What is Microlearning and how to implement it in your team
What advantages does the microlearning trend offer and how to implement it in the training strategies of your company
Many Learning and Neuroscience experts are still debating over how technology has impacted our attention and the way we learn. Even when the stances are not clear or extensive, the truth is that we live in a more connected world, and considering our current context, this will still be our reality.
This implies that our way of consuming and sharing information will be more and more digital. This, applied to companies, revolves around how we send messages, work in teams and make business, to how we share knowledge and train their talent.
Since before and, especially now, there are new learning trends and techniques like microlearning, which are very effective to tap into the agility with which technology allows us to create and share value content to others.
Is this a new front for our training efforts inside companies in a more digitized world?
What is microlearning?
Microlearning is an e-learning trend that transmits knowledge through microcontent.
At the same time, micro contents are short length information units with a single topic and that are accessible in a single space, whether is video, infographics or URLs specifically for mobile devices, e-mail or web browsers.
This is what specialists in learning sciences explain, based on recent studies, that reveal that short contents can increase our information retention up to 20%.
What are the advantages of microlearning?
Considering these previous ideas, microlearning offers interesting possibilities to companies that are building training programs for their talent:
- Training with impact. By being agile and direct, it helps new talent and colleagues to retain specific messages in a more convincing way.
- Accelerate ongoing training. Instead of extensive, boring and complicated trainings, microcontent creates more rapport, is better received, and contributes to better time management, as well as actualization and ongoing training.
- Lowers costs. I can be quickly implemented with affordable platforms that can easily adapt to your needs.
How to deploy training programs based on microlearning
Even when at first you might be thinking on social media, the truth is that microcontent can very well adapt to other formats and can become an ongoing strategy for training.
In that sense, you can create digital programs that help your teammates be updated and constantly growing.
For that, Apprendo recommends to keep in mind the next:
Complement with “storytelling”
One of the microlearning advantages we talked about is the fast impact due to its flexible format, not only because of its short-length, but also because of its visual attractiveness.
This concept is based on storytelling, because it is a way to learn by “telling stories” that connect better with people.
With this in mind, it’s important to go beyond traditional slideshows. Tap into all the available tools, like videos, images, infographics, etcetera. For that, design and content professionals will be your best allies.
Understand its limitations
Despite its innovative formula that makes a difference in the way we shares complex messages in more simple and effective ways, It’s also true that there are topics and training with a more technical approach required, which implies more traditional format sessions
Study which format of microcontent makes sense according the specialization of the topics in your training program
In this case, where it is complicated to have a full strategy based on microlearning, you can use microcontent as a complement to your activities to reinforce all you have learnt.
Measure results
Simplicity is not a synonym of lack of preciness. Microlearning breaks barriers that block learning for your talent due to less flexible traditional formats, but that doesn’t mean it erases accountability and evaluation of results.
Follow up and search for tools that help you track and make its effectiveness transparent inside your team. This is vital, for example, if you use this technique to aid in certification processes, because knowing your learners progress is necessary.
Use the right tools
as we told you before in our blog, without the right tools there is no scalability. For any good idea to have the expected impact, it’s basic to provide the right ways to implement it.
Therefore, considering a hybrid work model and home office, you need a platform that helps you have learning continuity no matter where your teammates are.
Create an effective training for your talent with a solution that taps into all the possibilities technology offers
APPRENDO: the All-in-one training platform
Apprendo can help you deploy training programs and even certifications with a platform that adapts to new ways of learning in a digital world
