MicroLearning is learning that delivers key concepts in as short an amount of time as possible. It is a quick, sharp, just-in-time snippet. I like to think of microlearning as ‘short enough to watch standing up on the job’. It’s when you need a quick tip, need to brush up on a specific skill or have a moment to learn a new product between customers. What are the five advantages of MicroLearning?
1. Timely Learning
The most significant advantage of MicroLearning is time. Imagine a manager racing through their day. They have a performance management meeting with an employee but have not had the time to read up on the correct procedure to follow. Or a railway engineer arriving at a broken down train, with the broken axle that he hasn’t unbolted for 12 months. Neither of them has the time to scroll through three layers on the company’s Intranet, find the LMS, log on and watch the 20-minute module.
They want to go to their phone, open an App, and BAM! There is the 3-minute MicroLearning video. It’s all about timely learning.
2. Speed to Market
One of our clients is a global Japanese car manufacturer. They require an eLearning module for every new model released. They don’t have months to plan for product training. They need learning NOW! What companies require is MicroLearning with rapid development that matches their timeline for product delivery.
3. Expiry Date
Learning’s expiry date is faster than ever. A learning program used to last a few years before it needed refreshing. These days with changing products, people and systems, learning is being discarded faster and needs to be produced cheaply yet with quality. MicroLearning is cost-effective and fast to develop, making it a win/win for companies.
4. Pictures are Powerful
When Millennials need to learn something, they watch a 2-minute YouTube video. 70% of Millennials visit YouTube monthly. It is a large part of their life. So it seems apparent that we should adapt learning to what is familiar to them.
Why is a video so important? Research teaches us that you will have only 10% retention after three days if you hear something. If you then add a picture to that, retention increases to 65% – 6 times better! Using video in MicroLearning makes it stick. Our brain links what we hear to a picture, and retention is higher.
5. Mobile
One of our Pharma clients is investing in Asia. The people they are training in Asia have limited education, but all have smartphones. How do they teach them? MicroLearning. They make it engaging, enjoyable, entertaining, and, most of all, mobile-compatible. This way, they can watch it on any device, standing or sitting.
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