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9 Must-Have Features for Your e-Learning Mobile App

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We’re living in a day and age where it’s never been easier to learn new things. As time passes, the last of the barriers to learning are being taken care of. We’ve gone from the traditional classroom setting to eLearning and now a step further to mLearning. As a majority of the content on the internet is accessed through mobiles, it isn’t surprising that eLearning mobile apps have created quite a buzz in the industry.

These mobile apps come bundled with a set of advantages for both – the users and eLearning entrepreneurs. Now, although the decision to have a mobile app developed is a ‘much-needed’ one on your part, it’s not entirely a straightforward affair.

Once you’re through with your research, you’ll end up with a huge list of features that could be incorporated into your eLearning app. The real trick here is to sort out the ‘must-haves’ from the ‘nice-to-haves’ and prioritize.

So, let me break it down for you with a list of some quintessential features that should definitely be a part of your eLearning mobile app:

Features that your App ‘Absolutely Can’t Do Without’

Mobile Apps

  1. Scalability: As your business grows, there’ll be a perpetual increment in the number of users as well. Goes without saying, your app needs to adapt to new scenarios, new versions of the operating systems (iOS/ Android) and support the addition of new features to the app.  
  2. Learner-Focused Design: The mobile app you’re building, has a specific purpose; which is, to facilitate learning. The User Experience of your learning app is paramount when it comes to ensuring the effective delivery of content. A learner-centric layout helps your students to focus on the course content, that is optimally laid out across mobile devices with varying dimensions.
  3. Push Notifications: Unlike emails and messages that have been rendered ineffective or spammy over the years, push notifications are subtly pushed on to the notification bars on your learner’s phone. These notifications are a great way to directly connect with your learners and keep them engaged.

Notification

Ideally, you should be able to set different triggers for sending out push notifications. In simple words, a certain activity carried out by your learner should set off or ‘trigger’ the corresponding push notification. For example,

Activity

Push Notification

The Learner Completes a Course Recommend a related or similar course
The Learner Completes a Lesson or Topic Remind the user to take a Test
The Learner Passes a Quiz Send a Congratulatory Message
The Learner hasn’t logged in for ‘X’ days Send reminders at regular intervals

The Content Management, and Delivery System

  1. Different Content Formats: If your learners are to retain the information that your courses offer, the traditional plain and boring written lessons just won’t suffice. Your course content could span from written information to podcasts to high definition videos that help create a more immersive experience. And in order to implement these modern-day teaching techniques, you need your app to support multiple different course formats.
  2. Micro-Learning: As an educator, you can’t overlook that fact that today’s learners have a shorter span of attention. Smaller chunks of data ensure higher receptivity and information retention. With content that’s designed for micro-learning and an app that’s built to deliver this content in the most effective way possible, you can dominate the micro-learning scene like a pro!
  3. Support for Offline Content: A definite ‘must-have’ for your e-learning app. This feature allows your users to download the course content and access it at their convenience. The best part is, they won’t have to worry about connectivity issues, slow loading speeds or excessive battery consumption, which in turn helps them focus on what really matters – learning.
  4. Drip Feeding Content: This functionality is generally used by eLearning websites for delivering larger amounts of content in the form of manageable chunks. You can drip feed content in order to:
  • track a students progress
  • ensure the learner has gone through the pre-requisite classes/content before he can start advancing into the course
  • schedule the content delivery on a weekly or monthly basis to constantly keep your students engaged; etc

If this is something you’ve already implemented on your website, your app needs to support the functionality too. On the other hand, if you aren’t already drip feeding content, it’s a great time to consider upgrading your website along with your mobile app!

The Tests and Quizzes

  1. Multiple Quizzing Options: There are a lot of ways to play around with your quizzing techniques. You can implement leaderboards, set time limits for tests, randomize questions, and provide hints when necessary. You need to ensure your mobile app can accommodate all of these different traits and do them justice.
  2. Optimized Quiz Layouts: Your quizzes could include various formats ranging from multiple choice questions to fill-in-the-blanks, sorting and matching to essays and surveys. Ensuring all of these various quiz types are optimally laid out on the mobile screen is again a crucial step towards building a great learner-centric app.

Over To You

When it comes to eLearning apps, you need the right blend of technology and strategy in order to create a superior learning experience for your users. While the above list of features contains all of the basic features that your app would need, it’s important to keep an eye out for the latest trends in mobile learning.

Do you agree with our list of ‘Must-Haves’? What challenges, in your opinion, can an eLearning app solve for you?

Let’s get talking in the comments section below!

Shreya Reddy

Shreya Reddy

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