Think about all the distractions we have in a working day using technology that connects us with teams, customers, and prospects remotely. New emails, instant message popups, meeting notifications, and video conference calls all fill our days. Technology increases our access, but also forces us to bounce between different tasks all day. It’s allowed us to be more flexible, but also made us busier, as there are fewer boundaries between personal and professional commitments.
It can be demanding on our time to be plugged in professionally, but it’s necessary to stay in touch with our clients, support our employees, and meet our deadlines. This can make it difficult for everyone from leadership to entry-level team members to find uninterrupted time to focus on learning and development.
Much like Twitter gives us bite-sized bits of news and concise headlines, and texting offers us a way to answer questions or keep up a conversation while still engaging in the work around us, microlearning is offering organizations a way to make learning easier, less intrusive, and more flexible.
What is microlearning?
Microlearning helps support the development of more complex knowledge or skills. It serves as a way to break complex course content into smaller, easily digestible content blocks for the learner. DuoLingo is a great example of effective microlearning. Their app breaks down language learning to focus on one theme per learning module, and each lesson takes only minutes to complete. The app shows learners their scores immediately, and users can make efficient progress on something huge – learning a new language – effectively over time in smaller, more manageable increments.
Why is microlearning effective?
- It’s easy to fit into the natural flow of a workday. Microlearning makes it easier to add training, learning, and development into already busy workdays. Employees can grow their knowledge while still feeling productive and focused on their work routines.
- It breaks content into bite-size pieces so it's easier to absorb. We live and work in a world where competing tasks are always vying for our attention. Trying to master a skill in one all-day session can frustrate learners who feel that session takes them away from something else that’s equally important, splitting their focus. Smaller, shorter learning sessions help keep a learner’s full attention. Plus, microlearning can break down very complex topics into smaller, more manageable packets of information.
- It makes learners feel like they’re making progress. It’s easy to get discouraged, disinterested, and disengaged if a task is too daunting. Microlearning takes something that could otherwise be overwhelming and gives users a sense of progress by helping them master it a bit at a time.
Want to know more about the applications of microlearning and if they might be right for you? Click here to contact Megan, our Vice President of Business Development, to schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss how microlearning might help you meet your training goals for a custom learning solution.
