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Coursera!

Ever wondered how Coursera was a successful online education provider even before the times of lockdown?

Ever pondered how they entered the life of people in their normal days and still were successful to rule online as the world’s leading online education provider?

About Coursera Inc.

Coursera Inc. (COUR) is an online education provider platform offering people access to world-class professional certificates and degrees. Collaborating with 200+ leading and world-famous universities and companies, Coursera has opened the door for people to learn without limits, from 2012.

According to Statista, in 2015, even before the times of lockdown, Coursera provided 36.5 % of massive open online courses. They are the leading online course providers with quality. Coursera, just like their promised vision, are indeed providing a life-transforming learning experience to learners around the world.

Coursera, as the world’s leading online learning platform, has been offering people across all continents to have access towards online courses and degrees from leading universities and companies.

Why should you focus on e-Learning platforms or LMS?

According to Statista research, the global online e-learning market size which was approximated to 101 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, has been forecasted to grow exponentially to over 370 billion U.S. dollars by 2026.

Such is the exposure, demand, and growth level of eLearning market after lockdown.

LMS, a Learning Management System, is a software application for delivering educational training, learning, or development programs. The main aim of any LSM is to focus on delivering online learning opportunities on a wider range, and provide automated recommendations to learners, based on their profile and search.

LMS supports a learner with the opportunity to reach skilled tutors from any region, accessibility to advanced courses and skills, reusability of course materials and ability to go back and attend the classes again, when needed.

From learner’s point of view, e-Learning platforms are a boon as:

• It supports the comfort of learning from home.
• It supports education for all age and group of people.
• It facilitates flexible timing. Learner can study at anytime when they are free, seamlessly from any device!
• It provides affordable courses and classes with more advanced features.
• It provides access to learners on skills or techniques from leading universities, professional educators, or individual experts in the field.
• It supports like-minded people to stay connected and explore together regarding the course or topic, and thus, help in increasing the information in-flow, ideas, suggestions, and advanced options.
• With more e-Learning platforms in the market, the competition is healthy and heavy after the global pandemic that, the e-learning providers like universities, professional educators and even the platform are providing a wide range of famous courses with discounts and deals.
• A printable and widely acceptable certificate at the end of course, motivates the learners to learn more, and interests them to choose online platforms over offline classes.
• It helps in a global level collaboration where learner can reach experts from any part of the world and learn the recent trends, at any time.

From tutor’s point of view, e-Learning platforms:

• Tutors can be from Colleges and Universities or even Individual tutors who are experts in their field.
• Virtual tutoring supports in close correlation with learners.
• Tutors will get to collaborate and know more about experts in their field from across the world.
• Helps tutor expand their network of learners. A global reach.
• Supports bigger audience reach in less expense. Hence, increase in profit and reach.
• Support tutors with both pre-defined course flow, online video classes, online conferences and discussions.
• Ease the task of assembling and categorizing the audio, video, and documents of tutorials.
• Eases the task of content creation, modification, updating, and distribution, as per the market and technology advancement.
• A one-time registration to easier global reach and profit.
• Effective, convenient, and simplified network to establish a strong base to tutor, collaborate, discuss, and grow.

From Platform Provider’s point of view :

• Easy online management of piles of tutors, courses, course categories, and learners.
• Cost-effective data management, with no worry of data loss.
• Partnering with universities, professors, and experts, the provider is free from the worries and is stress-free in creating educational contents.
• E-learning platforms enjoy the benefits of no rents for space or ground, building, maintenance, updating classroom features, accommodation features for tutors, learner safety, and many more issues offline classes face.
• E-learning facilitates global reach in less expense.
• Analytical data and reports ease the pain of researching for the target audience and their interests.
• Easily accessible to a wide range of group learners through corporate clients.
• With easy digital marketing techniques, modern way of monetization is easier and simpler like coupons, deals & discounts, seasonal offers, corporate subscriptions, advertising and more.
• Effective, error-free, and cost-effective means of managing workforce, administration details, platform reach, revenue, exposure, and growth.

