How are Mobile Apps Shaping the Future of E-Learning?

The education industry is undergoing a sea change with the rising popularity of e-learning apps. The e-learning sector is booming like never before. Peek through an interesting statistical fact stated by the popular research portal Research and Markets.

“The market value of the e-learning sector will touch US$350 billion by the year 2025 thanks to technological innovations.”

With multiple disruptive advantages over conventional learning, online learning is gaining momentum at a fast pace. A well-designed e-learning solution addresses several limitations in traditional learning and offers transformative add-ons like never before. Multiple disruptive technologies have also revolutionized and broadened the spectrum of e-learning. Today, it has become one of the lucrative options for learners, instructors, and educational institutions unanimously. E-learning is constantly evolving and promises a brighter future for the education sector.

This post provides detailed insights about the basic and advanced features to include in a future-friendly e-learning mobile app and discusses the advantages of e-learning.

Basic Features to Include in a New-Age E-Learning App

User-Friendly UI/UX

A user-friendly interface design and a smooth user experience are must-haves for an e-learning app. An aesthetic design and easy navigation are factors that can make an app all the more pleasing, appealing, and widely acceptable. In light of this, avoid using complex features that are not necessary. This will cause confusion amongst users and lead them to abandon your app. You should, therefore, design an easy-going UI and integrate the relevant functionalities only.

Support for Different Learning Formats

An e-learning application needs something more than just simple and monotonous printed lessons. Most e-learning apps support multiple course formats such as podcasts, captivating pictures, audio lessons, and high-definition videos.

Video Lessons

Video content and live streaming are must-have features of an e-learning mobile app that make it stand out from traditional teaching methodologies. Whether it’s a live video streaming session with a faculty or e-learning content in the form of pre-recorded videos, the impact on students is profound.

Video sessions are also recorded so that students who have missed the session can attend the lectures at a convenient time. Recorded sessions can be replayed by learners as many times as they wish to gain a better understanding of the subject matter. Students have the convenience to pause and then replay videos resulting in improved comprehension. This approach resolves one of the most age-old challenges of conventional learning and elevates learning experiences to the next level.

Progress Report Generation

E-learning applications must provide users with instant performance feedback by generating progress reports. Such reports assess a learner’s performance from different angles such as their level of understanding, the degree of exam preparedness, and so on. Clear and concise reports help students and their instructors to identify the area where a learner may be struggling.

Offline Support

This feature is crucial for making an e-learning app more engaging, as well as enhancing its usability. Users may not always have access to an Internet connection or they may face connectivity issues at times. Learners can download educational content and access it in an offline mode. Whenever Internet connectivity is disrupted because of a glitch or slow loading speed, the offline mode saves hassles for learners.

Multi-Language Support

If your e-learning app targets global audience groups, it should support the relevant languages. An app will lose its value if users located in certain parts of the world are not able to access it due to language barriers. An e-learning app with multi-language support will be widely accepted globally and will maximize audience outreach.

Revolutionary Offerings of Modern-Day E-Learning Apps

Microlearning

Microlearning is a popular e-learning approach offered by mobile applications. Modern-age learners have a shorter attention span and the microlearning approach aims to address this issue. Here, apps generate bite-sized learning content so that users can consume information in the form of small manageable chunks. This makes room for repetitive study and helps users to retain information more easily.

Interactive Content

New-age e-learning mobile app development solutions provide interactive content such as animations, videos, audio files, quizzes, and simulations. Live tutorials and doubt-clearing sessions are highly sought-after functionalities. Such an approach facilitates interaction and communication between learners and instructors.

Coming to quizzes, you can include different formats. Some examples are filling the blank spaces, MCQs, and sorting and matching to essays and surveys. You can also have leaderboards, define limits for tests, include random questions, and offer interesting hints wherever needed.

Interactive content makes learning more fun, exciting, and engaging. Hence, users’ learning outcomes are more productive and they can retain information better.

AI-Powered Personalized Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) adds to the productivity of an e-learning app by delivering personalized learning experiences. AI-powered algorithms can identify the specific requirements of every learner, track a student’s progress, and figure out the areas of improvement required. AI/ML algorithms can also generate customized study material tailored to meet the unique interests and preferences of learners. AI-empowered apps can analyze the behavior of every learner to produce such targeted content. Moreover, if a learner finds it difficult to grasp a specific concept, an AI app can provide extra study material based on their needs. This can help learners learn at their own pace and affords them extra time and guidance until they’ve mastered a concept entirely. As such, the usage of AI & Machine Learning guarantees improved learning outcomes and adds value to teaching-learning processes.

