The value of the eLearning industry is expected to double and reach $605 billion by 2027. It is already difficult to imagine a modern learner without virtual presentations, Zoom classrooms, digital whiteboards, and communication apps. Both learners and teachers expect tools with an intuitive interface, motivational quotes, progress bars, and other features that make the process simpler and more entertaining.
When designing an educational app, you need to anticipate users’ needs and be among the first to offer new solutions and technologies to keep up with the competition. That is what we are here for.
In this article, we discuss the most recent EdTech design trends, examples of successful apps for online learning, and the way you can put them into practice.
The latest education app design trends
To create a popular educational app, businesses need to stay abreast and follow market tendencies. Below, we want to tell you about the 7 app design trends in EdTech that are igniting the market in 2024.
Content visualization
More and more businesses replace texts with video tutorials and podcasts. They know that learners want to consume and remember information faster and more effectively. That is why the first trend you should use when designing an app for EdTech is visualization.
Integration of charts, schemes, short videos, and audio files into mobile applications makes learning easy and entertaining. Add such elements as webinars, graphics, and audio support, and you’ll see the number of app downloads increase.
Mobile-first design
This point is rather self-explanatory. Instead of focusing on personal computers and laptops, developers should concentrate on mobile devices – the way their apps look and feel on smaller screens and different operating systems.
The main task is to fit all crucial elements on a small screen and make sure they are properly displayed. To simplify this step, divide all elements into primary and secondary depending on the audience’s needs and expectations.
In EdTech apps, personal profiles and progress trackers usually come first. You will never go wrong with intuitive navigation or the so-called Hamburger menu.
AR in e-learning
Another trend to reckon with is augmented reality which helps learners understand, process, and remember information at a much better level. Paper books and textbooks are being replaced with immersive visualizations blending with the real world.
With the help of AR, learners can create novels and characters, explore geometric forms in 3D, or even understand how the human body works on the deepest level.
This technology is also commonly used by museums and galleries where learners can access information about statues, artifacts, or documents straight through their phones.
Read also: Augmented Reality in Education: How to Apply It to Your Business
AI implementation
It is difficult to name an industry that hasn’t utilized AI technology yet. Online learning is not an exception and it will take a separate article to discuss how artificial intelligence makes this niche better.
In a nutshell, it is used to understand students, highlight their strong and weak points, and offer the best learning programs tailored to their level and needs. Chatbots and virtual assistants boost user satisfaction, as students get fast and accurate answers.
Plus, artificial intelligence helps with creating an inclusive environment for learners with disabilities by transcribing audio files or taking notes simultaneously.
Gamification
Children learn through play, so why should teenagers and adults study differently? Adding gamification elements in the context of education app development is extremely beneficial and results in higher engagement and retention. Gamified elements make us more emotional and motivated, which leads to better learning results.
The best examples of gamification in EdTech apps are as follows:
- collecting points, coins, or badges for completing tasks, taking tests, or unlocking new levels;
- avatars with a chance to buy personal items;
- competing with other learners and tracking results through leaderboards;
- quests and missions that can be taken on your own or with fellow learners; and
- mini-games and simulators to reinforce your knowledge or just to have fun.
Simplicity and minimalism
If you don’t know how to make an eLearning app, start with minimalism or the ‘less is more’ approach. Offering learners the most useful information without long texts, distracting images, and annoying ads is crucial, especially if you are dealing with smaller smartphone screens.
Make simple and minimalistic interfaces your priority. Use basic textures and plain colors so as not to distract learners from important study elements.
Personalization
Personalized experience is the heart of UX/UI design. It makes users feel special and heard, eventually increasing their loyalty and retention. This is true for EdTech apps as well and if you want to succeed, make sure your product responds to learners’ needs and expectations. Tailor the app to their profiles, habits and skills by offering several difficulty levels, a chance to create playlists and other personalization features.
Ask users to visit forums, leave feedback, or vote for new features to understand the audience better and offer solutions that meet their needs.
Need help to design and develop an eLearning app?
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The best education app designs of 2024
There are over 560,000 educational apps on the market but not all of them boast a memorable design and smooth navigation. If you want to have the best education app design, learn from Duolingo, Codecademy, Udacity, Tandem, and other great applications discussed below.
Duolingo
Duolingo with 500 million users worldwide can be easily called the king of e-learning apps. It is one of the most popular platforms for mastering tens of languages from English and Spanish to Hawaiian and Navajo. Duolingo aims to make learning easy, fun, and accessible, which is reflected in its colorful and intuitive design.
Learning a new language or brushing up on long-forgotten knowledge is not easy, but not with cute cartoonish characters that you meet all over the app. Lessons are divided into short modules and complexity levels. To make the overall experience unforgettable, Duolingo uses such UX/UI practices as personalization, chatbots, micro-interactions, and gamification.
Codecademy
Codecademy doesn’t require an introduction, especially if you are a programming enthusiast mastering Java, HTML, Python, PHP, or other skills. With an estimated $97.8 million annual revenue, this platform takes educational app design to a brand-new level. Just like Duolingo, Codecademy strives to make learning simple and joyful by offering such features as progress tracking bars, flashcards, and microlearning.
To engage users even more, Codecademy allows leaving comments, sharing progress with the community, and completing self-evaluation tests to collect points. What can be better than gamification?
