Learn how microlearning can be the winning idea in training because of its inherent advantages to employees and organizations.
Microlearning has caught the imagination of organizations and employees alike and with good reason. It provides advantages to both employees and organizations and this has made it a favored option among training managers and e-learning developers.
Microlearning is a favorite among employees because it meets their demands to learn anytime and anywhere and access training to solve a problem or complete a task. For organizations, microlearning is quick and easy to create because of their small and compact nature.
Let us look at some advantages of microlearning for employees and organizations.
Benefits to Employees
1. Caters to Short Attention Spans
For learners, microlearning provides small nuggets of information that can sustain short attention spans. Each unit is only 2 to 3 minutes long, which makes it ideal to catch the attention of the learner.
Today’s learners expect information to be available in small bursts, which they can go through without spending too much of their time. These modules meet that need; they can be created in several formats, short videos, quizzes, interactive activities, presentations or audio recordings, accessible anytime and anywhere.
2. Addresses the Problem of Little Time to Learn
The short duration of modules help the learner easily complete them in short intervals of time, without having to dedicate a chunk of time for training. Moreover, these modules are accessible on mobile devices, which make it easy to access anytime and anywhere, as per learners’ convenience.
3. Provides Multi-Device Compatibility
Microlearning modules can be delivered on a range of mobile devices. Learners can access training on any device, from laptops to tablets and smartphones. They need not be chained to a desk when taking the training. This gives them the flexibility to access the course on the device of their choice. A learner can view a module on his laptop and then continue with the module on his tablet at home or access it on his smartphone during his commute. This flexibility allows them to access the module as many times as they wish.
4. Promotes Work-Life Balance
The flexibility provided by microlearning, mentioned above, does not impinge on the work-life balance of the learner, but promotes it. Think of it, the luxury of learning at any time and any place and on any device, allows learners to choose when they want to learn, based on their schedule. So, there is no interruption of their normal activities.
5. Aids Just-in-Time (JIT) Learning
Microlearning modules provide brief, specific knowledge to employees when they need it. They can access the module on their mobile devices when they need to solve a problem or complete a task. This just-in-time aspect of microlearning not only engages learners, but also addresses their need to get information at the time of need.
6. Provides Up-to-Date Information
With information going through dynamic changes, learners would want the latest information on a subject. Microlearning modules are easy to update, with the latest information, because of their modular structure. If the information has to be updated in a particular module, it can be done without changing the whole curriculum.
Benefits to Organizations
For organizations, microlearning meets their objective of increasing productivity through a training method that appeals to learners and is easy to create.
Microlearning modules with the short duration of 3-6 minutes are easy to design, develop and rollout. There is no need for complex animations or graphics, which means faster turnaround times and development at reduced cost.
The modules focus on specific learning objectives. The short nuggets of information provide training to employees, which can be used immediately to improve their efficiency.
Microlearning provides better ROI for organizations. The investment, as we mentioned, for creating them is low. Apart from this, the content can be reused for other training purposes, with a little tweaking. The modular structure makes it quick and easy to repurpose content. The components of the modules can be mixed and matched to create new content.
These inherent advantages of microlearning are encouraging more organizations to go the microlearning way. Are you gearing up to introduce microlearning in your organization? It will make a positive impact on your training and help you stay ahead of the competition.
