What can Duolingo teach you about creating an add-on course? -

Duolingo has developed an online learning experience that is rewarding and effective. This is how you can incorporate its most effective features for your class.

433 days back, I signed up for an account at Duolingo as the first time. I know the exact number since that's what my streak is. Since then, I've primarily spent my time on the mobile version of their app and I've tried their courses that are available in Spanish, Russian, German as well as Korean.

And indeed they are! Duolingo isn't without its flaws however, it provides the opportunity to learn and provides the most straightforward way to learning a new one than the other rivals (that I've tested). The most important thing is that the experiences it offers are useful that can be used by educators from other fields as well. If you're in the market for a more engaging elearning experiences, Duolingo provides a compelling model.

Below are five observations that I've come across that could be applied to almost any elearning course.

1. Make use of all kinds of games, 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 gamification in a variety of methods. Some of the ones I've seen include:

• Streaks. Not wanting to lose my streak is the main reason why I'm on the app. No joke.
• Points. Duolingo lets learners set a daily point goal in addition to linking points to various other elements of gaming.
• The leaderboards are HTML0. I don't compete for a top spot every week and when I participate, I am enthralled by the task.
• Leagues. Early on, my determination to be in the top league was instrumental in helping me keep my streak going. It kept me coming back until I was in the Diamond league, and now each time I fall from the diamond league, the desire to return to the first place motivates me to participate again.
• Badges. I had to get to the diamond league in order to get the badge of diamond league. Then I had to win the diamond league for the badge. The next step is to win an award in all areas within a class so that I can be awarded that Conqueror badge. Do you see how this never stops?
• Crowns. Earning crowns provides an uplifting feeling of satisfaction. I enjoy checking boxes off.
• Timed challenges. Timed challenges add another level of difficulty and also boost the speed of recall. When speaking it is essential to be able to produce sentences that are in the proper grammar structure under time pressure. This is an excellent illustration of how gaming can also serve real life learning goals.

The platform supports several games in the native way, while others may be achieved through modifications or additional add-ons. For instance, learners get points for taking quizzes, points can be tied to a leaderboard or you can put a time limit on tests, and badges may be awarded when a learner takes a specific action.

2. Don't be afraid to forgive mistakes.

I would have lost my 433-day streak somewhere around Day 100 had it not been for Duolingo's streak freezes. This initially seemed as if I was cheating but the reality is: sometimes life happens. In the event that I ended a streak of 100 days later due to a problem come up at work, or due to a personal tragedy, the loss of the streak could be quite demoralizing. So much that I may decide to stop using the app.

Duolingo also keeps records of the mistakes made to help you practice those sentences again for an extra boost in exp. Also, there's always a way to recover from mistakes in Duolingo. It's not a matter of if you've made a mistake, it just an area that needs some practice. If life happens to get in the way of your learning for a little bit then there's no reason to hold yourself accountable for your mistakes.

3. Make sure you have flexibility and mobility in the top priorities.

Instructions taught in Duoliongo seldom last more than 5 minutes. It means that you'll have plenty of time to accomplish an activity, and if the content is interesting, almost always a reason to go on with several.

However, because the content is so short and so flexible, there have been occasions when I've had to be trying to finish a class in a public area where it might not be acceptable to repeat words of phrases out loud. Duolingo solves this issue by giving alternatives that state "I cannot listen at the moment," or "I can't speak right now." The learners can keep learning regardless of whether they're in a noisy or congested space.

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

When I first started with Duolingo, their lessons mostly included the translation of sentences back and forth using or without a word bank. Sometimes I would be asked to listen to a passage and then write what I heard, or I'd be required to read a sentence out in front of the application to assess my speaking. Mostly, the questions followed some basic forms.

Since its launch, Duolingo has expanded question format and introduced new types of exercises for learning. The most well-known courses are a "stories" section, which also helps improve your reading comprehension. They also have audio-based lessons that help build listening comprehension. Even the regular lessons now have longer audioquests in which learners have to listen carefully for long periods of time, and respond to a question regarding the content they have were hearing.

Together, these various question types cover three of the four main parts of language learning including writing, reading, speaking and listening. Speaking, which would most likely require a private one-on-one instructor, isn't covered.

In the end, the diversity of different types of content creates a more interesting and engaging experience. One year ago, I quickly grew tired of switching phrases back and forth. Now, when I grow tired of the normal lessons I am able to switch to other types of materials.

The same can be done by offering different content types--or making use of a wide range of problem types when building your tests. includes a number of different question types, including multiple choice, single choice (true false) as well as fill-in the-blank, matching, sorting as well as essay.

5. Always be innovating.

In the end, if there's a single aspect I've never failed to be delighted with about the Duolingo application, it's the fact that in the time I've used it, the app has only improved. Every month they upgrade their features to create a better learning experience. They've created challenging new tasks, created an array of characters to enrich their stories as well as expanded their badges. created additional formats for questions, as well as launched daily and monthly points challenges featuring a unique gamification incentive.

Being a user, I feel that my use of this app has created an positive feedback loop which will only increase my appreciation of the app with time. This is a very enthralling impression.

However, many teachers aren't equipped to create a professional software such as Duolingo. On a more modest size, you'll be able to pay close attention to the students who provide feedbackand constantly consider ways to enhance the learning experience for your course. If you're always staying fresh and up-to-date, you'll be able to avoid being caught off guard by your competitors.

It's a lot of work and time to develop an engaging online learning process, however the return is enormous.

Duolingo has both its supporters and detractors. Personally, I find it frustrating because the Spanish learning process is getting more and more lengthy and the Russian courses aren't as well-developed. Some languages, such as Korean aren't equipped with sufficient support to learn and writing with the alphabet, and I am concerned that some languages have been added sloppily--more for show than a real educational experiences.

It can't be denied that Duolingo has put more effort into providing a superior experience for their users than any other learning course I've seen, and it has achieved this through an obsessive focus on UX, UI, and the data of its users. This focus hasn't just lead to a more addictive app--but one which actually helps students achieve their goals in learning.

After about a year of the Duo Spanish course, where I've devoted myself to reaching the highest level of each skill, I've barely reached Checkpoint 2. However, the other day I had a short conversation in Spanish with two friends. One who had taken Duo's Spanish course, the other of whom is an ESL teacher who teaches mostly speaking Spanish students. The teacher asked me about our plans to start the day, and I shared the food items I found in my fridge and suggested that we make breakfast.

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