Immersive Experience using AR/VR

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have made their way into the e-learning landscape. AR/VR-empowered e-learning mobile solutions offer learners an immersive experience. The potential of AR/VR lies in the fact that these technologies can create illusionary circumstances to enable learners to virtually experience what they are learning. A virtual immersive experience creates an everlasting impact on human brains and proves way more effective than traditional teaching-learning methodologies. It can help a student to process information faster and retain information better. Hence, AR/VR wearables assist students to grasp a subject better. Imagine a scenario where students get a virtual feel of space, historical events, or visiting various places in the world.

AR/VR solutions also provide effective training scenarios. For example, employees undergoing safety training using VR headsets would get a  realistic experience of an emergency without having to face danger.

Gamification Techniques

Some e-learning apps even offer gaming elements for learners. Now, the question that may pop up in your mind is: Are gamification elements of any use to a teaching-learning solution? Well, gamification is a disruptive feature that motivates users to learn better and improve their performance. But, how? Elements like leaderboards, earning points and badges for achievements can add a new meaning to learning. Learners try to excel for earning rewards and fare better than their co-learners.

E-Learning Mobile Apps: Key Advantages

Flexibility and Accessibility

Traditional classrooms are mostly restricted to young learners. Conventional learning methods are not that useful for learners who are unable to attend offline classes. E-learning mobile applications have resolved this limitation and brought learning out of the confines of classroom teaching. Individuals can access courses regardless of their age or availability.

E-learning mobile applications make study material available to users in the form of videos or audio on users’ smartphones. Learners can access educational content and other resources from any place and at any time. All they need is a mobile phone and an Internet connection for accessing education. For example, learners can enjoy the advantage of accessing learning material while waiting in queues, travelling on public transport, or taking a break during work.

Due to such a high level of flexibility, users with super-busy schedules can adjust their study time at their convenience quite easily. This way, busy learners can access knowledge without having to disrupt their daily routines.

Peer-to-Peer Collaboration

Most e-learning solutions offer the functionality of learner-instructor interaction via messaging. But not every solution offers collaboration with other learners. Peer-to-peer collaboration is a desirable feature in an e-learning solution that modern-day mobile apps offer. Features like discussion forums, chat rooms, and group projects facilitate collaboration among learners. Learners can remotely connect and interact with other learners and instructors regardless of their location. This approach promotes knowledge sharing between peers. Learners can also  experience the feeling of community learning.

Self-Dependency

E-learning app solutions promote self-dependency among students, as well as instructors. Students no longer have to depend on school teaching to gain educational insights, extra knowledge, or study material for competitive exams. With access to e-learning, factors such as a student’s inability to attend classes due to illness or physical disability, a teacher’s absence from classes, non-availability of books, or long vacations cannot hamper the flow of education.

Teachers need not depend on conventional classes to earn a living. Instructors can take classes online from anywhere at any time regardless of barriers such as mobility issues and location.

Cost-Effectiveness

One of the major reasons why a learner and an educational institution should invest in an e-learning mobile app solution is cost efficiency. Learners do not have to travel to conventional classrooms or buy books. This saves them time and money.

An educational institution finds it immensely profitable to impart education through an app rather than traditional classroom settings. Institutions can save on infrastructure costs and overheads. You don’t have to spend on traditional teaching resources such as pens, paper, and books. A well-designed admin dashboard can save administrative costs as well.

Education industry providers investing in e-learning app development can save costs considerably. The only expense you need to incur is a one-time setup cost at the beginning. You need to hire professional programmers who will develop a custom e-learning app based on your specific requirements. Once developed, an e-learning solution will be a continuous source of revenue generation without the burden of maintenance expenses. You can also upscale or downscale your business operations effortlessly according to the demand.

Closing Views

E-learning apps have transformed the way people learn and gain access to educational material. E-learning mobile apps have revolutionized this approach further. Now, accessing education is just a finger click away. Furthermore, cutting-edge technologies such as AI, ML, AR, and VR are opening up new avenues never thought of before. Benefits such as flexibility, accessibility, personalization, improved interaction, user engagement, and cost-efficiency are driving factors that will elevate e-learning to unimaginable heights.

The demand for e-learning mobile solutions is higher than ever before. It’s the right time to invest in e-learning mobile app development. If you would like to design a transformative e-learning mobile app, partner with a professional mobile app development company with experience in building e-learning solutions.