Microlearning Theory
Microlearning theory has been in been existence from at least the mid-2000s, although its roots go back to the nineteenth century. In recent years, however, microlearning has become popular due to it being an incredibly effective way of learning, retaining, and applying new knowledge.
As the volume of information continues to increase, people prefer receiving information in short, concise bursts, something which we should have been doing right from the start, according to scientists. Corporate organizations are investing in microlearning due to their understanding of the needs of the modern learner. In other words, how the modern learner cannot handle subject-heavy teaching methods. Because microlearning has its basis in science and is learner-centric, it is the first choice of learning style for the modern learner. But, if these reasons do not convince your boss to invest in microlearning, this article discusses 5 reasons that surely will.
1. It Is Simple To Design
Unlike traditional eLearning, microlearning courses are short, and thus easier to design. Microlearning does away with all irrelevancies and focuses only on the essential elements, i.e. crisp content and visuals. Infographics and videos dominate microlearning, as its modules are a maximum of 5 to 7 minutes long. Especially with LMS’s which offer a library of ready-made templates, such as EdApp, these elements are relatively easier to compile into a microlearning course than a traditional eLearning course and take much less time.
2. It Offers Ultimate Flexibility
Microlearning is being adopted by corporate organizations like hotcakes, primarily due to its ability to offer learners ultimate flexibility. As microlearning and mobile learning go hand in hand, and one can’t function properly without the other, any organization that is trying to integrate microlearning into their employee development and training program must have an LMS accessible via smartphones. This means that employees can access their organization’s microlearning courses whenever they want, from wherever they want. Also, as microlearning modules are as short as 5-7 minutes, they are engaging and do not bore learners. When employees control when and where they learn, they improve their own learning and no longer think of eLearning, and learning in general, as a burden.
3. It Is Perfectly Suited For Today’s Tech-Savvy Workforce
Millennials (those born between 1980 and 2000) comprise almost half of the global workforce today and will comprise 75% of the total global workforce by 2025. This means that organizations now have to focus on designing learning while keeping the millennials in mind. Give millennials what they’re used to, and they’ll love it. And what are millennials used to? Crisp content and high-quality visuals which they encounter every day in the digital sphere. As microlearning banks on crisp content and high-quality visuals to help employees learn, it is perfectly suited for younger generations. As mentioned before, microlearning and mobile learning go hand in hand, which is optimal for the millennial workforce as it gives them access to eLearning on their smartphones and other devices.
4. It Can Be Used With Traditional Classroom Training As Blended Learning
Microlearning is also being used heavily with Blended Learning in corporate organizations, as a follow-up or a concise fresher or reminder to the knowledge imparted in traditional classroom training. It can also be used by learners to refresh the main points of an instructor-led class as just-in-time learning before the application of a particular skill taught in the class. Blended learning is known to be more effective than either traditional classroom training or traditional eLearning, and when combined with microlearning, it becomes the supreme learning methodology.
5. Microlearning Increases Retention
The wonder of microlearning is predominantly in its power to increase retention. Because microlearning follows the concept of spaced learning, which is that learning is more effective if spaced out over time, it is easier to retain. For example, if a traditional eLearning course of 2 hours is spaced out into 6 modules of 20 minutes each, a microlearning course of 2 hours will be spaced out into 24 modules of 5 minutes each. Spaced learning, according to scientists, is more likely to end up in the long-term memory, and thus can be retained and recalled more easily.
Making these cases to your boss, along with some objective data and statistics about microlearning from the internet, will show them how exactly microlearning can contribute to achieving the business goals of your organization and contribute to overall corporate success.
If you would like to learn more about how to build the most effective employee training strategy!
If you’d like to know more about how EdApp’s microlearning platform can help your internal training practices, get in touch at enquiries@edapp.com. You can also try EdApp’s Mobile LMS and authoring tool for free by signing up here.
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Author
Guest Author Daniel Brown
Daniel Brown is a senior technical editor and writer that has worked in the education and technology sectors for two decades. Their background experience includes curriculum development and course book creation.