eLearning statistics 2021

Last year, the eLearning industry was abruptly disrupted as a result of the pandemic. Overnight, organizations had to digitize their entire operations, including their workplace onboarding, training, and development programs. This global shift to digitized workplaces dramatically changed how we approach learning and development in 2021. 

To give you a better understanding of this changing sector, we’ve broken down eLearning into its most popular forms and features – such as microlearning, mobile learning, and gamification – and finished with some compelling eLearning statistics to help you modernize your team training and make the eLearning decisions for your teams in 2021.

EdApp is a leader in eLearning. As one of the leading mobile microlearning platforms in the market delivering over 50,000 lessons per day, EdApp’s internal data offers a unique glimpse into an underreported market.

Skip ahead to statistics on:

• Microlearning statistics
• Mobile learning statistics
• Gamification statistics
• Spaced repetition statistics
• Social learning statistics
• Peer learning statistics
• Images and video usage in learning statistics
• COVID-19 impact in elearning statistics
• eLearning statistics

Microlearning Statistics

1. The average microlesson takes less than 10 minutes to complete. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
2. There is an average of 4 lessons in a microlearning course. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
3. The average completion rate of a microlearning course is 82 percent. (Source:2021  EdApp internal data)
4. On average, a learner will retake a microlesson 5 times before the knowledge becomes embedded in their long-term memory. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
5. The average knowledge retention rate of an EdApp microlearning course is 70 to 90 percent, compared to the average retention rate of traditional learning of 15 percent. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
6. In 2021, EdApp Microlearning LMS reported a 61 percent increase in monthly active users from 2020 to 2021. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
7. Microlearning is 17 percent more efficient than traditional, longer-duration courses. (Source: Journal of Applied Psychology)
8. The typical amount of uninterrupted work in an office is 11 minutes, with an employee switching between devices up to 21 times per hour. (Source: James Hewitt Performance)
9. Microlearning results in learner engagement to soar from an industry average of 15 percent up to 90 percent. (Source: EdApp)
10. Human memory can only hold up to five new pieces of information before it gets lost or overwritten. (Source: e-Learning industry)
11. Ninety-five percent of eLearning professionals prefer delivering microlearning, rather than day-long seminars, because their learners prefer it.
12. Sixty-five percent of e-learners say that the typical e-learning module presents too much information. (Source: Rapid Learning Institute)
13. Microlearning can reduce development costs by 50 percent & increase development speed by 300 percent. (Source: Ray Jimenez, 2009)
14. Fifty-eight percent of employees would be more likely to use their company’s online learning tools if the content was broken up into multiple, shorter lessons. (Source: Software Advice)

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Mobile Learning Statistics

1. Sixty percent of EdApp activity happens on a mobile device even though it’s accessible on all devices. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
2. The average completion rate of an m-learning course is 82 percent. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
3. Mobile learning remains the fastest growing market in the sector, with an average growth rate of 20 percent year-on-year. In 2020, mobile learning was worth 2.4 billion. By 2027, mobile learning is predicted to reach 0.1 billion worldwide. (Source: Globe News Wire) 
4. Mobile learning will become the microlearning mode of choice by 2025. (Source: Learn Worlds)
5. Eighty percent of the workforce is composed of deskless workers, but most aren’t receiving mobile learning. (Source: Emergence)
6. Almost 90 percent of Millennials – the largest demographic in the workforce –have their smartphones with them 24/7.
7. Twenty-five percent of L&D professionals said that their organizations already offer mobile learning, with 61 percent saying their organization plans to implement mobile learning in the next two years. (Source: Rapid Learning Institute)
8. Nearly 60 percent of people prefer the vertical orientation to consume training content on their mobile devices, compared to 40 percent of people who prefer the horizontal orientation. (Source: eLearning Infographics)
9. Seventy percent of workers report improved motivation to learn when they were able to use their mobile devices to navigate the courses successfully. (Source: World Journal of Education)
10. Mobile learners complete courses an average of 45 percent faster than those who took the modules on their computers, with little disparity between testing outcomes.

