Developing an E-Learning App: Expenses and Essential Features

Many years ago, the education ecosystem was limited to brick-and-mortar schools or colleges. Due to the rising costs or strict admissions requirements, many students were not afforded to study in the schools of their dreams. E-learning apps have come into trend over the last 4-5 years and since their arrival, the overall scenario of education has changed forever.Here we’ll help you understand E-learning apps and the factors considered for developing one for your abode of learning.

The education industry has experienced revolutionized changes like smart classrooms, e-learning applications which facilitates a platform where kids can enhance their learning irrespective of the faculty availability.

These days, nearly all the students and working professionals use Massive Open Online Courses mobile applications. Mobile technology has completely changed the entire educational ecosystem. Various startups or entrepreneurs are now seriously into developing e-learning, online courses, or educational applications to offer people a variety of online courses.

Global e-learning Market Volume from 2018 to 2028

This graph shows you the current global e-learning mobile and web portals market volume from 2011 to 2020. In 2020, worldwide mobile education spending is estimated to reach up to 37.8 billion USD, compared to 3.4 billion USD in 2011.

Advantages of E-learning over traditional learning methods

• E-learning mobile apps give freedom to users by allowing them to delve into the learning content via podcast, videos, and other mechanisms.
• E-learning mobile apps allow the users to learn at their own pace, and if they do not understand a concept, they can repeat it.
• E-learning apps enable better user engagement leading to higher completion rates and retention rates as opposed to conventional teaching methods.
• Students can collaborate and have a more participative learning experience.
• The E-learning mobile apps allow the parents to keep track of their ward’s progress. A company’s management can also track the performance of their employees.

First of all, before the development work starts, you should decide what type of application you want to build or what would be the purpose of building an eLearning app.

• Courses based application: The application which is dedicatedly designed for running courses is termed as course based application. The content of the course includes audio and video clips that are accessible only within the application.
• Smart Connect: This is the software that is designed keeping in mind the necessity of projection of contents for training and teaching purposes. It is widely used in smart classrooms and for distance learning programs.
• Examination Application: These applications consist of various tests and aptitude series for assessing student’s knowledge for a particular subject. These applications store the response shared by the students, analyze the shared responses and publish the result.
• Vocabulary Applications: This e-learning application facilitates the users in English vocabulary.
• Dedicated E-learning application: The applications that are designed for a specific industry or domain such as medical, typing tutorials, etc.

Must-have features of mobile e-learning software

• Login/Signup: Limit access to educational apps to protect personal information, including learning progress, contact info, payment details, etc.
• User profile: Enable users to view all the completed courses, access tasks, and track their learning achievements from a separate profile.
• Search: Help users to quickly find the necessary content by different filters such as name, subject, duration, etc.
• Menu: Simplify in-app navigation allowing users to access a specific section of the app in just a few taps.
• Learning materials: Add courses, games, exercises, and/or tests as applicable.
• Monetization: Think about the most suitable way to get profit from the deployed solution (That’s why you create it in the end). For instance, you can implement ads, in-app purchases, white labeling, or paid subscriptions.
• Payments: Take care of secure payment functionality if your app supports financial transactions.

Type of eLearning Applications

Educational applications or elearning apps have become a primary source of imparting education for many institutions, universities, colleges, and schools. The demand for such applications has increased to modernize the field of education as well as to impart education during this pandemic situation caused by COVID-19. Below are the types or categories of e-learning apps that are in demand:

E-learning Apps for Students

• Sign up and Sign in : To let students create their profile through email or social media profiles.
• Search : To search for a particular course, subject, or tutor on the app.
• Notification Alert : To receive notifications about new courses or to get reminders for the scheduled class.
• Dashboard : To manage and check their activities on the app.
• Ratings and Reviews : To give ratings and write reviews about a tutor or course.

E-learning Apps for Teachers

• Dashboard : To manage classes, share videos, or study material with the students.
• Time Table : To schedule classes for a particular course.
• Assignment : To give assignments to students.
• Notifications : To receive an alert regarding queries asked by students or the updates provided by the institution on any course.
• Sign up and Sign in : To create a new account and then access it at any time.

