What is Microlearning and how will it Benefit your Organisation?

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between an educational fad and a genuinely advanced and long-lasting learning development. This year we have all heard the term “microlearning,” but is this just a passing trend or a learning technique that is here to stay?

Microlearning is not a brand-new learning concept, however it has only recently started to gain popularity in the eLearning world. It is becoming recognised as a successful learning technique for senior learners in a company/organisation, that is: people who already have knowledge and up their learning on a “need to know” basis.

Here, we look at what microlearning is and where this kind of learning strategy works:

Defining Microlearning

Microlearning in educational technology is defined as, “any brief and targeted learning object that spans between 3 – 6 minutes.”

These small “nuggets” of learning can either be connected or stand alone. This information needs to be available to the learner quickly as easy access to the learning data is key to successful microlearning.

Benefits of Microlearning

Focused on a specific learning outcome, microlearning is a popular educational tool for formal training when quick references are appreciated by the trainees.

For learners seeking quick revision or a brief refresher, microlearning gives them the opportunity to learn without having to go through pages and pages of content.

This is one of the biggest benefits of microlearning. Therefore, microlearning is an excellent choice for experienced and knowledgeable employees who don’t have time to go through an entire course again.

If your course has microlearning options – this is the best choice for the experienced learner.

You may be thinking: Why can’t the learner just access a chapter from the full course?

The issue with eLearning courses in their entirety is that each chapter builds on the previous one. This is perfect for when you are going through the content and completing the full course. But it doesn’t serve as the best option if you are looking for a quick review of the information. This is because a full course is designed for the learner to follow the entire thread of content, from start to finish, whereas microlearning nuggets are designed with a specific intention  and as standalone content.

Microlearning also makes accessibility easier, giving the learner the ability to go through the content from any digital device they prefer. Mobile compatibility is one of the greatest benefits of microlearning. When a person returns home from the office, they would rather look at information from their smartphone as opposed to turning on their laptop.

To ensure that your learners receive the best possible microlearning experience you will require a capable Learner Management System (LMS) and excellent mobile support.

Microlearning Applications in your Workplace

Longer courses, workshops, large manuals, and training sessions are becoming the less preferred choice for business institutions to educate their employees. This doesn’t mean that corporations don’t want training programs, they would just prefer to choose shorter learning surges and have more control over their training.

This is why eLearning continues to grow in the work environment, and why bite sized pieces of learning such as microlearning, are becoming a must for the corporate environment.

Here, we look at 2 popular microlearning applications for the work environment:

• Interactive Videos

Rather than having to plan and execute offboarding, onboarding, or migration courses for your employees, and having them page through large manuals and PDFs, give them microlearning nuggets in the form of short, interactive videos.

These videos can be short, arranged chronologically and function together as a complete unit.

Instead of having to sit through long workshops, you give your employees the opportunity to interact with the content through their mobile devices in their own time. This convenience and ease of learning is empowering for your employee and will motivate them further.

So, how do you know that your employee went through the content and learned? Embed your microlearning videos with quick quizzes and have the answers and responses stored in your Learning Management System.

• Develop a Catalogue of Training Modules in your eLearning Library

If you have an excess of learning materials that your employees need to consume regularly, consider renaming these materials. Rename them by using key terminologies that make for easy, efficient sourcing and accessibility.

Create both complete and independent modules and have them arranged in your eLearning library in alphabetical order. Each of these microlearning modules should be easily searchable with 5 different keywords and should not be longer than 6 minutes.

Having this information easily sourced and accessible – and quick to consume, will improve the success of your eLearning program.

For example: if you have a newly promoted employee in need of a briefing on their new work responsibilities, a microlearning nugget will be able to give them the knowledge they require quickly, efficiently and give them the confidence they need in their new job duties.

Even More Benefits!

Microlearning gives the learner/employee a sense of autonomy. The microlearning puts them in control and increases their responsibility over their own training. Because of this motivating factor, employee’s attitudes and morale can shift, making for a positive workplace.

Updating your content is quick and easy with microlearning.

Performance gaps can be filled up faster and there will be less lapses in achieving goals and objectives for a team. They have easy access to any information they require, and can educate themselves to reach certain objectives.

Microlearning and Synrgise

The Synrgise Learn platform has been geared to manage and deploy both structured learning and microlearning. Using our competency framework, companies can map microlearning assets to competencies, that are in turn mapped to job roles. This allows you to create intuitive learning pathways for your staff that speak directly to their role in the organisation. And since learning is served up in microlearning nuggets, that learning can happen during working hours without having to take your staff away from their desks for extended periods of time.

If you would like to learn more about microlearning in the workplace, contact the Synrgise Learner Management System experts today and take your workplace learning to the next level.