Designing Digitally
10/20/2020
This article was updated on 10/20/2020 by our team.
Office distractions, hectic and demanding daily tasks, and work schedules, and an inability to focus are just a few of the top reasons why employers have had to take alternative approaches to training and development. Microlearning involves breaking up training modules, courses and lessons into small, digestible segments or chunks. Each component of the training has a definitive start, middle and end, and can be completed as an independent lesson.
Here are some important things to consider when creating microlearning courses for employee training.
When it comes to defining the length of a microlearning course, every business is different. The effective length for a microlearning course should be anywhere from three to fifteen minutes. It is important to determine what content is needed, and what is not, to develop courses with the appropriate time needed to absorb the information.
Traditional training courses can often take hours to complete, or even span over several days. Because of this, the percentage of employees who retain knowledge is considerably lower due to having to learn a lot of information at once. With microlearning, employees can learn one topic at a time within a few minutes and practice until mastery is achieved and then advance to the next course. With the reduced amount of content, learners are able to remember more.
Read also: Microlearning Examples to Inspire Your Employee Training Strategy
Stemming from the previous consideration, a short microlearning course does not guarantee retention among your employees. You must maintain a specific structure that adheres to the way people learn and retain information if you want to guarantee that your employees absorb the important details in the course. You need to take the learning capacity of your employees into consideration. The content needs to be clear and concise. It also needs to be engaging and reiterate the important facts to be learned.
Most employees adhere to a strict weekly work schedule of 40 hours or less. Microlearning courses fit into the standard nine-to-five daily work schedule, and they do not take too much time away from regular job duties. Employees can sneak away from their desks for 10 minutes at a time to take a mini-course, then they can return back to their desks to continue on with their regular job duties. If an employee logs in to take a mini-lesson in between taking phone calls, on their way back from the bathroom, or just before clocking out, they can complete several mini-courses throughout the day.
Mini-lessons and courses help employees focus on targeted and specific bits of information. Instead of attempting to learn important facts about a broad topic like ethical business practices, you could create a mini-course that gives employees specific examples of time theft at work.
Read also: When is Microlearning the Right Choice for Employee Training?
Creating a microlearning course can be a tedious challenge if you are unfamiliar with eLearning development. At Designing Digitally, we specialize in developing educational, engaging, and entertaining learning experiences and tools that take a creative and innovative approach to learning and retention in the workplace. From simulations to training software, virtual environments, and game-based interactions, we tailor our courses to the specific needs of your company and your employees.
Microlearning is an effective tool in the workplace. In easy-to-digest mini-modules, employees maintain a higher retention rate, and they can apply the learned principles immediately in the workplace. Whether you choose a more traditional approach to eLearning or want to create an engaging and interactive experience for your employees, microlearning solutions are the future of corporate learning.
Designing Digitally, Inc. is a leader in creating customized microlearning courses that are tailored specifically to the needs and goals of your organization. Contact our team today to learn more about microlearning and how it can improve the training developments at your company.
We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on.