E-learning Apps for Super Admin

Apart from these two, there could be a third panel as well. This panel could be for the administrator (required in the education app development for a university, school, college, or a coaching institute). Essential features needed to be implemented in this panel include:

• Sign up : To create a profile on the app.
• Managing courses : To manage courses offered by the institution.
• Managing students : To track the performance of students, check how many students are there in a course, and more.
• Managing teachers : To check the feedback and reviews submitted by teachers, allot them a particular course, and more.
• Push Notifications : To update teachers and students with the upcoming events, such as exams, the launch of any course, and more.
• Payment gateway : To check and keep a record of the payments made by students.
• Content management : To manage the content available on the app.

Technology Stack required to develop an E-learning app

Your E-learning app will need the following technology stack to function smoothly.

• Cloud Data Storage : Data will be stored on cloud services like AWS.
• Database : Various tables will be created, and the details entered accordingly. Eg: MySQL.
• Frontend development : The development at the front end can be bifurcated based on the type:
  • Frontend iOS Development : Swift, React Native
  • Frontend Android development : Android studio (Java), React Native
• UI/UX : This will include each and every aspect of design right from designing the wireframes to the related images and icons to drafting the perfect user experience. Eg: CSS, HTML for web page designs & Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch for Mobile applications.
• Analytics : Based on the level of analytics to be integrated, you can opt accordingly. Eg: Google Analytics.
• SMS and verification via phone and voice : These services can be integrated to provide SMS notification and verification services. Eg: Nexmo, Twilio.
• Email Management : You can manage everything related to email right from registration to resetting passwords to communication for every aspect. Eg: Mandrill, Sendgrid, Mailjet, AmazonSES, and Mailgun.
• Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality : AR and VR technologies are among the trending ones that have improved the engagement and provided a better understanding about various aspects to the learners improving the overall experience of using the e-learning app as a user.
• Payment Gateways : To be used for providing efficient in-app payment methods. Focus on integrating the most common as well as multiple payments to make the payments so that the user can opt the most convenient one. Eg: Credit/Debit Cards, e-wallet, PayPal, Net-banking, Braintree and Stripes.
• Streaming video : Video streaming feature can be integrated by using services like Agora.io, RTMP, webRTC.

The E-learning app development team generally consists of

• A Project manager
• Business Analyst (1 for the basic app, 2-3 for a complex one)
• UI/UX designers (1 for the basic app, 2-3 for a complex one)
• Team leaders (1 for the basic app, 3-4 for a complex one)
• Programmers (2-3 for the basic app, 5-6 for a complex one)
• Quality analysts (1 for basic app 2-3 for a complex one)

How much does it cost to develop an E-learning app?

To estimate the total cost of an education app development, you need to write down the following requirements:

• Features of your app
• Platforms (Android, iOS, or any other) on which you want to release your app
• Size and location of the eLearning app development company
• Complexity of the app
• Tools and technologies to be used in the app development
• Duration of the project
• Type of eLearning application

In North America, it will cost you $100-$250 per hour.

In Europe, it will cost you $80-$180 per hour.

In India, it will cost you $18-$50 per hour.

Why Choose Amar Infotech for Elearning App Development?

Here are some of the reasons why you should choose Amar Infotech as your e-Learning app development partner.

• Hire developers on monthly or hourly basis
• No hidden cost
• Expert team of developers
• Proven track record of developing hundreds of applications
• Pocket-friendly plans
• To get a feature-rich, scalable, and robust dating application
• Awarded By Clutch, Goodfirms, Businessof apps as the best Mobile app development company.

Wrapping Up

eLearning applications definitely have a bright future as it helps students and tutors to connect virtually even from remote areas. In this article, we have covered everything you want to know about the eLearning app development along with its latest trends, statistics, and features. To develop such an application, note down your specific app requirements and then connect to an eLearning app development company or hire eLearning app developers for your project. Make sure you choose a reliable company that offers you the best of your money.