Building an e-Learning platform like Coursera!

According to Forbes, the e-learning market is expected to reach $325 billion by 2025!

With more e-learning platforms, learners are excited as they get easy access to advanced ideas, features, technology, techniques, and even courses or skills not popular in their region or continent.

Learners get connected with experts across the globe, spending less but effective!

But to be successful like Coursera, a plain idea with basic feature and functionality is never enough to stand in the competition. Isn’t it?

Success in e-learning business is an effective collaboration of :

• Strategized Idea.
• Quality educational content.
• Piles of Features.
• Stable and simple platform.
• High-end data security.
• A trustworthy online platform

So, how to design, develop and own a successful e-learning platform that will succeed like Coursera, and Udemy?

Types of e-learning Platform

There are two types of business models in eLearning. The difference is with the tutor.

• Coursera works with Colleges and Universities directly for their tutors.
• Platforms like Udemy work with individual tutors who are experts in their field. This facilitates many people to monetize their expertise, in a strong e-learning platform.

Features of an e-Learning Platform

Essential Features

Regardless of whether you are a tutor, learner or an admin, these features are the most important and common requirements in both app and website!

• Registration Be it admin, tutor or a learner, everyone needs to register their detail and set up a login access to the e-learning system. The common and widely used form of registration is either email, phone number, or social media network with a strong password combination.
• User Profile A detailed user profile is necessary for every admin, tutor and learner. A detailed profile management includes advanced features with user information like user’s name and settings page.
  • A Learner’s User profile includes details like : Learner name, Profile picture, List of active courses, List of Past courses, Favorites List, List of Completed courses, Certificates, purchase and cancellation history, and rewards & deals, if any.
  • A Tutor’s User Profile includes information like : Tutor’s name, tutor’s profile pic, Tutor’s description, his/her educational qualification, or the university or college they represent, and their list of courses added.
  • An Admin User Profile includes information like : Admin name, admin designation, and admin’s email.

• Dashboard A dashboard is a never-to-ignore feature which decides the user’s interest towards the platform.
  • A Learner‘s Dashboard gives useful insights on their recent searches, the list of courses they have enrolled and their progress, upcoming deals and discounts on their interested category or courses, recent updates from their tutor, and updates from the platform.
  • A Tutor‘s Dashboard helps the tutor to track the progress of his courses and get more insightful ideas on course update, or adding new courses, based on the inflow of learners and their requests. A tutor, in one look, can get access to the number of learners who have enrolled for each course, learner’s ratings and comments, their earnings, course performances, reports and their earnings.
  • An Admin‘s Dashboard helps the admin to get a detailed view on the performance of the platform, manage tutors, and the learners’ profile, and check ratings and reviews to update the platform and enhance their business. Admin’s dashboard helps admin with an easy access to get the daily, monthly or yearly report on performance and earnings.
• Advanced Filters & Categories All e-learning platforms includes wide range of categories and courses to their database. To ease the user’s access towards their defined search, advanced search option tool with multiple filters are included. The tools include:
  • Search bar
  • Multiple filters (Category, Course Name, Course Level, Course Price, Language, Ratings, and many more)
  • Recommendations (Course recommendation based on learner’s previous search and interests)
• Featured Courses The wide range of courses added by the tutors, categorized on the platform, play the major role in making the LMS successful. The courses can be categorized based on “Trending courses”, “Upcoming deals”, and “All courses”. The courses listed under trending courses are tagged as featured courses as they highlight with offers and deals, assisting learners to get started with the programs.
  • The Courses will be categorized based on the industry, like Business, IT & Software, Entertainment, Music, Academic, Language, Health & Fitness, Lifestyle, Personal Development, Game Development, & more.
  • If the LMS platform is like Coursera, then the courses can be categorized based on the university or institute.
• Payment Integration For a platform aimed and designed with a purpose of global reach, accepting payments, sending payouts, and settling funds or refunds require the easiest payment gateway integration. Our platform supports fast onboarding, simple integration, superfast payments, and secured seamless fast settlements, regardless of the country the user is. Online payment integration are the simplest way to supercharge an e-learning platform and enhance your business.
• Notifications & Reminders Quick reminders and advanced notifications make life easier for everyone. No stress of missing classes or updates. Notifications and reminders help learners, tutors, and admin to stay organized and get the job done. Notification, alerts and reminders can be viewed as per the user’s choice of platform : Mobile app, email, website.
• Support With an online platform focused on serving people, globally, it is indeed vital to have a customer service corner.
  • For Learners, the support will help them resolve issues on refund delays, nonissue of certificates, course enrollment, and more.
  • For tutors, the support system can help them in resolving issues on adding or editing courses, reports, track learners’ activities, and payments.

