How to check in continually over 4,000 days on an online learning platform? An empirical experience and a practical solution

TL;DR

This paper presents an empirical experience of maintaining over 4,000 daily check-ins on an online learning platform and introduces the GILT method as a practical solution to foster perseverance and improve long-term engagement.

Contribution

It introduces the GILT method, a practical approach to enhance user perseverance in online learning platforms, based on empirical experience with over 4,000 check-ins.

Findings

82.5% of users fail to maintain daily check-ins long-term

The GILT method helps cultivate perseverance in online learners

Practical solution applicable across various learning platforms

Abstract

The check-in service is often provided as an incentive system by online learning platforms to help users establish a learning routine and achieve accomplishment. However, according to the questionnaire conducted in this study, 82.5% of users of online English learning platforms that feature a check-in service have failed to maintain the daily check-in behavior for long-term language learning, mainly by reason of demotivation, forgetfulness, boredom, and insufficient time. As a language learner, I have an empirical experience in maintaining a record of over 4,000 daily check-ins on China's leading online English learning platform of Shanbay. In the meantime, I have been constantly exploring a practical solution to help cultivate perseverance for other users to follow through the learning routine. In this paper, I systematically introduce this practical solution, the GILT method, and its instructions. The experience and solution for perseverance development are based on Shanbay, but they can be applied to other learning platforms for different purposes.