Microlearning

Why microlearning?

In the previous page, we talked about the need for learning on the go, via mobile devices. But learning content aren't all designed for consumption via the mobile devices.

Microlearning style design of the content will help increase the efficiency of mobile learning, through the focused design of the content and consideration of the mode of delivery on mobile.

Gutierrez (2018) from Shift Learning has an infographic for why companies should consider microlearning:

Source: Gutierrez, K. (2018). Infographic on why microlearning is better for your learners and you. [Image]. Retrieved from: https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/numbers-dont-lie-why-bite-sized-learning-is-better-for-your-learners-and-you-too?utm_campaign=elearningindustry.com&utm_source=%2F10-best-microlearning-platforms&utm_medium=link

So, what is it?

What is microlearning?

Microlearning is where we learn from bite size content, typically delivered via the internet, accessible by mobile devices allowing flexibility for learners (Perry, 2017). Microlearning involves a single learning goal and it can take many different forms (Freeman, 2017).

It can take many forms, such as (Freeman, 2017):

Internet search to find answers to a specific question,
Watching a video (YouTube, to learn how to do something,
Using a microlearning apps like Duolingo for short practices,
Mini games for 5-20 minutes,
Microblogging, infographics, podcasts and many more!

Examples of Microlearning

What does microlearning look like? Here is a short video with some examples!

Application

Microlearning and your environment?

Can you think of examples of how you use microlearning?

Have you noticed how others around you may have used microlearning?

Source: Vision 33. (n.d.). Lightbolb image. [Image]. Retrieved from: https://www.vision33.com/sap-business-one-tips-and-tricks

Tips for making microlearning successful

Consolidated Tips: (Andriotis, 2018, Ch'ng, 2018, ShiftAdmin, 2018):

Check whether suitable for your learning contenxt,
Be precise on content,
Focus on one learning objective, or one idea,
Use multimedia (and gamification) to enhance and engage,
Keep in mind of the context,
Space out learning,
Use micro-assessments to assess progress, or give a summary.

You can also use Mayer's principles of multimedia learning to help with multimedia.

Source: Penubag (n.d.). - Own work in Inkscape, Public Domain, [Image]. Retrived from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3508878

Cautions!

Obviously no one approach is going to work in all situations. While there are many benefits for microlearning, it won't solve all your learning and teaching challenges!

Microlearning is based on a cognitivist approach, a strategy to overcome information or cognitive overload. It is tempting to then focus on factual or content based knowledge when we create microlearning lessons.

Assessing if this is appropriate for your own context is a must. We may need to think outside of the square for using this strategy to support other pedagogical approaches.

Some limitations of microlearning:

Not ideal for complex concepts, (Andriotis, 2018; Dave, 2018)
Not suitable for in-depth training (e.g., conversational German) (Andriotis, 2018) .

Dave (2018) shared some common misconceptions/myths:

microlearning is not just about breaking longer content into small pieces,
microlearning is more than just videos and gamification,
microlearning is not here to replace eLearning but to supplement it,
the duration of the lesson depends on the context.

Focusing on the learning goals and deciding if microlearning approach could help form parts of your learning activities may be a way to go.

Application

Can you think of examples where microlearning might "not" work well, in your context?

Coming up next....

Review of the EdApp (a mobile LMS) to deliver microlearning lessons.

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