Fredericksburg, VA (PRWEB)May 14, 2012
Meeta Shah, mother of two and founder of Eflashapps LLC, educates millions of children worldwide via popular app series “Baby Flash Cards”, now available on Apple iTunes, Google Play and Amazon Appstore, in seven different languages. Here’s the kicker: She did it with no experience or knowledge in computer programming.
Inspired by her 18 month old daughter’s fascination with the sound and touch features of the first generation iPhone, Shah saw the potential of using the device as a powerful educational tool. “My younger daughter really enjoyed turning on the iPhone with the swipe, launching apps and listening to the sounds within the apps, although there weren’t many educational apps in the Appstore then”, Shah said. In February 2009, Shah sought to develop educational apps for preschool and kindergarten age children.
Her first challenge was that she had no background in computer programming. “With no background in computer programming, I started researching app development from ground zero, drafted a project scope with drawings of our first app”, Shah said. Fueled by her desire and vision to develop mobile educational apps, Shah launched her very first app, Baby Flash Cards, on iTunes App Store in 2009.
Baby Flash Cards instantly rose to Top 100 educational apps on iTunes Appstore and is currently ranked in the Top 50 free educational apps on iTunes Appstore and Top 25 free educational apps on Amazon’s Android Appstore.
Parents, educators and speech therapists love the simple and intuitive interface of Baby Flash Cards, designed for their toddlers who spend hours learning with this app. Learning hundreds of words with pictures, sounds and professional voiceovers just became an easy and fun activity for kids at home, at school, and on the go with Baby Flash Cards. Baby Flash Cards is now available in 7 different languages including English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Italian, German and Hindi. In addition to the ad-supported free apps in each of the languages, paid versions without advertisements are available for $1.99. Shah said there have been over a combined 2 million downloads of the free and paid apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.
Research has shown that language learning started in fetal age even before birth and it starts first by hearing sounds and words (auditory). Baby Flash Cards can be used for infants to ages four and above. Parents of infants can use the app to introduce sounds and voices as the most initial form of language and as the child grows; she or he can start using the app with the simple swipe features to stay engaged for hours with this app. Speech therapists use this app for children above age four and have had great success with this app in their treatment plans. Companion app Toddler Flashcards has an advanced set of words, again following the same concept of learning vocabulary early. Kids exposed to the same words at a later age, can learn the meaning and use of the words faster, having already mastered the pronunciation and spelling early with the app.
Shah’s success lies in the time she spends in research and development to come up with learning concepts and how to convert them to mobile games/apps aimed to enhance early childhood education. “My concentration has been on researching and studying apps and trends in the iTunes app store and Google Play, looking for what’s missing in content and quality of existing apps and designing apps to fulfill the needs of app searchers worldwide. Once the app is launched, the prompt rise in ranks and downloads are really a reflection of success in research and development, rather than marketing”, Shah said.
“Having no background in programming or app development, gathering knowledge and resources on “What does it take to design an app” was certainly the most challenging task. And this was in 2009 when there weren’t many resources about app development and the Android Market (now known as Google Play) was only six months old! The learning curve was steep and nerve-wracking at times, yet it was a thrilling and ultimately rewarding experience”, Shah said.
Shah works from her home office and enjoys creating educational apps with her daughters being her most valuable beta-testers. Shah’s company now features over 20 educational apps on iTunes Appstore, including Kids Picture Dictionary and series of Sightwords apps. “Several new apps are under development and we are excited to launch them soon”, Shah said.
“My interest is to promote free education,” Shah said. Most of her apps are full-feature apps available free to download, providing free education via the mobile apps platform. See the list of apps created by Eflashapps, LLC at https://www.eflashapps.com and look out for new apps coming soon!
