what we do. For your app to remain valuable, it's content must remain current. In addition to our set of automation tools, we commit to you that our Content Management team will be available as an extension of your staff to maintain your app's content. No other mobile app provider provides this level of service. Simply put, this means you and your admin team can send instructions and content to our team at anytime in any format and we'll do what's needed to properly format it and get it uploaded and included in your app. That is in addition to setting up things like RSS and iCal feeds that update content directly from your website or social media pages.

Q: When and why are app updates needed and is there an additional cost for them?

All of the content within the app and most of the graphic assets and colors can be changed at anytime without requiring an update to be published to the app stores. We publish 1-2 updates each year to improve the existing features, add new features and fix any minor bugs that are found. Also, updates are usually needed when Apple or Google release major updates their Operating Systems (OS) which they typically do once each year. There is no additional charge for content updates or app updates as they are needed.

Q: Do you offer training for our admins and teachers?

The eTaaleem Admin Manager is very simple and straightforward. Most people are able to easily learn their way around it on their own in just a few minutes. We recommend and provide at no additional cost a training session via phone or webinar for your administrative team. This usually lasts about 30 minutes. Video tutorials are also available that cover all of the administrative functions.

Q: We have a mobile or responsive website and our student information system (SIS) has an app. Why should we consider your product?

73% of internet users accessed content through a mobile app, and that's expected to grow to more than 90%. Mobile and responsive websites are great and many of the popular school information systems now include some type of a mobile app that carries the SIS brand. Having a branded app is now a critical component of every organization's PR and communication programs including schools and school districts. We make it easy and affordable for your school or district to have a branded app that enhances the resources provided by your web provider and SIS.

Q: Our teachers and staff use a popular, free messaging system for communicating with students and parents. Why should we consider your product?

Push notifications are a great feature of our apps, and, in fact, one of the most popular. But, our apps provide many time-saving, valuable features in addition to notifications.

Also, what administrative controls or security measures do you have with the free system? With our Teacher Notification system, administrators can easily remove or restrict a teacher or former teacher's access at anytime if the situation arises that this is needed. And, all notifications are stored and accessible by administrators at any time.

Last, any business that is funded by venture capital and seeking to build a massive user base with no current revenue model will eventually change. When that occurs, your school or district may end up having to pay to continue using a service you've become reliant on or your data may be sold or used in an advertising model. Our business model is very transparent and designed to serve our school and district partners for many years to come. We do not sell or provide any non-public data to advertisers.

Q: We are considering or already using a provider that offers a “free” app or one that is considerably cheaper than yours. Why should we consider your product?

Free is certainly tough to beat if price is all you are considering. Here are some other things to consider: Check the user ratings and make sure the service you are considering is the quality that you would like to represent your district. Our apps average 4.9 out of 5 stars in the app store ratings, meaning that users find our apps to work well and provide real value.

Look at other school apps published by the "free" or cheaper provider. Are they really apps or just a collection of web links packaged within an app? Our apps provide real, native features which is what makes an app different from a website.

“Free” services tend to only be available through a “portal” app where your schools’s info is combined with many other schools. Our apps are true independent apps branded to your school meaning that you will have an independent listing in the app stores and an icon with your schools’s logo giving your stakeholders a true branded experience.

Consider the hidden costs of your administrators and staff's time. "Free" services do not offer the service we provide in managing content and updates.

Who is the "free" providers true customer? Any business model whose primary source of revenue is advertising is beholden to advertisers, not end users. Our sponsorship program can be a great way to offset the costs for your school or district, but you are our customer. We will always make sure our apps serve the best interest of our school and their stakeholders, not advertisers.

Q: Does purchasing a standalone app mean that you are going to custom design an app to our school specifications?

We do offer custom design services and our development team can do just about anything when it comes to mobile app programming. However, our product and pricing as published is based on an existing framework. Much of it is easily customizable and many of our best ideas have come from our school partners, so, by all means, let us know if you have an idea for a new feature or something you would like changed, added to or improved. It may already be possible within our flexible framework. Or, we may decide it fits well with our overall game plan, and make it happen for your app at no additional cost. If it doesn’t fit with our framework, we’ll be happy to provide you a detailed proposal for custom development.