Blog Post
BrianSeaman1
Community Member
While I agree that micro-learning is very important, I also feel that this is the new buzzword that has taken our industry by storm and some have the wrong idea of what it really means. I attended an e-learning conference back in October and one of the presenters spoke to this topic. His primary point was that we need to keep our training as short as possible due to attention spans. I would disagree with the idea that all learning needs to change to two minute learning segments. If a concept needs ten minutes of explaining then it takes ten minutes. It is the job of the designer to keep the learner engaged and keep the content to what the learner needs to know.
Making learning segments too short could lead to confusion on how larger concepts relate or tie into each other. I would say to learn your audience before applying micro-learning to all of your coursework. I think micro-learning within a 10 minute lesson has worked best for us because of the ongoing feedback we have gotten back from our learners. You can present some short content, have an interactive knowledge check, and so forth. This allows you to present content that is very focused and then tie it all together, if needed. I feel this is especially important when training on software, which is what I am involved in. Thanks! :)
-Brian
Making learning segments too short could lead to confusion on how larger concepts relate or tie into each other. I would say to learn your audience before applying micro-learning to all of your coursework. I think micro-learning within a 10 minute lesson has worked best for us because of the ongoing feedback we have gotten back from our learners. You can present some short content, have an interactive knowledge check, and so forth. This allows you to present content that is very focused and then tie it all together, if needed. I feel this is especially important when training on software, which is what I am involved in. Thanks! :)
-Brian
TrinaRimmer
9 years agoFormer Staff
You make some really great points, Brian. I agree that it can be too easy to go all-in on a trendy approach without considering needs and outcomes, first. It sounds like the way you've implemented micro-learning is well-considered and effective. Hopefully you can lend your support and experience to other folks in the ELH community who are weighing their design options. Thanks for sharing your comment!