Gamification Statistics

1. ​​In 2021, admins used nearly 127,000 gamified templates in microlearning courses. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
2. EdApp’s most popular gamification templates of 2021 are: 
3. Learners check their leaderboard an average of 3 times per day. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
4. Thirty-five percent of employees said that real-life rewards based on learning progress would be the strongest gamification incentive for using their company’s LMS. (Source: Software Advice)
5. Learners complete 26 percent more games when a reward or extrinsic motivator is added. 
6. Gamification lowers the mental barriers to absorbing new information.
7. Gamification enhances message retention for learners.
8. Game-based learning and education will generate a revenue of more than 4 million by 2024 (Source: eSchool News)
9. Seventy-two percent of employees said that gamification motivates them to work harder (Source: Review 42)
10. Sixty percent of employees who had gamified training increased their productivity. (Source: EHS Today)
11. More than half of new hires report being highly productive after undergoing a gamified training program.
12. Workers who have gamified learning as part of their training score 14 points higher in skill assessment tests compared to those who did not.
13. True or False – 41 percent of all gamified templates used
14. Image-Word Match – 17 percent of all gamified templates used
15. Memory (Matching Tiles) – 12 percent of all gamified templates used

Spaced Repetition Statistics

1. Learners will forget up to 50 percent of what they just learned within an hour without revisiting the material. (Source: EdApp)
2. Learners will forget up to 90 percent of new learnings within just one month. (Source: EdApp)
3. Daily repetitions of key concepts can increase knowledge retention accuracy up to 95 percent. (Source: Lifehack)
4. Learners who chose space repetition had an adjusted mean exam score of 70 percent, according to a study on the quantitative effect of spaced repetition. (Source: University of Leicester)

the effectiveness of spaced repetition.

Social Learning Statistics

1. Thirty percent of admins use Discussions, a forum-like social learning tool that enables learners to share their reflections and ideas with fellow learners and admins. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
2. Thirty percent of admins use Assignments, a question-and-response feature that enables admins to monitor learning progress and provide feedback in-lesson. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
3. Twenty-six percent of people say they prefer gamified activities that include real-time feedback on performance.(Source: eLearning Industry)
4. Social learning accounts for at least 75 percent of the knowledge people attain in the workplace. (Source: eLearning Guild)
5. Seventy to 90 percent of all workplace learning happens informally — from knowledge sharing and mentorship between team members to casual lunchtime chats. (Source: Bloomfire)
6. Eighty-seven percent of employees identify social knowledge sharing as essential. Only 37 percent feel the same way about formal company training. (Source: Modern Workplace Learning 2021)
7. Introducing social learning increases course completions by 85 percent. (Source: eLearning Industry)
8. Seventy-three percent of companies plan to increase their focus on social learning, with more than 60 percent wanting to see their employees interact with learning resources on a daily basis. (Source: Brandon Hall Group)

Peer Learning Statistics

1. In 2021, admins used over 2,500 peer authoring templates in microlearning courses. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
2. In organizations with peer learning opportunities, employees report they feel 85 percent more engaged in their roles, and 96 percent believe they are more likely to stay with the company. (Source: Training Mag)
3. Fifty-five percent of workers will turn to a peer first to learn new information or skills before turning to their direct manager or the Internet. (Source: Degreed)
4. Nearly 70 percent of workers learn new information or skills from peers or by reading articles and blogs from experts every week. (Source: Degreed) 
5. In 2020, 84 percent of L&D leaders think it is more important to integrate digital learning into other corporate platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack and Trello to encourage collaboration and remote peer learning. (Source: Fosway Group)

Images and Video Usage in statistics about learning

1. Video templates were used 123,176 times in microlessons. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
2. Image templates were used 988,298 times in microlessons. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
3. Ninety percent of information processed by the brain is visual.
4. It takes only 13 milliseconds for the human brain to process an image.
5. The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.
6. Eighty percent of people remember what they see, compared to ten percent who can remember what they hear and 20 percent of what they read.
7. Eighty percent of people will watch a video but only 20 percent of people will read text on a page.
8. 53 percent of workers learn new information or skills from watching a video from an expert every video. (Source: Degreed) 
9. Learners typically only remember 10 percent of new information three days later. But, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, learners retain 65 percent of the information in that same timeframe.

