There has never been a greater need to upskill your people as there is today. Advancements in technology and a rapidly changing work environments mean there is regularly a need for organisations to continually develop the skills of their employees. The challenge in this space is the increased time pressures faced by busy learners, as well as the high cost to operations by having staff take a block of time out for the latest training. Enter microlearning — the solution for busy people.
What is microlearning? Well, put simply, microlearning is an approach to learning that takes small, bite-sized (and therefore manageable) amounts of learning to deeply engage the learner. In a fast-paced and busy world, microlearning enables users to access quick learning when it suits them. As the eLearning space continues to grow rapidly, so too has the rise of microlearning.
Microlearning offers versatility and flexibility
By its very nature, microlearning is short enough and accessible enough to fit in with learner’s busy lives. Microlearning can be accessed at the gym, on a lunch break, or in between meetings and other deadlines. It utilises multimedia formats like quizzes, infographics, videos, short-form articles, and gamification to boost the interest and engagement of learners.
Microlearning in Australia is being driven by industry needs, as we know from the World Economic Forum report that an estimated 83 million roles will be obsolete within five years. Microlearning offers a simple and focused way to digest and learn a new skill rapidly.
The practical and efficient offering of microlearning makes it an ideal solution for both busy learners and organisations. The learning is often practical, relevant, and applicable to a learner's day-to-day work, offering an almost immediate return on investment for the organisations investment in microlearning.
Microlearning enhances employee training
The most successful microlearning courses have a clear objective of what the learner needs to take from the course. We know that in the most successful microlearning courses, you can see some common features including:
- A design that should be clean and easy to navigate
- Clear communication with the learner setting out clear learning outcomes
- Responsive content that utilises interactivity to boost the memorability and retention of the content.
How do we know these make the best microlearning experience? Well, we were awarded Best eLearning Project and Best Online Learning at the LearnX awards. One of our award-winning projects utilised the design and development of 50 microlearning modules for SMEs to build resilience to support their recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Microlearning success hinges on the platform
The platform used to deliver microlearning is critical to its success. One of the most successful microlearning platforms is TikTok. The short instructional video format is designed for users to watch the same video again to be able to replicate it. One of the ways we see this most is through dance routines, the trend videos that people replicate and even the recipe videos popular on the platform.
Along with the right platform, the other critical component of microlearning is of course the course content. Microlearning can be a powerful and cost-effective tool to promote stronger retention through offering a personalised learning experience.
The content needs to take a narrow focus to get across the core concept you hope to achieve through your microlearning. We delved deeper into this topic with our webinar The Power of Microlearning.
Microlearning caters to busy learners
The bite-sized learning modules in a microlearning course allow the content to be both learner-centred and learner-driven. The digestible nature of the modules makes it easier to get the learner to ‘buy-in’ to the content and create an engaging and focused eLearning opportunity.
Microlearning can also be integrated into a larger learning matrix, allowing an organisation to continue the professional development of its people as part of its BAU. This also helps your organisation to foster a culture of continuous or lifelong learning in your employees.
The best part about microlearning is that you don’t have to create a course from scratch all on your own.
Looking to partner with the Microlearning and eLearning experts? Our dedicated eWorks team is here to help. Get in touch today at: sales@eworks.edu.au
