Overview
This lecture discusses the creation of Duolingo to provide equal access to education, focusing on language learning via smartphones using engaging, game-like techniques.
Education and Inequality
- Wealthier individuals can afford better education, perpetuating social inequality.
- In poor countries, access to high-quality education is limited by economic status.
- The speaker received a strong education due to his mother’s sacrifices, leading to opportunities abroad.
Choosing Language Learning
- The decision was to start with teaching a single subject: foreign languages.
- Language learning was chosen because about two billion people are learning a foreign language worldwide.
- English is the most in-demand language, with knowledge of English significantly increasing income potential.
- Unlike other subjects, language skills can directly improve job opportunities, even in low-wage jobs.
The Duolingo Approach
- Building physical schools is costly; most people have smartphones, making mobile apps the best solution.
- Duolingo was created to make language learning accessible to everyone through smartphones.
- The app uses a freemium model: learning is free with ads, while subscriptions (mostly from wealthier countries) remove ads.
- This model results in a form of wealth redistribution, with rich users subsidizing access for poorer users.
Engagement Techniques
- Smartphones contain many distractions (like TikTok), making user engagement a challenge for educational apps.
- Duolingo applies techniques from social media and games to encourage daily use (e.g., streaks and notifications).
- Streaks motivate users to return daily; over three million users have streaks longer than a year.
- Notifications are timed using AI to maximize return rates (usually sent 24 hours after last use).
- Passive-aggressive notifications and the memorable owl mascot help boost engagement and have become widely recognized online.
Impact and Broader Vision
- Educational apps need only be “almost” as engaging as games/social media due to the intrinsic motivation provided by meaningful learning.
- Duolingo has more language learners in the US than all US high schools combined.
- The speaker hopes similar methods can be applied to other repetition-based subjects (like math) using mobile technology.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Freemium model — a business model where core services are free, but premium features require payment.
- Streak — the count of consecutive days a user engages with an app.
- Gamify — applying game-like elements to non-game activities to increase user engagement.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Complete your language lessons today.
- Consider how gamification might improve learning in other repetitious subjects.