Millennial Learners
Millennial learners now make up more of the workforce than any other generation. It is important for companies to harness the power of these individuals through interactive and interesting learning programmes.
Millennials are more prone to changing jobs than any other previous generation, which is why it is crucial for corporations to engage their workforce to reinforce loyalty. IBM found that without the provision of training for someone to be able to carry out their role effectively, 64% of employees intend to leave their role. The constant opportunities for development will help to eradicate the stiff boundaries of traditional business to lead your company to a transformative learning state.
5 Tips to Create eLearning For Millennial Learners
Outlined below are some tips for creating effective eLearning for Millennials:
1. Millennial Learners want an experience
Millennial users want an experience, not a presentation. Engaging users through gamification will increase motivation and enjoyment for the learner. 57% of 18-34-year olds play video games at least three times a week. Using gamification is a perfect way of capitalising on this hobby that a lot of millennials have, in order to use it to develop the quality of learning in the workplace. Games will allow users to be involved with learning as it requires strategy planning and problem solving. Gamification also leverages competitiveness and teamwork which are crucial skills in the modern market. It provides instantaneous feedback to encourage learners to improve and know where their strengths and weaknesses lie.
2. Spaced Repetition
Spaced repetition is the process of repeating the material that learners are absorbing in order to improve retention. Studies have shown that we can only remember 3-5 pieces of new information at a time. Spaced repetition will ensure they engrain the information from their learning into their long-term memory. This, in turn, will delay the ‘forgetting curve’ so that the learner will have better recall on the information for a longer period of time. This process will strengthen the connections between nerve cells in the brain to encourage a certain answer the next time the question is presented.
Millennials learners are ‘digital natives
Millennials are ‘digital natives’, meaning that technology has always been a substantial part of their lives. This is exactly why a mobile first approach to learning is appropriate to aid their learning experience. People nowadays average 24 hours of screen time a week on some kind of device. The capabilities of mobile first means that learning can be part of this weekly screen time which stops users feeling like they have to take extra time out of their week to complete their coursework. Mobile first capabilities also mean that courseware can be accessed anywhere and can easily fit in with a learner’s busy lifestyle. Mobility also allows for social learning through social channels which can be transferred to a user’s learning.
4. Quick Lessons
Engagement should be a high priority when considering learning options for your workforce. The use of microlessons ensures that only the most important information is presented effectively. This means that there is not extra information that is confusing a user when completing a course. Millennials like to get straight to the point of the learning so they can optimise the time they are spending on the lesson. Microlearning is a great way to fine tune the crucial facts for clear learning opportunities.
Millennial Learners want to be able to receive feedback on the spot
Millennials want to be able to receive feedback on the spot to know their strengths and weaknesses in order to continue to learn and improve. This feedback turns passive learning into active reinforcement of skills. Instantaneous feedback should be made interactive to engage the learner and ensure they truly understand the outcomes of their learning. Millennials also want to give feedback on what they have learnt and what they think would be more relevant. They find feedback useful as a two-way street in order to improve themselves and their experiences with the organisation.
If you would like to learn more about how to build the most effective training strategy for millenial learners!
If you’d like to know more about how EdApp’s mobile learning 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.