Many traditional educational models have numerous flaws: they do not allow for customization; they only serve people who can physically attend class; and they limit access to expert teachers and lecturers.

The Internet has removed these obstacles and has revolutionized the way students of all ages learn. The most significant shifts in education that the Internet has caused include:

- Free, convenient access to top-quality education. People around the world can access recorded lectures by experts, enroll in online courses, and read top-tier research as long as they have an Internet connection. This democratizes education.

- Access to worldwide collaboration. Students and researchers no longer need to be in the same classroom or lab to collaborate on projects, share ideas, or help each other master new concepts, thanks to the instantaneous communication the Internet facilitates.

- Customizable educational experiences. Rather than attempting to fit into a “one-size-fits-all” classroom, learners can study and learn at their own pace, according to what interests them.

About Course Hero

Course Hero is more than a supplement to traditional classroom learning. With its enormous and continually growing reserve of educational resources and instant accessibility, Course Hero hopes to help forge a new paradigm of collaborative education.

Since its inception, education website Course Hero has developed educational products and services for students all over the country. Some of these services include the ability to upload and view shared study documents, create flashcard sets or take full length courses in a range of subjects. Another key product in Course Hero's offering is its tutoring service, which invites students to ask tutors question through the company website.

Experts in a range of specific subjects have answered hundreds of thousands of student questions, and the submission process for questions is simple and easy. Individuals may visit the Course Hero website at www.coursehero.com/tutors, input a question into the question box, and even upload a document to support the prompt. Users can define a specific subject that the question pertains to and add a due date. Then, one of the Course Hero tutors will answer the question, and the user can accept the answer if they are satisfied or ask for another opinion.

Our tutors are available 24/7, 365 days a year to ensure that students have access to the personal attention they need, whenever they need it.

As many as 46 million children in Africa have never attended school, and those lucky enough to be enrolled in classes often have to share books with ten or more classmates. Because education empowers people of all nations and economic levels, Course Hero has committed to improving access to education for children in Africa.

Through the Course Hero Knowledge Drive, we translate collaborative learning among Course Hero users into books for African children. Our site allows users to upload documents (including course notes, presentations, reviews, and more) that help other users learn and master important course material. For every 10 such documents uploaded, we donate a book through the nonprofit, Books for Africa.

This program provides users of our site with an added incentive to share their knowledge and contribute to the already considerable pool of resources available for Course Hero members. At the same time, the program promotes awareness of the obstacles to education faced by billions of people around the globe.

About Course Hero

In addition to its aim of widening educational opportunities for users of its site, Course Hero expands access to learning materials for children across the world through Knowledge Drive. To date, the program has donated more than 54,000 books to children in Africa.

When Course Hero integrated gamification from Bunchball into a series of its online courses, it hoped to make learning more exciting. Now that the approach has been assessed, the data seems to suggest that users are enjoying the new features.

Course Hero added the game features to increase user involvement by fostering a more engaging learning experience. The firm was responding to research suggesting that game-like tactics could be used to enhance the learning process, not only making it more fun, but also more effective. CEO Andrew Grauer believes that rewards such as badges and points provide immediate, positive reinforcement for a student’s efforts. These incentives can make the process of learning fun and can encourage a struggling student to spend more time studying. 

Grauer’s theories seem to be confirmed by member behavior. Since the site added the gamified features, community engagement has increased and users are spending more time on the site. In addition, students are sharing their achievements on social networking sites at a much higher rate, demonstrating pride in their own achievements while providing a valuable source of viral marketing to Course Hero.