The world has become a global village that has been growing ever since. In this tech-savvy world, everything a person needs can be found online now. Kids nowadays know how to swipe before they learn how to tie their shoes. Hence, trendy mobile apps are ruling over the typical educational system.
Today emerging technologies are redefining the education system to ensure that, students get more than just a classroom and the basic information about subjects. And this is exactly where educational apps come into the picture. During the pandemic, the world had to shift to the internet, and e-learning industries were abruptly disrupted. All educational institutions had to move to e-learning platforms overnight to keep up with the challenges and changes. So, before developing an app, let’s dive into the details and know it all.
E-Learning Market Statistics
The rapid growth of internet connectivity in emerging economies has been causing a positive impact on the educational system too. Over the years e-learning has become an important and prominent part of the education system.
E-learning has proven to be more effective than classroom-based learning since the students do not have to travel from one place to another or invest in specific learning equipment or resources for each module of a specific course. Following are some of the marketing statistics of the E-Learning Market:
Retention Rate
According to research in the USA, E-learning increases the retention rate from 25% to 65%. On the other hand, the retention rate from face-to-face learning is competitively less: 8% to 10%. A reason for this is that E-Learning students have more control over their learning routines and they can access the learning materials whenever it is needed.
Time Consumption
Learning from e-learning platforms takes 40% to 60% less time compared to classroom learning. This is because it is non-simultaneous, and is available whenever the student wants, which doesn’t interrupt the learning process and workflow. It is important to note that less time doesn’t affect the quality of learning it is the opposite.
Rapid Growth
Since 2000, the E-Learning market has increased by 900%, which makes it one of the fastest-growing industries. The global E-Learning market size is said to grow to USD 370 Billion by 2026 from USD 226 Billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 8.56% during 2021-2026.
Customer Satisfaction
The companies that offer courses using technology and e-learning courses have more satisfied employees and the revenue generated by employees on average is 26% higher than other companies. The employees get a better chance to learn and grow in their workplace through e-learning.
Growth of Users
15.43% of US students find digital studying technologies helpful in doing their homework and preparing for quizzes or exams. Since eLearning can be completed faster than in-person learning, people are more likely to focus on that aspect and people are finding eLearning more helpful than ever. Online courses are increasing the retention rate and a large number of users are switching to online learning every day.
Benefits of eLearning Apps
Following are some key benefits associated with e-learning as compared to face-to-face learning:
Standardization
Standardization of practices is hard to achieve while working from different sites and different countries. eLearning can reach all employees of an organization and can be accessed at any time in any part of the world. In case of the launch of a new tool or practice, this learning method ensures that the same learning content is shared with everyone. E-Learning content can be stored in a backup which can be accessed by learners in the initial phase of learning for better understanding.
No Fear of Failure
As compared to classroom learning, learners often feel less fear of failure during eLearning. Many learners have said that the fear of failure is less in eLearning. As the initial practice is done in private so they don’t worry about failing it and the quick results make it easy to practice again and again as compared to tests and quizzes where you have to wait for days to get results. This way the stress and anxiety levels of learners stay in check. Most eLearning platforms give live results and feedback to the answers of the learners. Some of them even support better learning plans too.
Communication and Management
E-Learning platforms can be the most effective communication and change management tool. You can provide employees with an understanding and rationale of change by giving them awareness about communication and change management.
Necessary Participation
It is important to note here that some of us are shy and introverts and let others speak in the classroom. Some well-built apps developed for distance learning require necessary participation from all learners. It has a lot of activities which each learner can take apart and enjoy. This way it helps people to socialize, open up, and gain more confidence while gaining knowledge.
eLearning is the Greener Option
In recent years the eco-friendly movement has been growing leading to the growth of the eLearning business. As online courses use 90% less energy and 85% less CO2, eLearning has established itself as one of the reliable methods of learning.
Also, it doesn’t require any printed notes or textbooks, reducing the demand for cutting down trees for the production of paper.
Saves Money
The cost of online education is lesser than classroom education which is one of the reasons for the popularity of eLearning apps. Online courses are proven to be more affordable as compared to in-person courses and the best part is there are no commuting costs.
One can learn from any corner of the world and you can find nearly all the learning materials on the internet which saves you the cost of buying books or printing notes. Not just the users, but even companies can save a lot of money by producing educational apps. For example, IBM saved approximately $200 Billion after shifting to E-Learning.
Easy Access
Back in the day, you had to go to the library to get material for your studies or to do homework but that is not the case anymore for the growing number of college students. E-libraries have made it easy to get access to any e-book at any time. Now several students can read the same book at the same time through the e-library.
Trending Educational Apps in The Market
In the age of technology, educational mobile app development is changing how learners learn in and out of classrooms. Online learning has shown rapid growth in the past few decades.
The education quality at universities and colleges has been dropping for years and it is not hidden from anyone.
But when the pandemic struck, countries began to lock themselves down and the students, professionals, and kids were stressing all over the world since the chances to learn new skills and continue their studies lessened. People found themselves in a situation where they had to do all their work and study from home. This is where the eLearning apps came to the rescue of people with their cost-effective and time-saving features.