COVID-19 Impact Statistics

1. EdApp’s monthly active users grew by more than 320 percent since COVID-19 hit in March 2020. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
2. Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 health and safety courses made up three of the top 5 most imported courses and have been used to educate thousands of learners around the world. (Source: 2021 EdApp internal data)
3. Seventy-four percent of L&D professionals believe skill building is the most critical part of rebuilding for the future, while 62 percent are actively helping employees build the skills they need to stay in the organisation. 
4. Eighty-two percent of decision makers intend to increase digital learning resources as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. According to the Chief Learning Officer 2020 State of the Industry survey, 81 percent of learning leaders plan to adopt new training techniques, 70 percent say their blend of training delivery methods will change, and 73 percent plan to develop more custom content as a result of the pandemic.
6. Learning priorities and L&D strategy have changed for 94 percent of organizations in response to the pandemic, with two in three making significant changes to what they do and how they do it. (Source: Fosway Group)

eLearning Statistics

1. By 2027, eLearning is expected to reach well over USD trillion – a 21 percent increase from the 50 billion it exceeded in 2020.
2. The greatest growth drivers in the North American and European eLearning markets are an increasing demand for eLearning from the healthcare sector, a rise in content digitization, and switching from a learning management system (LMS) to cloud-based systems. (Source: Global Market Insights)
3. The greatest growth drivers in Asia Pacific and Latin American eLearning markets are growth in higher education sectors, corporations upgrading their existing training programs, and a growing demand for online English courses. (Source: Global Market Insights)
4. The greatest growth drivers in the Middle East & African eLearning markets are the rise in government programs and initiatives, and increased access to the Internet and mobile learning.(Source: Global Market Insights)
5. Core challenges to eLearning market growth worldwide include the lack of peer-to-peer interaction, slow Internet connectivity and poor network access, and adaptability issues. (Source: Global Market Insights)
6. E-Learning can increase knowledge retention by up to 60 percent simply because it’s more engaging than a traditional instructor-led training session. (Source: Brandon Hall and Rosenberg 2001)
7. E-Learning requires 40 to 60 percent less time from any employee compared to traditional instructor-led training. (Source: Brandon Hall Group HCM Outlook 2017 Survey)
8. Forty percent of companies say eLearning has helped them boost revenue levels, and companies that offer eLearning have generated more than 25 percent higher revenue per employee. (Source: eLearning Industry)
9. The corporate e-learning market is anticipated to increase by 8.09 billion between 2020 and 2024. (Source: Business Wire)

What’s next for eLearning in 2021?

As work from home and minimal face-to-face contact continue to be the reality for many organizations, mobile microlearning remains one of the most effective ways to upskill, train, and engage teams. As microlearning allows your teams to interact with short, highly-targeted lessons designed with human limitations in mind, like attention span and memory, this makes key concepts easier to digest in real-time from the convenience of their own devices. Based on these trends, it’s clear that an all-in-one eLearning solution like EdApp is the best option for organizations.

EdApp is the #1 mobile microlearning platform that enables you to create, personalize, and deliver bespoke learning content to your teams. Through a user-friendly course creation tool, you can transform overwhelming training programs into bite-sized lessons that focus only on key concepts of any topic. Simply select and tailor a course from EdApp’s free course library, or create a course from scratch using 80+ interactive and engaging templates. To further increase your engagement and knowledge retention rate, EdApp offers gamification, spaced repetition, social learning, and peer learning to transform your eLearning content into a fun and social learning experience your team can complete from anywhere. Get started today!