Learning new things was never so easy. A few clicks on the smartphone and you can learn any skill from any location at any time with the help of eLearning apps. The modern learners are very attracted by the facility of easy and quick access to information outside the four walls of the classroom which was very unprecedented in the olden times. Because of the immense potential, these eLearning apps are providing these days, businesses across the globe are investing multifold in eLearning app development.
The significance of eLearning apps has particularly risen further during this COVID-19 pandemic. Since there is a lockdown in most parts of the world, educational organizations are switching to virtual education, and professionals are choosing to upgrade their skill sets using these apps. These solutions have proved to be a competitive investment for businesses worldwide.
So, do you want to develop effective online learning solutions for students?
Or create interactive training apps for IT professionals?
Or build flagship programs based on multiple skills for modern learners?
Everything is possible with the new-age eLearning solutions. But, for developing an eLearning app that goes viral in the market, there are some criteria. Firstly, the app must have the following qualities:
Learner-focussed Design
Customizable and Scalable
Engaging and Pleasing Aesthetics
Interactive Elements
Powerful And Supportive Database
Valuable and Comprehensive Content
Personalization
Productive and Flexible Learning
Quick and Easy Access to Information
Information Presented in Small ‘Bites’
Real-Time Analytics
High Security
Professional Support
Secondly, it is essential to integrate powerful features in the app that provide an uninterrupted and enticing experience to the users. In most cases, apps with lame or insufficient features are bound to fail. So, here we have shared some key features required for an exemplary eLearning app.
Must-have Features of a New-Age eLearning App!
Elementary features
An eLearning mobile app is simply incomplete without the fundamental features. The app must have in-app chatting or messaging functionality to allow the learners to communicate with each other or tutors. It must have the feature of push notifications to keep the users aware of their progress, new achievements, timings of classes, pending courses, any new deals, and offers, etc. The app should have calendar integration for the users to maintain records of the upcoming activities and set reminders accordingly. Last but not the least; it should have social media integration to boost user engagement, promotion of the app, and reaching a wider audience.
Audio/Video Streaming
Audio/video streaming has become an integral part of modern education. These are key players for accessing online education. These features help the users to connect in real-time and enable the sharing of files or documents in live sessions. This kind of learning allows the users to listen to pre-recorded lectures, rewinding/fast-forwarding the lectures, zoom into an image, etc. making the learning process easier and convenient.
Live Tutorials
Live tutorials and sessions add another dimension to the learning process. They help the learners to gain a thorough knowledge of a subject. Reading the content of a course can often become boring. However, with live tutorials, it becomes a fun experience. It gives the feel of a real-time classroom making education much effective.
Progress Evaluation
Assessment and feedback are vital features for evaluating the progress of the learners. A good eLearning app must embed tests and quizzes to be held at regular intervals or ensure that the tutors conduct the tests and quizzes periodically. They should either be assessed automatically or by the tutors/course authors. The learners should also get live feedback and have one-on-one interactions, so that they can practice more, redo a chapter, etc. These features keep the learners connected and contribute to the success of a course. Learners should get assessed periodically which enhances the engagement and knowledge of the student.
eCommerce integration
If your eLearning app has eCommerce functionality, the tutors can sell online courses and live classes. The app owners too can generate massive revenue from this. However, it is necessary to ensure that these courses and other sensitive information like bank account details, contact details of users, etc. are highly secured.
Collective Dashboard
If your eLearning app has a collaborative dashboard, the users can access their course collateral and get overall information about their progress. They can know if the course is pending or is completed. A collaborative dashboard allows the users to share study material, assignments, quizzes, useful links, etc. with others for an enriching learning experience.
Crucial Data Insights
Data tracking and analysis helps to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the courses and the app. The app should have an efficient data tracking and reporting process in place for collecting critical data like popular courses, customer rating, clicks/views on a particular content, etc. It must also keep an eye on the attendance of the learners, their progress, assignment completion, etc. which helps in analysing their weak areas and work accordingly. Also, these reports help the tutors or course authors generate better revenue, which contributes to the high ROI of the app.
Engaging Content to Motivate Learners
To keep the learners engaged and connected until the end of the course can be highly challenging at times. They need continual motivation through tests, assessments, feedback, evaluation of work, rewarding, etc. Using motivational triggers like scores, progressing to next levels, virtual gifts or currencies, competition with fellow learners, etc. are outstanding ways to make them stick to the course.
Appointment Scheduling
In several distant learning apps, the learners need to choose a tutor from a number of tutors available and book appointments with them. Hence these apps must have a fast and simple appointment scheduling feature using which, the learners can instantly book appointments as per the available slots of the tutors. It also helps to generate meaningful reports for tracking profitable courses and clients.
Flexible Payment Options
Payment process must be kept as simple and less time-consuming as possible, but also ensure high security of the eLearning apps at the same time. The app must have multiple payment methods that include debit, credit, net banking, etc. It should also integrate new-age options like PayPal, Google Pay, Stripe, etc. Always use popular gateways to ensure the credibility and authenticity of the app.
Multiple Language Support
To ensure that your eLearning app has a wider reach, the app must have multiple-language support. If the content and the videos are available in multiple languages, it can benefit a large number of users in different countries and the app owners can generate multiplied revenue from it.
Final Words:
The future of the eLearning industry is indisputably bright. The eLearning solutions are revamping the learning experiences by imparting knowledge on the go of a click. We can say, education is now in everyone’s pocket. For creating an excellent eLearning app, one should use the right blend of strategy and technology. They should include all the features from the above list and also keep a watch on the latest trends in this domain.