All people needed was good internet connections and a device to connect on. Everything was moving rapidly to the internet and successful educational app development wasn’t easy as it had to keep up with the trends of the market too.
Following are the best learning apps for students that helped them to engage in learning even during the pandemic:
Coursera
The list of eLearning and productive apps is incomplete without adding the app named Coursera. This eLearning platform has a rating of 4.2 and is filled with certifications and even degree courses. Coursera offers some of the best and most affordable courses one can look for. These courses have video lectures, reading materials, short quizzes, and even assignments.
While most of the apps are paid, Coursera offers free courses too and you can apply for a scholarship for paid courses as well. Most of the scholarship applications are accepted by the platform making eLearning easy and affordable for everyone.
Khan Academy
It is one of the biggest online sources of learning for newbies all around the world whether you are a teacher, a working professional, or a student. The Academy has a cloud-based app that is supported by both Android and iOS, making it accessible to everyone with a rating of 4.5 stars.
While the Academy doesn’t offer many scholarships, the courses are affordable so you can enroll in any course and sharpen your skills or gain new knowledge and skills.
But that is not all, the Academy has an app for kids that allows them to learn every subject from English to Mathematics. It offers fun learning and rewards to kids that help to engage them in the learning activities. The app is available on iPad and Android.
Udemy
Another Coursera-style app that gained popularity due to its features and courses is Udemy. This eLearning platform has a rating of 4.4 stars and amazing services. Udemy provides several courses and certifications. Udemy is a platform where you can gain knowledge and enhance your skills. It tries to cover all the courses from branding to baking, from graphics to science. Udemy has both free and paid courses for learners. Udemy offers financial aid to deserving students besides that the paid courses are not very expensive and a learner can easily afford them.
edX
edX has 2,500 courses and partnerships with world-famous universities including Harvard and MIT and a rating of 4.6 stars. If you’re someone who’s looking to broaden their understanding in the areas of humanities and natural sciences then edX is your go-to place. It focuses on and covers all the topics of humanities and natural sciences. Languages and computer sciences are the most popular subjects on this learning app.
While most courses are free, some courses come with additional costs and are taught by professionals. Many courses at edX are offered with a 90% scholarship so you can get benefit from it while gaining skills.
FutureLearn
FutureLearn is partially owned by an Open University and offers a wide range of courses across all subjects. The rating of this platform is 4.4 stars given by satisfied customers. FutureLearn is offering shorter and longer courses with a total of 14 subject areas. You can take the course depending on your schedule and interests.
Its short courses are available for free and you can get a certificate for an additional $40 after you complete the course. FutureLearn doesn’t offer any scholarships at the moment but they have multiple discounts on courses so every student can enjoy learning.
How Educational Apps Make Money?
Education mobile app development needs money like every other business. With evolving market trends, education mobile app development is gaining traction and remains in demand with ongoing globalization. We have covered all the efficient methods that help to monetize an educational app and to generate business revenue.
Advertisement
Advertising is one of the most common and easy ways to monetize an app. This can be done with the help of affiliate marketing. Pop-up Ads appear automatically and it helps to gain the attention of the audience.
Night School Business Model
One of the most rooted and commonly used models is the Night School Business Model. This model is commonly used by eLearning platforms like Udemy in which the learner pays for a specific course that teaches them the given set of skills. The framework of the course is predetermined and no changes are made to it. The advantage of this business model is you can create hype, gather huge amounts from students, and get a huge profit.
The Academy Business Model
The academy approach focuses on the long-term learning process. You can gather monthly subscriptions or yearly subscriptions with this model and in return, the students get benefits by learning different courses. Students get access to the whole e-Library of knowledge and courses and they can build their lessons. Because of the monthly subscription element, this model is more profitable and reliable as compared to the night school model.
Freemium
Freemium allows users to have access to an educational app for free for a limited period. Afterward, the user needs to buy a monthly or annual subscription. The use of the app can be strategized as the user can know the features of the app during the trial period and go through the services offered by the app.
Paid
This is a self-explanatory and simple task. In this plan, you ask the user to pay a sum of money to get access to the features and services offered by the app. You can take a look at the market trends and competitors before deciding on the prices. You can also offer different services according to different plans.
In-App Purchases
With in-app purchases you allow the users to use most of the services for free. However, you push them to buy certain value additions to increase their user experience and unlock other features. This way you engage the customer with the app and gain profit.
Online learning is becoming the future and is replacing classroom learning. Mobile platforms have given access to more people so they can benefit from learning. In the future online learning will depend mostly on educational apps. This is the right time for you to invest your time and money in this industry that is destined to boom. However, it requires a lot of effort to come up with an idea that can sell. While finding the idea can be easy, interpreting it and finding skilled people for development can be a really difficult task. We know each idea is like a baby to the businesses and we have experienced people at Origami who can take care of that baby for you and nourish it into an adult.
At Origami we are a group of like-minded people working together to bring your idea of an educational app into reality. We will walk you through all the processes from coding to designing, from deciding features to making strategies, we got your back. We invest our time to make your app stand out among your competitors and make it to the list of the top apps of the year and decade.