Kaplan Careers

Let’s start by getting one thing out of the way - Kaplan’s mobile app strategy and “mobile-first” development are not the same thing. Generally speaking, a mobile-first development strategy usually works by defining the best experience on the smallest device (mobile phones) and then working your way up to the larger devices (tablet, desktop) that have more screen real estate. There are many pros and cons with “mobile-first” development (as you can read about here), but the key takeaway is that the same content is generally presented in both places.

For Kaplan (and test prep in general), the same content doesn’t necessarily work in all locations. For example, Kaplan offers full-length practice tests (that take several hours) for students to take on their computers at home. But does anyone really want to take a multi-hour exam like that on their cell phones? Likewise, is reading a full eBook with a separate paper and pencil for practice questions the best experience for a mobile user? Aside from the fact that most cell phone batteries would likely be drained from such an activity, session times on mobile are shorter overall:

With an average time of about 5 minutes in an application, there’s a real emphasis on smaller reward cycles for users, rather than trying to emulate the same full-course experience on a smaller device. Keep in mind, mobile device users are also mobile in the sense of mobility. Our students want to be able to prep while they’re on the bus, waiting in line at the store, or even when they just have a few minutes between places. There generally isn’t going to be time or a location for students to fully sit down and prep for a full length exam on their mobile device, or sit through a full class session. That said, Kaplan’s been in the test prep business for nearly 80 years - we’ve spent a lot of time trying to perfect what we feel is the best balance of course materials and live prep instruction. How can we boil down that experience into 5 minute chunks?

That’s why we’re talking to students, and using our war room to try and build some pocket-sized study experiences. We’re not aiming to emulate a full “official test day” experience on a phone because you don’t take the official test on a phone! Our goal is to deliver a meaningful experience on the go, and a lot of that boils down to finding out which elements of our comprehensive prep are most valuable on the go, and finding new and fun ways to present that.

We’re currently working on developing a fully-in-house project for mobile, and we can’t wait to share it with you soon.