Building Custom E-Learning Platforms: Tailored Solutions for Optimal Learning Experiences

Flexibility

Sharing and imparting knowledge via eLearning platforms guarantees more accessibility and to the student. It gives its users flexibility to gain and impart knowledge irrespective of time and place. Students who do not have access to educational institutions can access these platforms digitally and continue their academic development at a fraction of the cost.

Better Retention

In a survey, it was observed that students who depended on E-learning platforms completely for their schooling and academics had elevated retention power compared to students availing traditional schooling techniques. There was a difference of almost 25-60% in retaining the abilities of the surveyed students.

Inexpensive access to knowledge

With the cost of education being no exception to inflation, parents and students worldwide are switching to e-learning for cost efficiency. Earlier additional coaching and remedial classes would often burn a hole in parents’ pockets. E-learning provides courses, tutorials, and guidance at a fraction of the cost thus reducing the overall cost of education which is a boon for the underprivileged population.

Time Efficiency

E-learning is time efficient because learners can accommodate their learning around their schedules. The platforms are well equipped to store courses and videos that can be accessed at will and when users have time.

Environmental friendly

E-learning platforms are more environmentally friendly compared to traditional schooling systems as students need not travel to public spaces, purchase stationery worth thousands, and use facilities that have larger carbon footprint. Although it is not completely carbon neutral, learners will still have to use electricity and print paper/notes.

Come up with a unique idea

Businesses need to have a unique idea for developing e-learning platforms. As more and more businesses come up with learning platforms, one needs to make sure that the idea is different from what is already there in the market.

Understand your niche

The next step is to understand one’s business niche, in this case, it is education. Understanding what course to offer, the demographic of learners, age, gender, educational requirements, primary objectives, and learning preferences are a few metrics that should be researched thoroughly beforehand.

Pick a Monetising Model

Monetizing models refer to the way the platform will make money or generate revenue. Many different models generate value for e-learning platforms. Some of them are:

• Paid certificates from platforms
• Subscription-based monetizing model i.e., users avail the contents of the educational platform at nominal yearly or a monthly fee
• Affiliate model – Further links to courses, resources, and books can further bring in revenue
• Corporate collaboration – This refers to collaborating and advertising with corporates and using the platform to share educational material.
• Paid courses – The student can avail of the course at a small fee which is divided between the instructor and the platform.

Must-have features of E-Learning platforms

These days an eLearning Platform has a lot of features, some of which are crucial for the platform’s success. That being said, here are a few features that every educational platform must possess. This amounts to an interactive platform that is easily accessible by all the concerned users: students, teachers, owners, and other stakeholders.

Student and Teacher’s profile

Search, filter, and exam options: A search engine to handle basic searches for courses and category runs. The interface also should have filters for sorting out preferences, subjects, expertise levels, etc.
A recommendation panel and options for additional remedial courses based on schedule and courses for students
For a teacher’s profile, the platform should have a content updation and edit corner.
A dashboard for students and teachers is also a must in an ed-tech platform. A dashboard is a convenient tool for keeping track of the courses they have uploaded, the
number of people participating, etc.

Administrative profile features

The administrative dashboard comprises options to perform the following functions:

• Add, edit details, remove users
• Course updation
• Analytics and reports corners
• Notifications page
• Log off all enrolled educators and learners

Apart from these, the Admin dashboard can also have options like push and email notifications to engage with subscribers.

Choose the development approach

When building an e-learning platform, one can choose from either of the two options: build it from scratch or white label a ready-made solution of a Learning Management system available in the markets.

Custom e-Learning platform development

For enterprises looking to cater to a specific crowd let’s say to students from a particular field or preparing for a specific management exam. Any enterprise software development company can help such enterprises build Learning Management systems targeted at that course or exam , from scratch, using different development techniques. This approach is ideal for enterprises looking to introduce a unique Elearning platform with a niche functionality to their customers.

Ready-made products

The market offers many open-source software like Moodle, Joomla, and Canvas. These tools provide basic student management features and many free plugins but limit businesses when it comes to the creativity and uniqueness of the e-learning platform that is designed.

Engage good educators

An e-learning platform is nothing without good content and good educators. It is important to employ the best content-creating team and best educators as it is to design it for learners. The educational content when delivered by world-class educators allows learners to learn and retain better, and build brand loyalty in the long run.

Byju’s AL/ML-based eLearning application

Recently scaled-up Byju’s application is one eLearning platform to watch out for. Upgraded with third-party integrations of LeadSquared and FreshDesk for lead handling and communication, Byju is one of the Top 10 most popular e-learning applications on the Google Play Store.

Recently, with the help of customized solutions provided by OpenXcell, BYJU has further streamlined its operations which has improved its customer interactions by leaps and bounds.

Features include:

• Automation to scale business
• Role-based Dashboard
• Central Repository
• Logistic Workflow alignment
• Integration with third-party applications

Vedantu

Another very popular eLearning platform, Vedantu provides futuristic learning experiences to its community of 500 million+ students to date. With students accessing the platform from as many as 50 countries, the application is a crowd favorite amongst learners. With constant upscaling and improvement, the company has observed that by optimizing its learning management operations by 30%, it has witnessed a hike of 36%.

Udemy

Udemy.com is an online marketplace for learners & teachers and a place where you can acquire new skills by enrolling in in-depth lessons from over 80,000 courses. Its interactive classes, easy doubt-clearing sessions, and convenient dashboard contribute to its large number of subscribers.

The main advantages of Udemy are :

• Courses for individuals and corporations
• Vast selection of personalized courses
• Skills-focused educational material
• Lifetime access to the paid courses