What Can Duolingo Teach You about creating an add-on course? -

Duolingo is a company that has designed an e-learning experience that's enjoyable and effective. This is how you can incorporate the best aspects of its software for your class.

433 weeks ago I signed up for an account for myself on Duolingo for the first time. I know the exact number as that's the length of my streak is. Since that time I've mostly spent my time using the mobile version of their app as well as trying out the courses offered that are available in Spanish, Russian, German, and Korean.

And indeed they are! Duolingo isn't without its flaws however, it provides an experience for learning that provides a far easier on-ramp to exploring a language than its opponents (that I've tried). The most important thing is that the experience it provides has lessons to teachers in different areas in addition. If you're looking to provide an engaging and interactive e-learning experiences, Duolingo provides a compelling approach.

Below are five observations that I've made which can be applied to virtually any online course.

1. Utilize a variety of forms of gaming, as much as possible.

Gamification occurs when the learning goals have a connection to particular purposes or triggers which reward students or encourage competitiveness. Duolingo is notable not just because it uses gamification effectively and effectively, but also for using the game in many ways. These I've found include:

• streaks. Not wanting to be able to lose my streak is the main reason why I'm using the app. No joke.
• Points. Duolingo lets learners establish a daily target for points as well as tie points to various other elements of gaming.
• Leaderboards. I don't compete for a top spot every week, but when I participate, I find the challenge exciting.
• Leagues. Early on, my desire to reach the top league made it easier for me to keep my streak going. I kept coming back until I was in the Diamond league, and now, every time I slip from the diamond league, the need to be back at the top gets me to compete with the same intensity.
• Badges. I had to get to the diamond league in order to get the diamond league badge. Then I had to be the winner of the diamond league in order in order to earn that badge. Now I need to earn the highest grade in each skill on a particular course, so I be awarded the Conqueror badge. Isn't it amazing how the process never ceases?
• Crowns. Earning crowns provides satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. I enjoy checking boxes off.
• Timing-based challenges. Timed challenges add another level of difficulty, but the also improve the speed of recall. In spoken language there is a need for you to be able to produce sentences that are in the proper grammar pattern under pressure. This is a great example of how gamification is also a great tool for real-world learning goals.

supports many types of gamification features with ease, but others can be achieved through modifications or other add-ons. As an example, students can earn points from tests, and points may be tied to a leaderboard, you can set a time limit on exams, and badges could be awarded when a learner takes a specific action.

2. Don't be afraid to forgive errors.

I would have lost my 433-day streak somewhere around Day 100, if not due to Duolingo's streak freezing. It initially felt somewhat like cheating but the reality is: there are times when life gets in the way. And if I'd lost a streak 100 days in due to a problem arise at work or because of a personal tragedy, the loss of that streak would seem pretty demoralizing, to the point that I may decide to stop using the application.

Duolingo is also able to keep the record of any mistakes you make to help you review those words again to earn additional points. So, it's always a way to recover in Duolingo. It's not a matter of if you've made a mistake, it only an area that could use some more time. If life happens to get out of the way of getting better at it for a short time, there's no need to hold yourself accountable for your mistakes.

3. Prioritize mobility--and flexibility.

Lessons in Duoliongo seldom last more than 5 minutes. This means there's almost always enough time for completing a lesson, and when you're able to engage with the material, almost always a reason to do several.

The content is so brief and flexible, there have been occasions when I've had to be trying to complete a lesson in public spaces where it might not be suitable to repeat words of phrases out loud. Duolingo can help by providing alternatives that state "I cannot listen at the moment," or "I can't speak in this moment." It allows learners to continue with their learning, even in crowd or in a busy area.

4. Explore a wide range of capabilities using a variety of learning styles.

When I first started with Duolingo, their lessons mostly consisted of transcribing sentences back and forward, with or without a word bank. Sometimes I would be asked to hear a phrase before writing down the information I heard. Or I would be asked to read a sentence out in front of the application to check my pronunciation. The questions generally followed a few basic formats.

Since its launch, Duolingo has expanded question format and introduced new types of learning exercises. Their most popular courses include the "stories" section that helps to improve reading comprehension. They also have recordings to help develop listening comprehension. Even the regular lessons now have longer audioquests in which students must listen attentively for several sentences and then respond to a question regarding what they've heard.

Together, these various question types cover three of the four major aspects of learning languages that are writing, reading listening , and speaking. The only one, speaking, which will likely require a one-on-1 conversation with a tutor, is lacking.

The most important thing is that the variety of different types of content creates the most interesting and entertaining experience. In the past year I began to get exhausted of switching sentences in and out. When I get exhausted of the standard lessons I'm able to change it around with different types of material.

The same can be done with different types of content, or by using a range of problem types when building your quizzes. There are a variety of question types, including multiple choice, single choice (true false), fill-in-the-blank, sorting, matching, as well as essay.

5. Always strive to be innovative.

Finally, if there's one that I've always been delighted with about the Duolingo application, it's the fact that over the years I've been using it it's only improved. It seems like each month they update their features to provide a more enjoyable learning experience. They've created new challenges, introduced an array of characters to enhance their story as well as expanded their badges. designed additional question formats they've also launched daily and monthly points challenges with their own gamification reward.

For me, as a user, am convinced that my use of the application is creating an enjoyable feedback loop that enhances my experience of the application with time. This is a very enthralling impression.

Naturally, the majority of teachers do not have the funds to create a professional app such as Duolingo. However, on a less scale, you can be attentive to the students who provide comments, and think about ways to improve the learner experience of the course. If you're never bored so that you don't get caught off-guard by the competition.

It takes time and care to develop an engaging online learning experience. However, the reward is immense.

Duolingo has both its supporters as well as its critics. Personally I'm frustrated to see that the Spanish learning process is getting more and more lengthy and the Russian course remains underdeveloped. Some languages, such as Korean aren't equipped with enough resources to support learning and writing in the alphabet. In addition, I worry that other languages are being added in a hurry, more as a show rather than an actual educational experience.

But, it cannot be disregarded that Duolingo has put more effort into providing a superior experience for their users than any other program I've ever experienced. It it has achieved this through an obsessive focus on UX, UI, and the data of its users. The focus on data and UX has not only led to an app that is more addicting, but one which actually helps learners reach their goals of learning.

After about a year of the Duo Spanish course, where I've devoted myself to reaching the top level in each area, I'm just barely at Checkpoint 2. The other day, I was having a brief discussion in Spanish with two of my friends, one of whom had completed Duo's Spanish course and one of them is a ESL instructor of mostly Spanish-speaking students. The teacher asked me what we planned for the morning, and I discussed the items I had in my refrigerator and offered to make breakfast.

It's not a huge win however, nothing beats a win that makes you want to continue.