Case study · Own product · Learning platform
Different Drums
A tutoring and home-learning platform with separate spaces for children, parents and administrators. I built the app and the services behind it: accounts, learning tools, subscriptions and administration.
One platform. Different users. Connected systems.
A learning platform has to do more than display lessons. Children need an interface they can use, parents need control and visibility, and the person running the service needs tools to manage accounts, content and problems. Those areas have to work together.
- 01Child & parent apps
- 02Server-side checks
- 03Learning, records & payments
What I built
Separate experiences
Children use tutoring, activities and learning resources. Parents manage family accounts, plan learning and review history. Administrators have their own management tools.
Learning in several forms
Conversational tutoring sits alongside printable worksheets, curricula, activities and audio. Generated content is connected to storage, reusable material and question banks.
A service people can subscribe to
Account access is connected to subscriptions, with Stripe for web payments and Google Play billing for Android. The server checks purchases and updates access.
Controls behind the interface
Usage limits, moderation, parent-visible history, error reporting and account deletion are part of the system, rather than separate manual jobs.
What this delivers
This brings customer-facing features and the less visible running of a subscription service into one codebase. It demonstrates the kind of work involved when an app needs several user roles, paid access, generated content and ongoing administration.
The technical side
The main components and the decisions behind them.
- App
- React Native, Expo and Expo Router provide the Android and web interfaces.
- Back end
- Firebase Authentication, Firestore, Storage and Cloud Functions handle accounts, records, files and server operations.
- AI & content
- AI requests run through server functions. Worksheet generation includes question-bank routing and caching; text-to-speech and speech-to-text support audio features.
- Payments & operations
- Stripe and Google Play purchase handling connect billing to account access. Admin tools bring together support, moderation and error monitoring.
What could this look like for your business?
If your idea needs customers, staff and administrators to see different things, make payments or share a common record, I can design those parts as one connected system. We can start with the essential workflow and plan later features around it.
We can start with a conversation.
You don't need a technical brief. Tell me what you want to make easier, who will use it and what you use now. I'll help work out what needs building.
Talk to me about your idea