How to Build a Powerful Elearning App
Did you know that elearning apps line the future of education in many areas worldwide? In 2014 Forbes predicted that the delivery of learning and training through online resources was going to reach $107 billion in 2015. This prediction came true. Last year Forbes came up with another prediction that showed triple the revenue of 2015 by 2025. This means elearning is going to grow to $325 billion by 2025.
So how do you make use of this innovation? Build your own elearning app, of course! In order to jump on that bandwagon, we suggest you start by putting your app ideas onto paper and being as specific as possible. Once you define your requirements for a future app, you’re ready to proceed to development. It may seem overwhelming, but we’ll give you a brief overview of what each stage entails, and hopefully, that will help ease your fears a bit.
Designing the App Features
Designing a quality elearning app requires you to make several key decisions. One of them is deciding on how to exchange information between a platform and a user. You should decide whether the dataflow will be unidirectional (one-way) or bidirectional (two-way). For example, if you want your elearning app to be limited to lectures, the communication will be one-way. But if you want to enable your users to pass tests, answer questions, or text each other, the dataflow will be two-way.
You also have to take measures to protect learners’ or independent app users’ privacy. This will depend on whether your platform is open to the public or created for your students’ needs. In addition, you have to decide if you want users to exchange information with each other through multiple platforms. If so, the next question to ask yourself is how many layers should be there.
Additionally, make sure you know how your app is going to recognize a user’s identity and adjust the information exchange accordingly.
Aspects to Keep in Mind to Ensure User Retention
We have a handful of thoughts to share to help you make your app’s user experience more valuable and beneficial. You should know your target audience pretty well to establish a high level of user engagement. Keep in mind the average user’s age and education to strike the right level of interest and interaction. Making someone feel a sense of achievement is also a great way to keep them interested in your app. Thereby, think of how you will support and praise users for achieving their learning goals such as completing an assignment.
In addition, you should provide users with the ability to track their progress and address new learning challenges. For instance, you can establish a tracking system enabling learners to see their mistakes. Then, make your app suggest relevant material to improve learners’ knowledge or skills according to the mistakes that have been made.
To retain the information and proceed to more advanced levels, your app users should be able to go from simple concepts and assignments to more complex tasks and exercises. There also should be some kind of social interaction on your platform to enable learners to share knowledge and advice with each other.
We also suggest you involve instructors, implement gamification elements, and provide learners with certificates after completing a course. All these implementations have proved to be effective in achieving high user retention rates.
Pitfalls to Avoid During Elearning App Development
When it comes to the development of an elearning app, you have to know what pitfalls to avoid and what features to include. Sometimes, you can apply reverse engineering to your project. This is similar to “follow the leader”, a children’s game. In this case, you look at what has worked before and what hasn’t.
An important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t add too many flashy features. Things like that might distract a learner from their ultimate educational purpose. It’s also a good idea to not overload your app with too many links or choices for learning activities. This also applies to the amount of content added for entertainment.
Overall, the initial design of your app should be pretty simple. Other features may be added on request. So, make sure you enable users to share their feedback on social media or by participating in surveys you conduct.
Cutting-Edge Technologies to Use
Augmented Reality (AR) is a good example of technology helping teach learners by grabbing their attention. In fact, AR works wonders with lessons and assignments that cannot be learned inside the classroom. Lessons that include scenes of nature and biology are perfect examples of what AR can help with.
In the cases where AR cannot be used, Virtual Reality (VR) makes perfect sense. This technology allows learners to visit places they have only heard of and see them in detail. Even technical advances such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve your app users’ learning experience. As a tool, AI may not be able to reach and teach learners. However, it can help you manage lesson plans and handle the exchange of information between everyone on the platform.
In fields such as language learning, AI has proved to be very effective. AI-powered language learning platforms like Duolingo benefit from applying machine learning. AI manages everything from Duolingo’s product development and user retention to the company’s recruitment priorities and revenue approaches. When AR, VR, and AI work together on a platform, they significantly improve the learning experience.
Conclusion
Mapping all the steps to take to build an app will help you not miss essential things. Start with how information is shared with users and move on to the methods of interaction. Make sure you keep users engaged, supported, and praised. You’ll have a better idea of what can work for you by paying attention to your competitors’ experience. Don’t overwhelm or over-stimulate your learners. When in doubt, let technology do some of the heavy lifting for you. Following these tips, one after the other doesn’t guarantee your app will succeed but it definitely helps improve the chances of your app’s success.
Read more here.
Most Effective Ways to Cut Elearning Dropout Rates
