Microlearning is simply another form of transferring information and knowledge to an intended audience. As you can guess by the name, it is a small chunk of learning or short-term activity. The key is to make sure that the chunk is relevant, to the point, and meets one objective.
Examples of microlearning are:
- Reading a paragraph of text
- Answering a short quiz or survey
- Reviewing flashcards or “work-of-the-day”
- Watching a short video
- Creating a sample report
Why would you want to develop microlearning content? How much can you actually teach in small bursts of information?
Microlearning is perfect for pre-work, reinforcement, application practice, and just-in-time training.
- Do you want to make sure that people learn all of the company’s crazy acronyms? Create daily flashcards that the learners receive in their email.
- Need to remind people in the warehouse how to properly lift boxes? Hang up visual job aids where they can see them.
- Want to make sure that your managers can apply information they learned in Leadership training? Send them weekly scenarios and have them explain a solution using the class information.
- Want to compare existing knowledge and knowledge retention? Use a web based survey tool to have learners answer a short quiz one week before taking a class, immediately after taking a class, and then one week after taking a class.
- Do machine operators need to be able to quickly troubleshoot and fix a machine? House short videos on your intranet so operators can quickly look up and watch how-to demonstrations when and where they need it.
With some preplanning and creativity, microlearning can be a small tool that packs a big punch in your training tool belt.