Personal Development
January 25, 2023
Author Name

Why Microlearning?

Microlearning has been born relatively recently due to massive shifts in how people learn and consume content. Since the advent of YouTube, podcasts, and other platforms which offer people short-form content, bite-sized learning and mobile learning is something people have naturally gravitated towards.

What is Microlearning?

Microlearning, as the name suggests, is short-form content that’s designed to teach you something new in a way that’s limited both in time and scope. Microlearning can be delivered via multiple mediums; like video, audio, or through written media, but the premise of content that’s short, sweet, and to the point is what really differentiates microlearning from traditional learning.

What are the Benefits to Microlearning?

One of the reasons this novel way to learn is picking up steam is because it’s packed full of benefits. Unlike traditional learning, microlearning helps you retain more knowledge, and take that knowledge with you on the go. It also takes less effort to focus on and fits nicely into the flow of your day. Let’s break down some of the benefits a little further:

Microlearning Increases Retention

Microlearning has also been proven to boost retention among learners. German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus found that we retain less of what we learn over time unless we attempt to retain and use that information. Microlearning overcomes this problem by getting people to remember small bits of information at a time and then reinforcing that learning through repetition.

Microlearning is Designed for Your Workflow

Traditional learning is something you have to try to fit in around your work. Microlearning is made to fit with your work! Instead of blocking time to learn something new and interrupting your workflow, microlearning lets you truly learn while you work.

Microlearning Makes it Easier to Pay Attention

Long courses can appear overwhelming and are almost always hard to focus on. Microlearning offers bite-sized instruction with an almost immediate payoff. Why learn something in fifty minutes that you can learn in fifteen? Small modules hold our attention way better than long, drawn-out courses. 

Microlearning is Conducive to Any Platform

Microlearning is the only type of learning that truly takes advantage of every available media to get your message across. Because micro content is short and to the point, it works great in video, audio, and in print!

What are Some Strategies to Incorporate Microlearning into the Workplace?

We’re all familiar with company announcements. Usually in the form of an email,  they’re brief updates on what’s happening with the business at a particular moment in time. Think of microlearning along the same lines—but instead of announcing something, you want people to learn something.

So how can you incorporate these bite-sized learning sessions at the office? Easy, because microlearning isn’t time consuming, you can slot it in wherever it fits. Maybe that’s at a morning huddle with the team, on lunch, or even between tasks. 

Microlearning can even be formatted to fit right in the flow of your work; for example, if an employee has a question, that’s an opportunity for a microlearning moment. To provide the answer, you might set up a learning path that’s housed within a Slack channel or Google Doc that features answers to questions that frequently arise on your team.

Real-World Microlearning Content Examples

Because microlearning is one of the most practical ways to learn, there are dozens of ways to incorporate it into your workplace right now. Some examples of microlearning include:

  • Short form reading (a couple of paragraphs sent out to team members)
  • Quizzes and educational games (think Wordle but with a purpose)
  • Short videos (a super effective way for people to catch your message)

Don’t get too caught up one which method to try; have fun with employees and just experiment, then take in their feedback to help you develop better content in the future. 

Microlearning Principles

There are a few principles to stick with if you’re going to incorporate microlearning at work. For example:

  • Make it short - microlearning has to be digestible and short-form, otherwise it’s not micro!
  • Make it repetitive - repetition is a huge part of what makes microlearning stick. Short bursts of information that reinforce a point are key
  • Make it flexible - microlearning is meant to be done at your own pace, this flexibility helps learners get to know the content over time without feeling overwhelmed.

Is Microlearning the Future of Training in the Workplace?

Microlearning is not just a passing fad in learning and development circles—it’s where all personal development and corporate learning is headed next. Why? Because it’s ultimately what people want.

With individuals spending more and more time learning online in ways that work for them (wherever and whenever they want) they’ll simply tune out if organizations try to spoon feed them content in a way that’s outdated and that’s hard for them to engage with and retain.

And it’s not just learners that are embracing the shift: microlearning is cheaper and faster to develop than traditional learning content, making it an appealing option for corporations looking to lead their learning and development departments into the future.

Conclusion

Microlearning is the ultimate way forward for learning and development departments and for professionals looking to take their career to the next level. It’s designed to be more efficient, better for our memory, and is more agile than legacy ways of learning. While it will take time for everyone to move to microlearning models, learners are looking for an on-the-fly education experience which mirrors their experience with the other content platforms they are so used to engaging with on a daily basis.

