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Existing services have been terminated and a new platform is selected

What made you decide to install learningBOX?

The editorial department I am in produces books for studying for qualifications. The main contents are study books and past exam papers for IT qualifications, home building construction, bookkeeping, and so on.

As an "extra" to those books, you have always had a vocabulary book that you can study on your smartphone, and also some kind of problem book. The reason for introducing this service is that we had actually used two companies before using your company...but both of them had ended their services.

Then I came across learningBOX. Until then, I had been using native apps that were available in both Android and iPhone (iOS) versions, but they were still a bit...each company was not able to monetize their services well, and both companies ended their services.

Then I came across your company's learningBOX. I was attracted by the fact that it is web-based, can be used without a smartphone, and can be used on both PCs and tablets! I was attracted by the fact that it is web-based, can be used without a smartphone, and can be used on both PCs and tablets!
The previous service stopped suddenly, so we made an almost immediate decision. So we replaced the service we had been providing before using learningBOX with learningBOX.

How did you find learningBOX?

We were of the opinion that we needed to make an app that was not a native app. With native apps, every time the OS is upgraded, the app also needs to be upgraded.

We had the experience that the burden of the developer and the cost burden was too much... and it just didn't work out. So we decided to look for a web app instead of a native app!

So I simply searched the Internet for "web application wordbook" and the site that came up at the top was learningBOX.

This is how it happened, but looking at the website, it looks like it will clear up what we want to do, it has a proven track record of implementation, and the free plan is perfect for use.

Free web-based learning content as a benefit for book purchasers

How do you feel about the actual use of the product?

It is good that it runs smoothly on all platforms. However, compared to native apps, the design of the screen is a bit simpler because it is a web application, and some people in the company think this is a bit...

In fact, however, we have not received any such complaints from readers, so we have been using it for a long time. So we are very satisfied with the service, and the best part is that there are no running costs.
Native apps are very costly.... You have to pay for the installation and every time you upgrade the version. Considering that you charge quite a bit of money, your system is cheap! It has been very helpful.

Can you show us the actual extra content?

Of course. This is a special offer only for customers who have purchased the book and can use it free of charge. How it works is that after you buy the book and register with our reader registration service "CLUB IMPRESS" at the end of the book, we provide you with an ID and password to use the service.

There are three types of content: a vocabulary book, multiple-choice questions, and a quiz, and we offer about 30 contents in total. All of the content for the Information Technology Engineer examinations (IT Passport exam, Basic Information Technology Engineer exam, etc.) are in the form of word lists, and for the IT Passport, you can check the words and their explanations that will appear on the actual exam.

This service is designed to help you learn about 200 words during your commute to and from work or school by train or bus.

Takken and CCNA (an exam conducted by Cisco Systems, the world's largest manufacturer of network-related equipment, to certify the skills of network engineers) are available as a collection of questions. Some of the questions are taken directly from the text of the books, while others have been created especially for this system. You can use it as a repetition exercise together with the study in the book.

I started this book with the purpose of differentiating it from competitors' problem books, but now I feel that it has become the "selling point" of the book and is an advantage over other books.

It is one of the most important contents in terms of recognition, as it is sometimes imitated by other companies that come in after it. Although the main content is the book itself, and it plays a sub role, some readers have written reviews on Amazon, such as "I am glad the app is included," and "I can check it on the train with one hand and memorize it in my spare time.
We feel that we are of great help to everyone.

We want to combine print and web tools, as well as enhance web-only content.

We are currently using the learningBOX as a benefit when purchasing books, but do you have any requests for how you would like to make it even better?

We have been talking for some time about the possibility of offering only the content we are currently distributing, although we are currently offering it to everyone for free as a bonus with the book. So you are saying that you can monetize the app only.

In "Kantan Pass IT Passport Past Exercises for Autumn 2038" published in June 2019, we provide not only a vocabulary book but also "past question exercises" in the learningBOX, and if we add "answer explanations" to the content together, it could become a single study application content. We are now discussing the possibility of adding "answer explanations" to the contents of the book as well. Books can be used for the "teaching" phase as much as you want, but it is a different tool for the "self-study" phase, isn't it?

In this respect, we believe that learningBOX fits our wishes because it can use a variety of formats.

For example, the collection of past examinations for the Real Estate Kentei published by our company contains 15 years' worth of past examinations in a single book, and this alone is a single database. If we register all of this content, it would be possible to create content that allows users to solve the past 15 years' worth of questions and read the explanations immediately.

Our question booklet provides explanations for all the options for the questions where you have to choose between the options. We believe that once you solve a question, you can only complete your learning by checking all the reasons why this choice is right/wrong.
Of course, the reason for the correct answer is necessary, but it is also very important to understand why the incorrect choice is incorrect.

If all this content can also be reflected in the application, I believe it would be very advantageous.
The market for books is shrinking rapidly, partly because of current trends and partly because of computerization.

I think now is the time when people are shifting their behavior to watching content on videos like YouTube. In our company, we have a YouTuber-style introduction to Excel book that is selling very well. It is a book that combines video and paper content. There is a slight indication that unless we adopt such a method, we will not be able to attract readers.

I feel that tools like learningBOX are one weapon in our arsenal as a learning provider. I believe that combining these tools to create something new will become more important in the future.

Our company originally started out in print media, and now we are integrating print and other tools to provide content to our readers. We hope to offer something even more beneficial to learners by combining various things in a hybrid way in the future.