You've probably heard about microlearning, but do you know what it is? How does it work? Why is it important to include it in our daily lives? Here we answer all these questions and give you tips so you can create your own content!
Time passes and everything changes very quickly, so human beings have the need to learn new things, stay informed and constantly refresh their knowledge. Many times, this is difficult for us due to lack of time: children, work, transportation, university, are factors that absorb us and leave us with just enough time to complete our daily activities.
Microlearning is a new teaching method that works under the premise of “less is more” , which is why it seeks to provide higher quality content in the shortest time possible ; this technique arises from Instant Learning , that is, with the same speed that we create the content, it will be consumed and learned by people, since we have the need to remain in constant learning without having to sacrifice time from our daily activities.
Through social media and the Internet, we are increasingly exposed to new content, so, without realizing it, we have modified our learning method , preferring short and precise content that conveys a clear and concise idea, as opposed to the long texts or books we were used to.
Companies have also noticed these changes and understand that what used to take list of canada cell phone numbers us days to learn, today we do it in less than 5 minutes, so they have begun to implement microlearning as a technique to train and educate their employees.
YouTube is the second social network with the most active users , there are 1 billion people who use this platform and almost 50% are between 24 and 44 years old; that is why multimedia formats are ideal for generating this type of content : short, interactive, dynamic videos, that talk about a specific topic in a maximum of 5 minutes in length, are characteristics that any information made using this method must have.
Microlearning multimedia formats
4 tips for creating microlearning content
One video = one goal: set a goal, what knowledge do you want users to have after watching the video? Always keep in mind that “less is more” – the more goals you have, the more content you will have to provide and, therefore, the less suitable it will be for microlearning searches.
Quality vs. quantity: The quality of the content is more important than the quantity; the more precise and easy to understand the information, the more efficient the learning will be.
Quality does matter: thanks to the internet, more and more people have access to various production tools (professional cameras, video editing, GoPro); therefore, we have an increasingly demanding audience, which is why video quality becomes as important as the content itself.
Timing is key: what sets this content apart from the rest is speed. It's about being able to provide the most relevant information in the shortest time possible, so that small capsules of information form a broader and deeper knowledge when put together.
Microlearning and instant learning
For any user who is interested in this type of content, it must be clear that their learning process involves knowing very well what they are looking for , that is, having a clear idea of the training need. This helps to be productive in information searches . These needs always have a practical content, they appear when faced with a change in a usual task or new tasks, which generates pressure and stress that acts as a catalyst to find the resource that allows us to develop this new need.
Once the resources have been found, the best students are provided with a test environment in which to put into practice what they have learned before implementing it. Communities and forums act as prescribers of practical information and provide security from experience.
In this sense, there are structured platforms for massive, online and open courses (MOOC) that work perfectly for those seeking microlearning. These short-hour courses have no limit on places, are very flexible and provide, compared to partial searches, the possibility of certification of that training, the support of a training program and the creation of a community around the subject in question. Platforms such as MiriadaX are a fertile field in many subjects for the development of microlearning.
If you are a teacher, you may be interested in integrating this type of learning into your teaching methodology. You can create your own materials so that your students adopt microlearning as a complement to your courses and use native e-learning methods to improve your classes. If distance learning is not your thing, you can follow one of our training courses on the use of technological tools or the use of social networks and other online strategies. In these specific courses, our platform acts as in the MOOCs, creating a community and interaction with other people with the same interests as you.
If we do not adapt to the changes and needs of our audience, either as a company or by selling a product, we will not be able to connect efficiently with them. Therefore, we must keep in mind that the more facilities we give our audience to consume our product, the greater the conversion will be . Microlearning is just one of the educational trends of 2018 : visual thinking, emotional education and the maker movement are other methods that promise to boom in 2018.