An entrepreneur’s guide to the e-learning industry

 

During the Pandemic, many educational institutions were forced to shut down, making them adopt online classes for teaching, and with that came a boom in e-learning platforms. Many MOOCs flourished since many people decided to spend their lockdowns productively by opting for online courses. So if you are an entrepreneur who is interested in starting your own e-learning platform, here is a simple take on the e-learning industry.

Read What are some tips for creating an e-learning platform startup?

1. What is E-learning?

Though the meaning of e-learning is easy to comprehend, it literally means learning online with the help of electronic devices and connectivity tools in the comfort of our place. But this does not mean only mainstream learning is limited to K-12 education. E-learning is vast and the range of engaged users is diverse. School students, university grads, Professional employees seeking to upskill or reskill, A science student learning music in his spare time or a stay-at-home mom taking up a management course to start her small startup from home, these are a few examples of how inclusive e-learning platform is.

So based on the type of tutoring or learners, e-learning is divided into two major sectors.

1. Institute/ University education: This is the mainstream academia learning platform for K-12 students or University graduates. These institutions have built their own e-learning platforms for one on one learning, video lectures, and other blended learning techniques by taking cues from the already existing renowned LMS platforms.  

2. MOOC (Massive open online course): MOOC offers many online courses like Business, Coding, Language, Degree programs like Computer science, Health, Earning skills, Marketing, and even Music, Art, Fashion, and other Creative skills by industry experts. Though some of the MOOC like Coursera offers master's courses or university courses that are taught by professors of top universities like Duke, Stanford, Upenn, etc. As an entrepreneur, this is the potential market you have to invest in.

2. Why should you invest in e-Learning platforms?

E-learning is much more cost-efficient than traditional classroom education. As a business owner, you do not have to pay salaries for teachers and trainers, to pay rent for a classroom, or to pay for catering and learning resources. You pay only to a team of developers working on your online training platform or for a readymade LMS script. From a study, it has been said that Entrepreneurs that invest in eLearning have revenue 218% higher and 24% better profit margins, making clear their advantage in relation to those that do not yet invest in training.

3. Business or Revenue Model: 

Apart from imparting quality education, every e-learning platform should have a fair profit margin, For that, every entrepreneur should know how the e-learning platform generates revenues.

E-learning works on a marketplace business model like popular e-Commerce websites like eBay. It doesn’t own any product or service. In simple terms, it acts as a mediator between instructors and learners. In e-learning, instructors decide the cost of their courses. The platform earns commission from instructors for giving them access to its platform for selling to millions.

1. Subscription Revenue Model: In this model, students and professionals are charged with a monthly/quarterly/ yearly subscription for providing unlimited access to subscribed content. For example, Udemy Pro Cost (Udemy’s subscription fees) is $19.99 per month.

2. Revenue Sharing Model (Instructor Revenue Share): Also known as the performance-based income model, the revenue sharing model is the distribution of the total revenue generated by the sale of products/services between the contributors/stakeholders.

To Know More In the Overcrowded E-learning Marketplace, How Can You Set Yourself Apart?

4. Donald Kirkpatrick's evaluation model and Phillips's ROI model: The main goal of an e-learning platform is to impart quality tutoring. But, how to measure if the goal was achieved and the enrolled student has acquired the required skill. Well, as an entrepreneur you should know about Donald Kirkpatrick's evaluation model. The purpose of an evaluation is to establish to what extent a goal was met, in order to do this effectively Donald Kirkpatrick developed a four-level system of evaluation called the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation. The four levels of evaluation are  namely;

1. Reaction: During this level, you survey the participants and gauge their reaction to the training. Were they satisfied or dissatisfied? 

2. Learning: Conduct two tests or surveys – one before and one after the training. This helps you measure what the participants have learned. 

3. Behavior: The third level of evaluation takes place at some point in time after the training has wrapped up. Have the participants started to use their new knowledge or skills in the workplace? 

4. Results: The last Kirkpatrick level measures whether the organization’s expectations were met. This is referred to as Return on Expectations (ROE). 

Phillips's ROI model is an extension of Kirkpatrick's evaluation model, it has a fifth level called Return of investment. Phillips's model believes that e-learning platforms are successful only when there is a quite decent ROI.

5. Return on Investments: ROI is a useful way of measuring whether a particular training course or program offered value for money. There are many ways ROI can be calculated. The simplest way of measuring the ROI of any training is to use a training ROI calculator. Many ROI calculators are available online.

The e-learning market is expected to exceed $375 billion by 2026. So, it is never too late to invest in an e-learning platform. “Better late to be than never” If you are an entrepreneur /tutor looking to start an e-learning platform/ Udemy clone/ LMS platform for setting up your online course, then you have to check out the best in town LMS platform, ExpertPlus LMS, a unique and imminent product created by a team of high-tech engineers. For further details contact BSEtec.