Learning in small, self-contained units in under 6 minutes. Short, concise, and personal. If your heart races at this statement, you're sure to be a big fan of microlearning. We at LearnChamps feel the same way. But what lies behind it, and how can your company make use of this concept?
The trend towards microlearning is not entirely new, but especially in times of the pandemic, these short units, also known as learning nuggets, have experienced a resurgence. The principle behind it is that learning should be fast, location-independent, and available on demand. This promotes motivation, especially since learners are aware that they only need to focus on a nugget for a few minutes.
If the content is under 2 minutes, it is called "nanolearning".
In contrast, macrolearning is used for comprehensive content.
How can microlearning be implemented?
Microlearning needs to capture the learners' attention in the shortest possible time. Therefore, it is particularly important to design the content as creatively as possible, for example, with videos, storytelling, and interactions. The introduction to the topic should only take about 10 seconds to quickly get to the content. Since only the most important information should and can be conveyed in a few minutes, our learning designers recommend addressing only one learning objective in a learning nugget. To ensure that the content can be viewed flexibly when needed, the units should also be mobile-friendly and viewable on tablets or mobile phones, for example.
Microlearning is suitable for topics that are frequently updated. With these short units, you can quickly inform your learners about updates.
An important point for effective implementation is planning and structure. Learning nuggets can be created and viewed quickly. If a company develops a taste for it, many nuggets are usually created. However, you should not overwhelm your learners. Make sure to provide a good structure, for example, by creating topic-related spaces in the LMS and assigning the nuggets accordingly. This provides a good overview and shows learners how the individual nuggets are connected. Always send notifications to learners when new content is uploaded.
Which e-learning tools are suitable for creating microlearning?
In addition to videos, blog posts, podcasts, and many other formats, you can also create (or have created) short e-learning courses. Here is a list of the advantages of selected tools that we at LearnChamp also work with:
- Evolve Authoring: With this authoring tool, you have found the perfect all-rounder for your learning nuggets. It offers a variety of features and a user-friendly interface, allowing for the quick and easy creation of interactive, engaging, and responsive learning nuggets. By incorporating audio, videos, graphics, quizzes, and much more, you can catch the attention of your learners.
- Articulate Rise: This tool provides a similar format to Evolve Authoring but with fewer features. However, it is very easy to use and is particularly suitable for new learning creators due to its simple user interface.
- Articulate Storyline: Storyline allows you to create not only comprehensive e-learning courses but is also suitable for microlearning, especially when short content needs to be conveyed with audio. This tool offers multiple design options, and a timeline helps in the precise coordination of audio, text, and graphic elements. Unlike the other two authoring tools, Articulate Storyline is not responsive.
In summary, the advantages of microlearning are:
Increased motivation due to the short nuggets. Creative implementation in various formats. Learning on the go. Ideal for frequently updated content. Quick creation.
