You can view the video or read the associated blog, below. They detail the same content.
Learning is a lifelong process. We are constantly learning new things daily, be it through web searches, Social Media, or even by observing others do their jobs. For most of us, knowledge acquisition occurs in small pieces, through unstructured searches and reading on the Web. A majority of this learning happens in small chunks through sources that are not designed as formal courses, but still impart knowledge.
This trend gives us Instructional Designers, an important training need an indicator for the modern audience: Our learners have evolved. They may still need structured training that is one or three-hour-long in duration; or courses that extend across days. However, they also want quick packets of on-demand learning that continually enhance their knowledge and skills.
Such small, consumable on-demand learning packets have become popular and supply the learning that satiates the training demand. Such packets are called microlearning. Let’s learn more about it.
What is Microlearning?
Microlearning is the process of learning in small, digestible and manageable chunks, with focused and precise information. It is based on short-term learning activities, lesson plans, projects, and assignments. The focus is on one objective rather than a broad subject, that is, the topic is broken down into smaller information, and learners can access this information whenever they need it or even on-the-go. Thus, in microlearning, lessons are short with no defined duration, and can be learned anytime, anywhere, at one’s own pace, via any modality. You are microlearning, for example, when you watch a YouTube video on how to install a new software on your PC or how to bake cookies; when you read a blog to understand comma usage; when you listen to a podcast on project management; or when you ask a colleague for advice, etc.
When to use it?
The use of microlearning is growing. It can be used to demonstrate and develop skills, gain information, understand concepts, explain parts of a process or steps, and increase employee engagement. It can be more effective when used to reinforce what has already been taught. For example, after a long training session, a facilitator can send short write-ups or tips from the training session. Thus, it can be more successful when used with blended teaching method. However, avoid using microlearning when a learner is moving from novice to fluency.
Training Needs Analysis for Microlearning
If you develop a microlearning curriculum, but if it’s not needed or doesn’t meet the learning goals, then you’ll just end up creating something redundant, which doesn’t do justice to your efforts, learner’s time, or company’s money. So, it’s essential to perform a thorough Training Needs Analysis to evaluate whether microlearning will be a feasible solution to your learning and business problems. Here are some questions that you should answer before developing microlearning. Let’s analyze these one-by-one.
| Aspect | Question | What to Check |
| Goal | What’s my training goal? What’s the business need? |
With these questions evaluate whether you can meet your business and training goals with microlearning. If any other mode of learning seems better, make a note of the option and further check whether microlearning is really needed. |
| Audience | Does the target audience have the tools to enroll and follow a microlearning curriculum? | With this question, check to ensure that your audience can consume what you develop. |
| Has the target audience been subject to another microlearning curriculum in the past? What was their reaction? | Use this question to gauge whether your audience is comfortable with microlearning solutions. | |
| What’s the demography of your target audience? Will a microlearning curriculum be interesting for your target audience? | Use this question to analyze your audience’s demography such as age, distribution, gender, and profession before designing a microlearning curriculum. | |
| Delivery and Evaluation | Do you want to track the training on a Learning Management System (LMS)? Or, will a video-hosting solution like YouTube or Vimeo be sufficient to deliver your microlearning modules? |
Answering these questions is important, because, if you want to track the training on an LMS, ensure that your LMS supports: Mobile training delivery. This is because one of the major benefits of microlearning is that learners can access and consume the learning modules on-the-go on their mobile devices. You don’t want to miss out on this key benefit on choosing microlearning as a delivery strategy, right? So, ensure your hosting solution such as the LMS provides a seamless mobile experience. In addition, ensure that when you are tracking learner progress via. the LMS, you can view reports for tracking the consumption of microlearning courses. |
| Do you want your learners to post or interact through online activities, forums, or social media? | Microlearning courses are short. So, your learners may want to extend interactions or post queries related to learning more about the topics on online forums or social media. Hence, determine if your students are likely to use such platforms. Also, ensure that you develop or have the infrastructure in place for such interactions. | |
| Do you have the infrastructure to develop, deliver, track and measure the effectiveness of the microlearning modules? | Your current infrastructure may not be best suited for delivering seamless microlearning experiences. Also, check if you need to invest in a new delivering platform. For example, if you want to deliver microlearning modules in the form of short videos, you can consider starting a YouTube channel or subscribing to Vimeo’s business plan for secured video delivery. |
Disadvantages of Microlearning
Microlearning is not an all-encompassing solution. It does have some disadvantages.
-
- First, it may be difficult to teach a complex task or topic conclusively in one microlearning video.
- The solution to this problem may be to create a series of smaller pieces and continually build and share a playlist with your learners. This approach can also help you to ensure you are creating your microlearning courses as per a logical grouping of topics. If you don’t group your microlearning modules in logical groups like playlists, it may result in a fragmented learning experience for learners.
- Microlearning pieces can set wrong expectations in learners. Realistically speaking, microlearning pieces cannot be the primary format of creating and delivering training for solving complex and large problems. Microlearning pieces are suitable for introducing learners to a certain tool and to provide on-demand, on-the-job support. However, they do not qualify as a comprehensive courseware for achieving higher and complex skills.
Microlearning and Instructional Design Strategies
Studies have shown that microlearning is engaging, easy to implement, and cost-effective, and has higher retention levels if implemented to match an appropriate Training Need. It helps learners immediately access the knowledge they need. Moreover, it supports different learning styles with a variety of formats. To start, break the course content into topics, then sub-topics, and finally, the sub-topics into individual learning objectives. Following are some best practices for creating microlearning:
-
- Chunk and design content properly
- Target for clarity and quality of content
- Focus on one objective
- Keep it short and simple
- Make it interesting and engaging
- Cater to a variety of learning styles and learning platforms
- Create learning activities that can be consumed within a maximum of 5 to 7 minutes (such as, video tutorials, blogposts, or podcasts)
How to measure its effectiveness?
As per the Journal of Applied Psychology, delivering learning modules in small packages, such as microlearning, helps learners retain 17% more information instead of a traditional, lengthy, class. That is, lesson-to-desk retention is higher by 17%. In addition, it has been proven that we, humans, cannot maintain effective focus for long durations. Our attention span has further reduced in this digital age. So, offering training in short bursts like microlearning certainly aids the effectiveness that a learning program aims to achieve.
Microlearning is like putting old wine in a new bottle; that is, it’s still training, but it’s taking a new form. So, the traditional methods of training effectiveness and evaluation are still relevant. However, you need to adapt them to measure effectiveness and evaluate microlearning. For example, let’s consider Surveys: as a learner, would you answer a feedback survey about the quality and effectiveness of a 7-minute microlearning video? What about if a curriculum or training is composed of 15 seven-minute videos – would you want to answer 15 surveys that are sent to you at the end of each video? Most of us would get irate when asked to answer surveys frequently. Hence, as Instructional Designers, we need to adapt the old methods of measuring to the new mode of training. For example, for the second scenario, you can consider sending a survey to learners after they watch all 15 videos. This is another benefit of collating small microlearning modules into a logical playlist.
In addition, consider measuring other metrics that Marketers use. For example, if you write a blog as a part of your learning curriculum, measure how long a reader or learner stays on your Web Page. Or, if you have created a video, measure how many of your learners are watching the video end-to-end.
So, to sum up, microlearning is bite-sized learning created to satiate immediate learning requirements. Recent studies have shown that our attention span is getting shorter, and so short and focused snippets of information is the key to avoid information overload. With the help of modern technologies such as, smartphones and tablets, microlearning can be an effective tool for learning anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace.
