Listen to this articleZinkerz aims to provide inexpensive learning software solutions that would be accessible around the globe. Zinkerz apps are designed to help students go beyond traditional test preparation and succeed. Below is our interview with Ariel Weiss Co-founder of Zinkerz:
Q: Last year when we caught up your main focus was Zinkerz TOEFL, in what direction did that lead you in the past 6 months?
A: We got an amazing reaction from TOEFL students. They love our Mobile TOEFL Test Prep App, especially when they are on the go. Based on the hundreds of thousands of installs received, this allowed us to gather critical information regarding how users prefer to study, what works well and what new features they wanted implemented.
We’ve since released several updates to the app, to better cater to the specific needs of our students. Following user responses and data analysis from our user’s experience with the app we were able to adjust our other products and improve our offering to students. Based on this data, one very significant decision was made – to develop a Web version of our TOEFL app and our new Act test prep app.
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Q: Could you explain function and advantages of your app Zinkerz Prep For The ACT Test?
A: Our ACT Test Prep Web App is a “Web-App”, designed to be used on a PC or laptop.
Main features include:
- A diagnostic test that allows us to build a baseline for the user, identifying his preliminary strengths and weaknesses across the ACT Exam topics
- Workouts that focus on specific topics (through personalization) allowing the student to select one of 3 lengths for the workout according to the amount of time they’d like to study in each session
- A personalization mechanism that offers the student the most effective workout (based on the results of their previous workout), based on their strengths and weaknesses on the ACT exam topic
- Estimated score tracking – allowing the user to get an estimated score that helps reflect the estimated results he’d get if he were to take the real exam at that point
The estimated score updates after the completion of each exercise in the app, giving detailed information on student performance (did they improve or did they not improve after the exercise was completed). - A “shuffle subject” mechanism that allow the user to get a workout for a different topic than the one the app recommends, allowing them to focus on a specific topic / subject throughout their work on with the app
- Full Practice Tests that mimic the real thing, allowing students to test their skills for an estimation of how they’d do on the real exam
- Tutorials that allows learning important concepts and topics to further improved performance on the exam
- Comprehensive performance breakdown, showing all of the performance information gathered for the user in the app. Highlighting strengths and weaknesses and giving recommendations for topics the user has to practice in order to get the most benefit in the shortest amount of time (this also allows the student to understand our personalization algorithm and recommendations he gets in the workouts)
One of advantages is personalized learning experience that focuses the student on the most important areas they need to work on to get the best results within the time allotted to study. A performance page that helps the student understand performance levels in terms of the ACT exam, including specific exam topic breakdown. A rough estimation of what would their score be if he were to take the exam at that point is also provided.
Tutorials allows learning (on top of practicing) new strategies and concepts for the exam. Workouts cater to the user needs in terms of topics and available time for studying in each session, making this relevant for both long practices (15 minutes and above) and short ones (5 minutes / session).
App is very affordable – only $49.99 to unlock all of the features & content we offer, everything the student needs to be fully prepared for the exam
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Q: You’ve recently announced full lifetime access to the Zinkerz Prep for the TOEFL Test app for $4.99; tell us something more?
A: We’ve given a major discount trying to answer user requests. We wanted to make our mobile app more accessible, lowering the price and asking for payment upon installing it, simplifying the user experience and flow within the app. This is in part our revised approach – offering our mobile app to be used on-the-go, completing short exercises and workouts whenever the student has some time for it outside of home. Making it possible to get a complete solution for test prep on the mobile for a low price, but also allowing users to use their PC/Laptop for the majority of their test prep process (which is easier to use and much more effective when it comes to test preparation) and using the mobile app as complementary solution on-the-go.
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Q: Are there any challenges you had to face in the past year, how did you overcome them?
A: Our main challenges were in the in-app experience front, making sure users get what they needed and continue using the app as their main tool for TOEFL test prep.
We’ve gone through two major processes to attend to these challenges:
- Adjusting our view of the best way to use technology for test preparation, moving the critical weight and focus of the test preparation process to the PC / Laptop.
Releasing the ACT Test Prep Web App for the PC / Laptop as the main learning solution, TOEFL Test Prep Web app to be released in the upcoming months, making our mobile solutions complementary and cheaper than the main learning tools we offer on the web
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A: We are having a May Madness sale: May 1 until May 31. Further diversification of our web based products (designed for PC / Laptops) – SAT Test Prep, TOEFL Test Prep. New solutions for educators (schools, private tutors and other education institutions) that integrates with our test prep apps and allows working with students, analyzing their performance and helping them along the learning process.
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Online realtime 1-on-1 lessons for ACT, SAT and TOEFL
Giving a lot of weight and priority to user reviews and feedback, and analyzing our users behavior in the app.
Using this information we have adjusted our app to improve the user experience, improving user retention rates which validates the fact that users are getting a better experience and even more value
