Microlearning for Higher Ed

The Basics

Let’s start with the basics. Microlearning—what is it? Well, the answer is in the name: micro (very small) learning (acquiring new or modifying existing education).

That’s not to say that its small size diminishes its value in education. In fact, microlearning is a solution to some of the barriers that distance education gets a bad rap for:

• long lessons

• time-consuming courses

• incompletion

• loss of motivation

• limited engagement

• overloaded material

• complicated topics

The list can go on and on. With as much access to information as we have today, and the incredible amount of knowledge teachers and instructors have, it’s common to have courses that are either too long, too complicated, or too loaded down with excess information.

Microlearning is a solution to many of these barriers. By breaking down the content into easily digestible chunks, the material not only becomes easier to approach mentally, it becomes less time consuming. This kind of on-demand learning has some pros and cons.

How to Do It

Start with the content. What is essential for the learners to know to fully comprehend the material? Can anything be scaled back? Note, not skimmed down. We still want the courses to be effective and valuable for the learner, but what is a need to know and just interesting to know? I can admit that I struggle with that last part. I like knowing how the big picture works and all of the interconnected pieces. Microlearning isn’t suited for that, though. It’s the micro part. Microlearning is intended for the need to know right now. Another microlearning course or module can cover that extra information, but it’s not the focus to meet the learning objective right now.

Some Tips

• Short Multimedia. Keep video lengths to a maximum of 5 minutes. If the video goes beyond that, you’re drifting away from micro because you haven’t covered the lesson content or knowledge check yet.

• Think like an editor. Look over the lesson text you’ve written and highlight the essential elements in one color and the “fluff” in another color. Make sure you have minimal fluff!

• Be picky. When it comes to examples, images, graphs, charts, clips, or anything at all—be picky! Is there something better that gets the point across? Do you still need to elaborate and explain the information? Does your image or graph add to the lesson in a meaningful way?

• White space. If the lessons are micro, that means the aesthetic design should be micro too. The goal is to emphasize the most important parts of the lesson content to meet learning objectives, so you don’t want to overload the brief amount of time with visual clutter. White space doesn’t mean you couldn’t find good graphics. It means you understand the eLearning science behind visual to text to audio ratio for the senses.

• Knowledge Check. Instead of completion quizzes and assessments, check learner understanding with each module. One or two questions to check for understanding of the most important points or concepts will suffice, and it will require the learner to stay engaged throughout the lessons instead of racking their brains at the end.

Limitations

Naturally, not every good thing is good for everything. Microlearning is a great solution but not always the best solution for the problem.

• Not meant for complex topics. Technically microlearning isn’t the best format for topics that do need the examples and extra resources, but there are some workarounds. One practice I like to do is hyperlink words or topics to additional information. By excluding that information directly from the lesson but including the option to learn more, I give my learners the autonomy to control their education while keeping the lesson content focused and as concise as possible.

• Not a stand-alone for some training. Some workforces or classroom activities require a hands-on element to the training that microlearning often won’t be suitable for, but microlearning can still be a portion of the course plan to prep or summarize the information for the learner in a scaffolded approach.

Example

Corporate Water Stewardship 101 can be viewed here until Articulate Rise disables shareable links.

I created a microlearning-inspired course for Future H2O for the GreenBiz20 conference where we would have the opportunity to show sustainable and green businesses how microlearning could be a good fit for their workforce education.

Here was my approach:

• I made sure the videos were not longer than 5 minutes and that there weren’t too many of them.

• My team also had the idea to make the video lecture style more casual. Instead of following a traditional lecture format, our goal was to make the content sharing feel more conversational and professional. These business pros are finished with school; they’re already out in the field doing the job. We wanted to ensure the learners felt like they were on equal planes with a shared level of respect.

• I then added graphic elements to the videos to reiterate the main points. I used bright colors, short phrases and words, and fading effects to enhance the videos without distracting the learner.

• I limited the modules to only 3, a magic number in many cultures, stories, and symbolism. It’s easier to remember 3 main points than it is to remember 5. But it also means professionals out in the field don’t have to spend as much time working their way through the course, and we know that time is precious and always fleeting.

• Each module follows the content + knowledge check format twice. Again, instead of overloading the learner with information and assessment, the information is chunked purposefully and then the learner is asked a question or asked to complete a short interactive activity that ensures they have paid attention and are not just clicking through.

• I added inspirational and related quotes. A lot of times it’s easy to go overboard with the micro part of microlearning. Remember, you remove the fluff, but you keep what aids in comprehension. I think it’s equally important to remember that your learner needs to be engaged. Even short courses aren’t motivating to professionals who already have a limited amount of time. A quote on a bold banner here and there gives the learner a connection to the material in a way that allows them to connect what they’ve learned back into their jobs.

Ultimately, it comes down to what your learners need, what your circumstances and contexts are, and what your goals for the lessons are. Microlearning might be a good fit!