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Why Microlearning?

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Microlearning has been born relatively recently due to massive shifts in how people learn and consume content. Since the advent of YouTube, podcasts, and other platforms which offer people short-form content, bite-sized learning and mobile learning is something people have naturally gravitated towards.

What is Microlearning?

Microlearning, as the name suggests, is short-form content that’s designed to teach you something new in a way that’s limited both in time and scope. Microlearning can be delivered via multiple mediums; like video, audio, or through written media, but the premise of content that’s short, sweet, and to the point is what really differentiates microlearning from traditional learning.

What are the Benefits to Microlearning?

One of the reasons this novel way to learn is picking up steam is because it’s packed full of benefits. Unlike traditional learning, microlearning helps you retain more knowledge, and take that knowledge with you on the go. It also takes less effort to focus on and fits nicely into the flow of your day. Let’s break down some of the benefits a little further:

Microlearning Increases Retention

Microlearning has also been proven to boost retention among learners. German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus found that we retain less of what we learn over time unless we attempt to retain and use that information. Microlearning overcomes this problem by getting people to remember small bits of information at a time and then reinforcing that learning through repetition.

Microlearning is Designed for Your Workflow

Traditional learning is something you have to try to fit in around your work. Microlearning is made to fit with your work! Instead of blocking time to learn something new and interrupting your workflow, microlearning lets you truly learn while you work.

Microlearning Makes it Easier to Pay Attention

Long courses can appear overwhelming and are almost always hard to focus on. Microlearning offers bite-sized instruction with an almost immediate payoff. Why learn something in fifty minutes that you can learn in fifteen? Small modules hold our attention way better than long, drawn-out courses. 

Microlearning is Conducive to Any Platform

Microlearning is the only type of learning that truly takes advantage of every available media to get your message across. Because micro content is short and to the point, it works great in video, audio, and in print!

What are Some Strategies to Incorporate Microlearning into the Workplace?

We’re all familiar with company announcements. Usually in the form of an email,  they’re brief updates on what’s happening with the business at a particular moment in time. Think of microlearning along the same lines—but instead of announcing something, you want people to learn something.

So how can you incorporate these bite-sized learning sessions at the office? Easy, because microlearning isn’t time consuming, you can slot it in wherever it fits. Maybe that’s at a morning huddle with the team, on lunch, or even between tasks. 

Microlearning can even be formatted to fit right in the flow of your work; for example, if an employee has a question, that’s an opportunity for a microlearning moment. To provide the answer, you might set up a learning path that’s housed within a Slack channel or Google Doc that features answers to questions that frequently arise on your team.

Real-World Microlearning Content Examples

Because microlearning is one of the most practical ways to learn, there are dozens of ways to incorporate it into your workplace right now. Some examples of microlearning include:

  • Short form reading (a couple of paragraphs sent out to team members)
  • Quizzes and educational games (think Wordle but with a purpose)
  • Short videos (a super effective way for people to catch your message)

Don’t get too caught up one which method to try; have fun with employees and just experiment, then take in their feedback to help you develop better content in the future. 

Microlearning Principles

There are a few principles to stick with if you’re going to incorporate microlearning at work. For example:

  • Make it short - microlearning has to be digestible and short-form, otherwise it’s not micro!
  • Make it repetitive - repetition is a huge part of what makes microlearning stick. Short bursts of information that reinforce a point are key
  • Make it flexible - microlearning is meant to be done at your own pace, this flexibility helps learners get to know the content over time without feeling overwhelmed.

Is Microlearning the Future of Training in the Workplace?

Microlearning is not just a passing fad in learning and development circles—it’s where all personal development and corporate learning is headed next. Why? Because it’s ultimately what people want.

With individuals spending more and more time learning online in ways that work for them (wherever and whenever they want) they’ll simply tune out if organizations try to spoon feed them content in a way that’s outdated and that’s hard for them to engage with and retain.

And it’s not just learners that are embracing the shift: microlearning is cheaper and faster to develop than traditional learning content, making it an appealing option for corporations looking to lead their learning and development departments into the future.

Conclusion

Microlearning is the ultimate way forward for learning and development departments and for professionals looking to take their career to the next level. It’s designed to be more efficient, better for our memory, and is more agile than legacy ways of learning. While it will take time for everyone to move to microlearning models, learners are looking for an on-the-fly education experience which mirrors their experience with the other content platforms they are so used to engaging with on a daily basis.