Luis von Ahn’s Post

What I like about Duolingo's approach is how a company comes up with metrics that matter! In my professional experience, I have seen many companies adopting frameworks like a ritual. John Doerr introduces the OKR framework in Google in 1999 👉 Universities start teaching about it and including it in the curriculum 👉 Blogs and social media posts celebrate the OKR framework 👉 Every company now wants to use OKRs 👉 Meanwhile, Google has learned a lot from its OKR experiment and has revised its framework to the extent that it no longer looks like the one it originally started with 😄 Metrics that genuinely drive improvement and growth, like Duolingo’s TSLW, are essential for real progress. 📊🚀 This is meaningful growth! Duolingo is doing so many right things right that it is now one of the favorite companies I follow, and a dream company to work at!

❓ How do we measure "learning" on Duolingo? We've developed a few different ways to ensure our learners are getting the best outcomes from their course, but one important metric we track is Time Spent Learning Well (TSLW). Learn more about this unique metric and how it shapes your Duolingo experience! https://lnkd.in/e2M27tx6

Insights from Duolingo's Time Spent Learning Well (TSLW): • Shorter Lessons Are Not Always Effective: Shortening lessons did not motivate learners to do more sessions and actually decreased TSLW. • Longer Path Increases Engagement: Adding new content and extending the learning path positively impacted TSLW, as learners enjoyed progressing and engaging with fresh material. • Balance is Crucial to Avoid Burnout: Allowing learners to take breaks and pursue different types of exercises helps prevent burnout and keeps learners engaged.

At Duolingo, we've spent a lot of time figuring out how to identify and measure the best activity for learning. I shared some thoughts on this journey in a recent blog post - give it a read!

When it comes to keeping users on the platform, Duolingo does an amazing job. You can find yourself obsessively completing challenges for XP, forgetting why you downloaded the app in the first place, and stressing out to keep your streaks. Until you go "f* it" and delete the app because you have a life to live. Jokes aside, they use behavioural insights brilliantly to keep people hooked. I, for one, fell into the emotional manipulation way too many times, not wanting to see “Duo sad”. They use tactics like social proof, social motivation, nudges, and loss aversion, etc. Regarding impact, they measure “time spent learning well” as a key metric. Their growth strategy depends on keeping users engaged, with 7% of Monthly Active Users subscribing to Super Duolingo, according to one of their 2023 studies. So time spent on platform is a great business metric. But does more time on the app mean better language learning? No. They claim completing their structured pathways do (see the research study in comments). Which is why they’re testing different ways to incentivise the learners to move down the path. Win-Win. It’s all about finding the metrics that matter and continuously testing to see what works. #BehaviouralScience #MeasuringImpact #LearningAndDevelopment

Imperfect as it may be, Duolingo is the most important learning product of the last decade. Exciting to see them push themselves (and us all) into better learning measurement. Too many learning products are still working on single-tone metrics like sign-ups, courses taken, total time, etc....and trying to repackage those into something more meaningful (i.e. a good learner does 15 minutes per week) without adding in complexity or quality. https://lnkd.in/erYZ7A7K

Wondering how to nail peer presence in asynchronous learning? For creators of online experiences where participants engage at different times and locations (asynchronous), we often emphasize (rightly) incorporating digital messages that imbue a sense of the teacher (i.e., instructor presence) in the course experience. It's also worth emphasizing that "peer presence" is important. Communities of learning offer opportunities that a sole mentor cannot (I haven't had an omniscient professor yet, though some seemed close). What digital features can help? Duolingo demonstrates peer connection across different time zones and places through notifications of peer milestone achievement in a feed, friend quests for teaming up for a challenge, and "nudge" messages one can send to another. While I'm learning some Spanish, it is encouraging to see that a relative has also been hitting milestones. The momentum of others can be motivating. I don't work for the company, but I like their flex in the area of peer presence for better learning. #onlinelearning

Learning a new language is hard! Here are 4 tips on how to make learning addictive from Duolingo's CEO.

Some more great advice from THES on how to engage learners online. I particular like points 1 'Bitesize is Boss' and 3 'Make it Meaningful.

In the age of self-learning and abundant information, the question arises: "Do we still need traditional teachers?" A child prodigy mastering skills through online tutorials sparks this debate. While self-learning offers immediate accessibility and quick starts, it often hits barriers without structured guidance. This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of self-learning, highlighting the invaluable role of teachers in focusing on fundamentals and boosting self-belief. The key lies in balancing self-learning and external guidance to achieve mastery. To delve deeper into this thought-provoking discussion, visit https://lnkd.in/gw6CACKv