Udacity
While the learning app UI design examples above focus on a specific niche (languages and programming), Udacity helps with mastering all sorts of high-income skills. For example, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analysis, and natural language processing. Despite the large volume of information, this app is well-structured and easy to navigate.
Udacity owners have a rather noble goal: to make education accessible and economical. It is achieved with such instruments as an offline mode, flexible classrooms, adding bookmarks, setting reminders, and mentorship from industry gurus. All of this is wrapped into a stylish minimalistic design with modern fonts and an appealing color scheme.
Tandem
Tandem is a great app for those who want to learn languages by conversing with native speakers. This helps users practice live and up-to-date language and master pronunciation, while making friends. The basic version has all the features you might need and it is free to use.
Before joining Tandem, users need to answer a few questions and get approval. Then, they can choose a speaker and decide whether to communicate by text, audio, or video. Tandem has a modern and vibrant design and allows making personalized profiles to find the best match. Along with a text correction feature and privacy settings, Tandem can teach you how to develop an eLearning app that users will love.
Remind
Remind is an irreplaceable app for students, parents, and teachers. It helps users share important information, stay updated, and get timely notifications without disclosing phone numbers. Messages can be sent to individuals, as well as to groups or selected teams. Remind allows you to share pictures, PDFs, and all sorts of materials that parents and students might need.
What we like about this app is its simple and minimalistic interface with a blue and gray color scheme. Remind users have different levels of technology proficiency, so the team behind this app has made it easy to find a school or class, join a conversation, and upload materials.
Photomath
When designing an EdTech application, pay attention to Photomath – a great example of an app that explains complex mathematical concepts. Simply scan a math problem with your phone, upload it to the app, and get instructions on finding a solution.
From an education app UI & UX design point of view, this tool has everything needed to become a hit: minimalistic design, advanced scanner, sharing features, additional keyboard with extra mathematical symbols, and illustrated videos. All entries are saved in the account history, so you can return to the tasks at any time.
Education app design best practices
Now that we have explored EdTech app design trends and their best examples, let us further explore how to create an eLearning app that the audience will like.
1. Understand your target audience
Always start learning app development by understanding your users. Who are they? What are they learning? Where do they come from? How old are they? It is crucial to decide whether you create apps for children or adults because the differences will be more than obvious.
For example, an EdTech application for children should have bright colors, animations, and cartoonish characters. These apps must be easy to navigate with simple gestures and clear icons. Implement sounds and images to guide kids through the learning process and praise them for correct answers.
Adults, on the contrary, prefer minimalistic design and minimum distractions. They have better motor skills, so you can use complex gestures and advanced navigation. Replace cartoons and voice assistance with badges and progress bars, and let users share their achievements through messengers and social media.
It is impossible to create a top-notch EdTech app not knowing your target audience. We recommend dedicating enough time to the research stage, as it will help avoid tons of mistakes in the future.
2. Take educators into account
When businesses create an EdTech app, they mainly focus on learners, not teachers; and in vain. Many educators come from traditional schools, courses, and universities and don’t have enough experience working with new technologies.
Your application should remind teachers of their standard notes, charts, and blackboards. Add multiple formats like PDFs and videos, allow leaving bookmarks, and make it easy to contact the support team if any questions arise.
3. Make your education mobile app memorable
Your UX/UI team should anticipate the needs and expectations of your audience. Remember, there are hundreds of thousands of educational apps on the market and they will choose another tool if something goes wrong.
The main features that make an EdTech app appealing include the following:
- user-friendly navigation and intuitive interface;
- unique elements and features that help you stand out;
- engaging and interactive content with animation and gamification;
- personalization and customization features;
- collaborative elements to reach other learners or teachers and share progress through social media; and
- quizzes and regular knowledge evaluation.
4. Let users track progress
Nothing motivates learners as much as being able to see how far they have come. Your education app should give users a chance to track what they have achieved by implementing various progress tools and rewards systems. For example, badges for passing a level, coins for completing quizzes, or energy for studying a certain number of days in a row.
When learners see what they have achieved, they are more likely to stay motivated and continue their education. It is also a great incentive to share progress with others and promote your app.
5. Research your competitors
When working on an education mobile app design, it won’t be superfluous to check your competitors and learn from their mistakes. The EdTech market is immense, so you will surely find valuable insights on what colors to use, where to place the menu button, or how to organize the materials.
Don’t forget to surf the comment section to see what users think. Thus, you will identify their main likes and dislikes and be able to avoid the most common mistakes in your own app.
Make your EdTech app design better
The times when smartphones have been used solely for ordering takeaway food or booking tickets have long gone. Nowadays, they are a great tool for mastering new skills and reaching experts in numerous fields. That is why it is the right time to launch an e-learning mobile application and share your expertise with the world.
Above, we have discussed the best educational app design trends and practices and introduced you to 6 successful examples for inspiration and an easy start. If you need to design an EdTech app that meets the highest industry standards and reflects your product’s values, turn to Eastern Peak.
We help businesses surpass their competitors, boost retention, and reach new markets with minimum cost and effort. Contact us and see how your eLearning app skyrockets!
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About the author:
Mary Stadnik, Strategic Partnerships Lead, UK at Eastern Peak
As a highly experienced and motivated business development leader, Mary helps build mutually beneficial relationships with Eastern Peak’s clients through technology innovation, strategy development and professional guidance to deliver stellar products both globally and locally in the UK.