• Blog Owning a resourceful blog page with meaningful articles helps learners, tutors, and new guests to stay updated and also to draw more traffic to the platform.

For Learners

In addition to the essential features, a learner’s platform should be supported with more tools and features for the learner to have a better, quality, smart, and advanced experience in learning.

• Course Enrollment Learners are provided the opportunity to enroll and get access to the course they wish to learn. The learner can either pay for the courses or, in case of deals and discounts, they can enroll and get accessed for free.
• Ratings & Reviews The learner can rate and add review regarding the course and about the tutor under the course enrolled. This will help in knowing the learner’s mindset and, thus, in enhancing the platform.
• Advanced Video Player Online LMS is based on video players. Tutors deliver their courses and share videos or slides of course content via an advanced video player. The advanced video player supports:
  • Subtitles in multiple languages.
  • Play and pause video at learner’s will.
  • Control playback speed option
  • Add in-video chat, so learners can inquire and get clarified exactly in the place of the video’s content where they have doubt.
• App ratings & reviews App or website app, or website, the learner can share their suggestions and opinions on the platform. This will help in enhancing the platform’s performance.
• Course Page A Course page is the major decider on whether a learner will return to learn or not. Regardless of the course or category, every course page is supported with:
  • Course’s brief description
  • About the tutor
  • About the course and timeline
  • List of titles under the course, duration, and start date
  • Pre-recorded video, with subtitles (in multi-language or in English)
  • Discussion Forum learners to interact or clarify doubts with tutor
  • Study material (in PDF or DOC format)
  • LIVE video feed, if needed
  • Interactive quiz or assignments
  • Tools for learner to peer-review on their assignment remarks from the tutor

For Tutors

Just like learner’s special features list, tutor’s profile is also entitled to a set of features exclusively for easing their business and growth.

• Ratings & Reviews Tutors get access to view the ratings and review given by learners under the course. This will help in knowing the learner’s mindset and, thus, in enhancing the platform.
• Advanced Video Player Online LMS is based on video players. Tutors deliver their courses and share videos or slides of course content via an advanced video player. The advanced video player supports:
  • Subtitles in multiple languages.
  • Play and pause at learner’s will.
  • Control playback speed option
  • Add in-video chat, so tutor can respond to learners’ queries.
  • A video player which supports LIVE connectivity for conducting live classes in case of need.
• Course Page A Course page is the major decider on whether a learner will return to learn or not. Regardless of the course or category, every course page is supported with:
  • Course’s brief description
  • About the tutor
  • About the course and timeline
  • List of subtitles under the course, course time and start date
  • Pre-recorded video, with subtitles (in multi-language or in English)Discussion Forum learners to interact or clarify doubts with tutor
  • Study material (in PDF or DOC format)LIVE video feed, if needed
  • Interactive quiz or assignments Tools for learner to peer-review on their assignment remarks from the tutor
  • Add / Edit / Delete or Deactivate a course page or course details.
  • Unlimited, user-friendly course catalog entry.
• Report Management Tutor can save an error-free report on his/her courses’ performance for a period of time, in digital platform. A detailed, hassle-free report on courses, learners who subscribed his / her course, course reach, payments and all.
• Promotion Management Every tutor is provided option to market and promote their courses, get access to certain deals for certain courses and promote as per region or reach.
• Pricing Management Tutors own a separate pricing detail where they can manage the prices of their courses, add offers, coupons, deals or discounts, price change details, and more.

