Duolingo is a free language-learning platform that was developed in 2011. It started off as private beta platform providing its services to select members of the public, but launched to the general public in June 2012. Duolingo is designed to teach its users a new language through progressing lessons during which they simultaneously translate websites and documents. The objective of learning a new language is accomplished while translating information for the public. Duolingo does not charge for their language teaching services, but they employ the public members to translate content and grade other member’s translations. The content is from organizations and businesses that pay Duolingo for their translations. This example of crowdsourcing is beneficial to both the users and Doulingo . The users learns a new language for free which could be an expensive service in most cases, while Doulingo achieves their task of translating various forms of information. Doulingo’s services started as private, as mention before, but quickly grew from 300,000 users in 2011 to 25 million users in 2014. This growth is due to the technology advancement of smart phones. In 2013, Apple awarded Duolingo with Iphone app of the year honors. This was the first time an educational application captured this honor. This crowdsourcing endeavor has been an overwhelming positive. The methods of Duolingo follows suit with the definition of “collective intelligence” as a “form of universally distributed intelligence, constantly enhanced, coordinated in real time, and resulting in the effective mobilization of skills. … The basis and goal of collective intelligence is a the mutual recognition and enrichment of individuals rather than the cult of fetishized or hypostatized communities.” This application enhances the common knowledge of the public by equipping them with a new skill. By integrating learning a language through translating documents that would not be unsterdood without the help of the application, Doulingo provides the public with a great educational tool. Doulingo grew quickly because of the willingness of CEO Luis Ahn to allow input from the public. This allowed for the application to add many languages rapidly by empowering the public to build the language courses. The open source language component was named “The Language Incubator.” The Language Incubator is monitored and constantly edited in order to provide valid information and constructive lesson plans. It has a system of steps in which input information must pass particular guidelines before being published. The Doulingo mobile application has significantly grown since its public release in 2012, and now have been implemented into Google and Android eyeglass application. It, in my opinion, will continue to grow and provide the public with an alternate form of learning.

https://www.duolingo.com/