Technological advancements in the world have changed our approach to life with several events in our daily lives being influenced in one way or another. We can say the Ecommerce sector was the first mover in the space, with websites employing the best programming language for e-commerce to improve the efficiency of their business. The educational sector is also a big mover in the digital space and with that, several individuals look for how to make an app like udemy to benefit from opportunities brought about by technological advancements.
Technology also has its mark on the educational sector with Statista estimating the e-learning market will surpass $243 billion by 2022 showing growth from $165.36 billion in 2014. The educational sector is undoubtedly a benefactor of technological advancements, and in this article, we would be guiding you on how to get your online learning platform off the ground.
E-learning market overview
As of 2016, surveys carried out show the willingness of students to adopt e-learning courses with the use of devices and convenience being cited as drivers for mass adoption of the practice. The market continued its growth in 2019, amassing a worth of $200 billion with over 77% of companies in the USA using online platforms as means to educate staff. At this current rate of growth Forbes estimates that the e-learning market will exceed $325 billion come 2025, with major drivers for this advancement being;
- Continued e-learning integration in everyday teaching practice.
- Increasing development of online learning platforms.
- Arising opportunities in e-learning.
- Growing distribution, accessibility, and availability of the internet.
With the growing popularity of e-learning, let’s have a look at the different kinds of e-learning platforms on the web.
Benefits of owning an online learning platform
Just before we dive into the specifics of creating your e-learning site, let’s discuss the benefits of owning an online learning platform.
- Wider reach: The creation of an online learning platform removes restrictions posed by location, having access to students who stay abroad or students not interested in leaving the comfort of their homes, and access to your educational content is granted to everyone.
- Content reuse: Having an online learning platform reduces the need for repeating classes as lectures once recorded can be accessed by both new and old students, only requiring course updates.
- Allows for scalability: While having an offline class can be limiting, taking your course to an online learning platform improves your reach and also your return on investment.
Basic and advanced features
For the smooth running of your online learning platform, there are basic and advanced features your platform should have to make it function and stand out from others.
Basic features
- Authentication and user profiles: This feature allows users access to the platform as well as create personalized bios which can be edited at will.
- Dashboard: this feature shows a user’s regisetered classes including information about tutors, rates, reviews, and niche.
- Course page: the course page gives in-depth information on courses including materials, a chat box with the tutors, and course descriptions.
- Editing page: this page provides tutors with the option of editing, deleting, and uploading courses.
- Payment: This feature allows students to register for classes through several channels.
- Notifications tab: Alerts users on new courses, upcoming classes, and so on.
- Comment and reviews feature: This tool allows users to rate courses offered by a tutor as well as rate them.
- Search and filter feature: Allows users to streamline their feeds as well as have quick access to courses of interest.
- Course library showing available courses and tutors.
- Customer service features.
- Multiple language systems.
Advanced features
- Verification feature: this feature guarantees the authenticity of professionals on the platform, requiring professionals to defend their level of expertise by providing evidence such as certificates.
- Responsive design and mobile support: the feature allows users to access the platform from any device.
- Communication feature: This creates a medium for students and tutors to interact, ranging from chats to email, video capability, and so on.
- Gamification makes learning fun and appealing by introducing educational games to enhance learning.
- Integrating an offline mode.
How to build an online learning platform
The most important component of your platform is the team behind it. Therefore the selection of a reliable team or the hiring of a software development company is crucial to the success of your platform. Your team of developers should look like this;
- A project manager.
- Technical specialists are responsible for frontend or backend development.
- User interface designer.
- QA engineers/specialists
- Marketers.
Learning platforms like Udemy, preply, or Coursera all have a target audience, and knowing your target audience allows you to decide between making either a web-based learning platform or a mobile-based learning platform.
Now that your development team is put together and your target audience is identified, let’s get into the steps you can take in developing an online platform like Udemy.
- Learn from established platforms, understand their models, and look for areas to improve on.
- Partner with a competent software development company to assist you.
- Choose a business model to work by.
- Together with the aid of your CTO, choose the best tech stack to base your platform on.
- Using a user-centered approach, create a friendly interface with easy navigation and quick response time.
- Build your minimum viable product (MVP).
- Test and deploy your product.
- Engage good educators.
Online learning platform tech stack
All software and sites require a tech stack by which they operate in a manner unique to their platforms. Therefore, choosing the right tech stack for your project depends on your team and the company’s mission for the project. With the above, there are several tech stacks such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AWS, and so on, all serving different purposes from front end to cloud storage.
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