The Pocket Curriculum - how we finally made a successful app...

Okay, I know - I've not posted on here for ages! And I'm sorry! So much has happened this last year, it's hard to know where to start.

By now, you've probably seen me tweeting about our app, The Pocket Curriculum, in what appears to be a desperate attempt to peddle my wares...

But I wanted to explain!

I began using Twitter about 3 years ago after someone (who I won't embarrass by naming here), mentioned the fact that I was a teacher who made iPhone apps. I was bombarded by followers and interest.

This coincided with the launch of the family business, Angel Applications - named after my daughter - with our simple business model of selling apps to school.

Bizarrely, our first client was not a school - but in fact TV Parenting Expert, Sue Atkins. She then put me in touch with a certain Mr Thorne and the rest, as they say, is history. Angel Apps took off... Not in an astronomical way, but in a 'pay-for-a-holiday' kind of way.

It basically added a third salary to our joint income.

And over the last 3 years, we've made apps for Peterborough United Football Club, Bleach hair products, clubs, teams and countless schools - and of course 16 (and counting) Mr Thorne apps.

But one thing has always alluded us - our own successful app.Don't get me wrong, we've made a few... A Teacher's Toolkit (which grossed a few hundred pounds), iManUtd (which makes around £50 per month in advertising revenue) but nothing to write home about.

It's difficult as a teacher. You want to make money. But you're driven by a core moral purpose to improve lives for children and to support other educators...

So then came iObserved - a lesson observation app, built out of necessity - I use it every week. But it isn't going to pay off the mortgage.

We priced it at £1.99 - which means after Apple take their cut, we make £1.21 per sale. Then tax! We're really proud of this app - it's useful and designed to do a functional job. But it has no mass market appeal. It's aimed at senior leaders who conduct lesson observations in the UK! I reckon that's a market of around 2000 teachers - when you take into account those with iPads!

But then it hit me... I was on a Focus course about the new curriculum. All the heads and deputies around me was desperately fumbling around for printed copies of the new curriculum. I knew the curriculum was under Crown Copyright and could be reproduced freely for commercial use as long as logos were removed. So we did it.

We built the Pocket Curriculum in about 4 hours. 

A universal app for Android, iPhone and iPad that simply collates the curriculum. We added a feed from the DfE - partly to help teachers but mostly to add functionality to get through the strict Apple approval process.

I was amazed at the response. I mentioned it once on Twitter and we sold 45 copies on the first day. Now, we only make 42p a copy! But still, enough of them is a fair amount...

The momentum kept building, and since its release in January 2014, the app has not dropped below 60 in the Education chart. But better than that, it's reached the top 150 of the overall charts in the UK.

We're not millionaires. In fact, we've not made that much at all. But we are proud of what we believe is a quality and useful product.

The reviews have been fantastic. Well... all but one. Most teachers appreciate what we are trying to do. Unfortunately, there are some people who see Angel Applications as a giant business profiting from the work of the government.

They don't realise that we are both teachers.

They don't realise that we didn't just wake up one day to find we can make apps.

They don't realise that we work 15 hour days and weekends.

The Pocket Curriculum is an achievement for us. Not in terms of money - we need to sell half a million copies to make £210,000 before tax! But in terms of credibility. 

We were featured in our local paper, well-known educationalists have endorsed our app, our Local Authority promote it on their courses.

And we worked hard.

So yes, we are teachers trying to make extra money (to pay for a holiday for our children to Disneyland Paris), but we are also teachers with a desire to use technology to enhance learning and make life easier for teachers.

So if you no longer have to route around the DfE website for a week and a half to find the documents, we think that's worth 69p...

And we hope you do too!

Doug

@TheRenegade78

The Pocket Curriculum is available from the App Store for 69p!