Designing Digitally
02/05/2019
Microlearning is a short learning nugget that is designed with a specific learning outcome in mind. The experience is usually three to five minutes long. These training nuggets mainly focus on performance gain. Microlearning can be delivered in several formats – videos, whiteboard animations, interactive PDFs, mobile apps, etc.. This format of training has become a popular learning tool because it helps boost learner engagement and achieve the learning objectives it set out to accomplish. It is best to use microlearning as part of a blended learning strategy.
Here are five ways in which microlearning excels over traditional training in increasing employee engagement.
Microlearning modules can be accessed on many mobile devices as they are bite-sized. Your employees can build their skills anytime and from anywhere in their pockets of free time or at the point-of-need. For example, when your salesperson is at the client site and needs instant information on certain product features, he can quickly pull up the relevant content on his mobile device and finish the task at hand. Since he accessed the information to solve an issue, he will remember the content for a long time and apply it when required. When you allow your employees to pull information instead of pushing it towards them, it empowers them and guarantees a high return-on-investment.
There is never a one-size-fits-all approach as far as training is concerned. Each employee is unique and has varied learning needs. It is not wise to force-feed the same content to everyone. In microlearning, your learners can choose their exclusive learning path and personalize their experience. They can choose the modules they wish to complete and the modules they want to skip. Users can choose the certifications that will boost career growth. In a nutshell, microlearning puts the learners in the driver seat and empowers them to do more. When you make your learners accountable for their skills, they are bound to take it seriously.
Learners tend to have short attention spans nowadays. Making them sit through an hour-long training may be futile. One of the ways to address this issue is to break down the learning outcomes and deliver content that is to the point and relevant. When you offer your employees knowledge in short bursts, they find it easy to digest. The modern learners expect to receive information that they can consume without having to spend too much time on it. Microlearning nails it. It is easier to remember and recall information when you learn one topic at a time.
The modern workforce consists mostly of millennials, that is people born between 1980 and 2000. This generation is tech savvy. They grew up with technology and use it for almost everything – shopping, banking, eating out, entertainment, and so on. If you want them to learn and upskill, then you need to incorporate technology into their learning experience. Microlearning in short bursts of information can be delivered through mobile devices and capture the attention of the millennial learner. They do not need to be chained to a physical venue to attend training. In fact, they don’t even need to be at their workstation. There is no mandate on the device either. Microlearning nuggets are responsive and can be accessed from any mobile device.
Microlearning provides instant feedback to your employees. It is easy to track and pull out reports for this mode of learning. When your employees receive immediate feedback for their performance, they are able to avoid the same errors in the future. The mistakes they make are not committed to their long-term memory.
The transfer of knowledge is efficient in a microlearning format. This reduces the duration of the training and, as a result, leads to a higher ROI. If you wish to update the existing content, you need not take down the entire course and inconvenience the learners. You can choose the specific module and edit it easily in a short amount of time. Our economy relies on speed. The faster you move from traditional to effective microlearning strategies, the better adept your employees will be to deal with their work.
At Designing Digitally, we create custom microlearning solutions tailored specifically for your organization’s training objectives. Our courses ensure strong retention of information and provide innovative ways to change learner behaviors.
Get in touch with our team to learn more about implementing microlearning at your organization.
We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on.
