Learning app or learning platform: the difference for primary schools
What sets a learning app, a learning platform and a learning management system apart, and which tool a primary school needs for maths.
In brief: A learning management system organises teaching across all subjects: courses, materials, assignments, submissions and communication. A learning app is a practice programme, usually for one subject or one part of it. A subject platform combines practice, feedback and evaluation for one subject. For maths at primary school, a learning management system and a subject platform complement each other. Mazio Math is such a subject platform for primary maths lessons.
In staff meetings and in digital media planning, the terms learning app, learning platform and learning management system are often mixed up. This article separates the terms for teachers and school leaders and helps with the question of whether your school needs a platform or whether an app is enough. After that, we place Mazio Math in this picture. We are the provider of Mazio Math. As of November 2026.
Three kinds of tools
| Learning management system | Practice app | Subject platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Organising teaching | Practising and consolidating | Learning, practising and evaluating one subject |
| Subjects | all | one or several | one |
| Content | provided by the teacher | ready-made exercises | ready-made learning paths, exercises and hints |
| Feedback to children | from the teacher | usually right or wrong | tailored to the subject, often to typical errors |
| Evaluation | submissions, teacher’s assessments | completed exercises | the class’s standing in the subject, flags on errors in thinking |
| Example | Moodle-based platforms provided by education authorities | mental arithmetic trainers, times tables apps | maths platforms with diagnostics |
Learning management system (LMS). An LMS is the digital classroom. Teachers provide materials, set assignments, collect submissions and give feedback. In many education systems, the state or the school authority provides schools with such a system. In Germany, for example, North Rhine-Westphalia offers LOGINEO NRW LMS, a learning management system based on Moodle that is free for schools. An LMS is first and foremost a tool for organising. As a rule, it does not come with its own subject exercises that give feedback on typical errors in thinking; the content comes from the teacher or from connected services.
Practice app. A practice app trains one part of a subject, such as the times tables or mental arithmetic. For short practice phases, that is often exactly right. The evaluation usually stops at “done” and “right or wrong”.
Subject platform. A subject platform covers one subject in breadth, with learning paths, exercises, hints and an evaluation tailored to that subject. Submissions from other subjects are managed alongside it in the LMS.
Do we need a platform, or is an app enough?
The answer depends on the goal.
- You want to hand out digital assignments, share materials and collect submissions, in all subjects. Then you need an LMS. First ask what your education authority or school authority provides.
- The children are meant to make a skill automatic. Then a practice app is often enough.
- In maths, you want to see where the class stands and pick up misconceptions early. Then a subject platform is worthwhile in addition to the LMS.
Many schools combine the two. The standard for this is called LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability). It allows a subject service to be opened from within a learning platform without the children needing a second account. The operator of your LMS can tell you whether it supports this.
You will find criteria for choosing a maths platform in the article Criteria for choosing a maths learning platform.
Where Mazio Math fits
A subject platform for maths. Mazio Math is a learning platform for maths lessons at primary school. The children practise in the browser or in the app. The content is organised by the five content areas of the German national education standards and designed for the two-year bands of grades 1/2 and 3/4. The children work in three areas: units build up a topic step by step, the Basiscamp builds calculation skills, and the Knobelbox promotes problem solving. Mazio Math concentrates entirely on maths.
What the teacher does there. The teacher puts content on the class board, and the children see it on their devices straight away. Using the three dots on a row, the teacher switches on “Compulsory”, writes a note such as “After that you may go to the Knobelbox” and sets from when and until when the content is visible. Under “Live”, the teacher starts the lesson and sees what the children are currently working on. Under “Results”, the teacher sees where the class stands in the five content areas and which misconceptions are appearing in the class.
No user management of your own. There are no pupil accounts. Each child logs in with their own eight-character access code or their access card. Hosting, maintenance and updates are handled by MatheZeit UG (haftungsbeschränkt); the school needs no servers of its own and no central user management. Teachers register directly on the website and do not need access through a state authority.
Connecting to an LMS. Mazio Math can be connected via LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3 to learning platforms that support this standard. The learning platform transmits a pseudonymous identifier and the role. For education administrations, the page Mazio Math for education administration describes the technology in more detail.
An example from the classroom. A primary school in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, uses LOGINEO NRW LMS for weekly plans and materials in all subjects. For maths, a grade 3 class also uses Mazio Math. On Monday, the teacher puts “Number pyramids: multiplication” on the class board as compulsory, with a puzzle set as optional behind it, and sets Friday at the top under “visible until …”. The weekly plan in the LMS only contains the note to work through the class board in Mazio Math. On Friday, the teacher can see on the row how many children have finished.
Next step. How a whole school introduces Mazio Math is described on the page Mazio Math for school leadership. The page Frequently asked questions about Mazio Math answers common questions about technology, data protection and costs. Teachers can create an account under register for free. Using Mazio Math with a class is currently available to schools in Germany; if your school is in another country, registration records your interest and we will let you know as soon as Mazio Math is available there.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a learning app and a learning platform?
A learning app is a practice programme, usually for one subject or one part of it. A learning platform in the narrower sense, the learning management system, organises teaching across all subjects. Subject platforms such as Mazio Math sit in between: one subject, with learning paths, feedback and evaluation.
Does Mazio Math replace our learning management system?
No. Mazio Math is available for maths only and does not manage submissions from other subjects. It complements an LMS and can be connected via LTI if the LMS supports this standard.
Do the children need their own account for Mazio Math?
No. Each child logs in with their own eight-character access code or their access card. The children’s names and email addresses are not needed.