For Admin

An admin is the bridge who connects and the same time, the check post who keeps tab of the courses entered, learners, and tutor.

Admin panel is the primary panel who manages the platform and all the activities.

• The admin panel manages the vast content added by tutors, making sure it’s accessible to learners.
• The admin panel also manages the profiles of the users viz., learner, tutor, and other admin.
• The admin panel also generates reports and provide a detailed insight on advancement of the LMS.
• In case of multi-level admin, the top level admin also gets control of roles and permissions for other admins.
• The admin panel checks and runs the entire platform under one dashboard.
• An admin manages and keeps track of the notifications, issues, newsletters, subscriptions, and more.

Simple Steps to own a robust e-Learning platform

Taking steps towards your dreams and vision is always exciting and engaging, regardless of the issues and troubles we face. Owning an e-learning platform, website and mobile app, and being successful like Coursera includes simple, strategized and smart steps.

1. Study the target audience. Age has never been a factor to get educated, and online classes has paved a path for it, making it comfortable for everyone. Study the type of field, courses and topics people are interested to learn more. Study on how and what you present can be personalized as per their preference.
2. Hire a developer. On strategizing what your need is, and how you wish to define your platform, hire a developer. A developer can be an IT firm or a qualified developer. Discuss on requirement, design, check the technology support, features and tools, and finalize with the all-in-one solution to own a customized platform for your e-learning business. Finalize on the outlook of the e-learning app, and /or website platform with the developer.
3. Great Content from Great Educators. Owning an app with first-class UI/UX services and features will take you to people, but to make people stay, the platform has to support great content. Learners are looking to learn from the best. The best LMS platform must deliver great content to be successful. And this requires constant support from great educators, skilled tutors, institutions, or universities. Cooperate with the best educators in the field and locality to ensure more inflow of learners.
4. Launch! Partnering with famous educators, universities, or institutes will assist you to enter big among students. Cooperating with skilled educators and famous people would give your LMS a bigger reach.

How much will an LMS or e-Learning platform costs?

A well strategized plan and detailed budget eases your first step into owning an LMS.

Own a brief on the requirements of your LMS, how it should look, what features it should cover, and the reach.

LMS Product Development

1. Ready-made LMS There are many companies owning open source LMS which can help you enter the market as quickly as possible with little additions and modifications as per your requirement. These readily available LMS come with basic functionalities.
2. Custom LMS In cases, where budget and time is not a constraint, and you wish to own an app or website incorporated with your specific list of unique features and innovative yet simple functionalities, catering to your need and your target audience, then custom software development is your choice.

Compared to ready-made LMS, a custom developed LMS is a long process, but it also includes a whole bundle of easy-to-use, user-friendly and UI/UX supportive features.

The time for an LMS development and the cost of developing depends on factors like:

• Requirement (LMS iOS or Android App / Website App / Desktop App / Website)
• Back-end Technology
• Front-end Technology
• Custom Features list
• Product developer team
• Resource Inflow

Wrap

The success of Coursera has led to the budding of many online e-learning platforms and many have succeeded in their steps to reach or even, at times, surpass the giant Coursera!

An easy-to-understand and simple-to use LMS (Learning Management System) that’s primarily focused on enhancing learner’s knowledge and skills, will always gain advantage and approval from learners and tutors.

Ascent24 Technologies are experts in developing customized LMS and educational apps for corporates, institutes, and entrepreneurs. Our LMS system is a fully-packed system with easy-to-understand and simple-to-use features, scalable and customizable in every phase of the platform.

About Us

Ascent24 Technologies, established in 2019, is a successfully growing software solutions and service provider, providing efficient, scalable, and quality digital solutions for businesses of all sizes and industry.

Ascent24 Technologies has got experience in developing LMS for

• A most reputed Singapore institute.
• Thought-provoking corporate
• Budding entrepreneur.

We are successful with our satisfied clients!

Got an idea for an LMS or e-learning platform?

Let us get the best to enhance your business!