Ruangguru Releases Website Version, New Features to Access Materials Without App

Ruangguru has inaugurated the Ruanglearning web, a website version to make it easier for students from elementary to high school/K levels to access all Ruangguru content. Previously, Ruangguru could only be accessed via a mobile application.

Ruanglearning Web is here for users who previously experienced limitations when using the Ruangguru application version. This is because the Ruangguru application cannot be supported when accessed via Google Chrome and is not optimal when accessed via a tablet. Users do not need to download any application to access study materials.

Currently, users can access Ruanglearning Web via laptops with any operating system, from Mac, Windows, Chromebook, or tablets and smartphones. All user preferences when studying can now be accommodated by Ruangsiswa Web.

“User needs are always our main consideration in the product development process. We present Ruanglearning Web with the aim of accommodating the varied needs and preferences of users, including the choice of learning devices,” said Ruangguru AVP K12 Product Stephanie Hardjo in an official statement, Friday (1/7).

Through Ruanglearning Web, the company also wants to provide an easy-to-use learning platform option for both old and new users.

He continued, that as an edtech, the company will continue to innovate to provide an optimal learning experience for its users. In the future, there will be more innovations, both in the form of products and programs, especially to welcome the moment of the new school year.

Limited Network Access

According to an article posted on the World Bank blog, a well-functioning digital economy requires extensive and high-quality internet access.

Although internet use in Indonesia has almost quadrupled in the last decade, half of Indonesia’s adult population still does not have access to the internet.

In addition, almost all internet users in Indonesia access via mobile devices. Although mobile internet (3G/$G/LTE) is the most widely used service, its quality is still not on par with wired internet, both in terms of capacity, quality of service, bandwidth performance, and cost efficiency.

Distance learning activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, highlight the limitations of mobile internet where millions of students and teachers across Indonesia feel that their mobile data plans are inadequate and very expensive.

High-quality internet access like this prevents people from exploring their productive capabilities to fully reap the benefits of the digital economy.

This presents two main challenges, namely how to make wired internet access universal and improve internet quality. Increasing the coverage of fiber optic networks is an important solution, but not sufficient.

While investments by private service providers, together with government projects such as the Palapa Ring to improve connectivity and service availability across districts in Indonesia, have shown that the number of internet subscribers is not increasing in parallel.

Only 26% of homes with access to a cable internet provider subscribe to this service. The low subscription rates are largely due to cost and quality issues.

The price of Indonesian cellular data packages is relatively affordable compared to similar packages in neighboring countries, but this does not apply to cable internet packages.

In the ITU 2019 ranking for cable internet subscription fees, Indonesia is ranked 131 out of 200 countries and regions observed in terms of cost affordability. This confirms that Indonesia is one of the most expensive cable internet markets.

Being the Main Reason People Don’t Subscribe to the Internet

Nearly half of Indonesian households (44%) cited high costs as the main reason they did not subscribe to cable internet services.

In addition to the high cost, the quality of internet services in Indonesia is among the lowest compared to neighboring countries in ASEAN. Indonesia recorded the second slowest mobile internet download speed (17.24 Mbps), slightly above Cambodia (16.4 Mbps). For wired internet speed, Indonesia is the third slowest in ASEAN, after Cambodia and Myanmar.

Therefore, when accessing the internet, especially for distance learning, it is necessary to support a platform that can be accessed through various methods. The site itself is much simpler, even lighter than a laptop application.

This is because laptop applications have unique customization features, so that the user’s data storage needs and their activities are much more complex, requiring much larger servers, like cloud hosting.