title: Microlearning: What It Is and What It Can Do type: Aplikačné príspevky language: English published: 03 May 2020 updated: 24 Nov 2020 category: Pedagogika author: Bc. Bronislava Jakubičková Introduction

Microlearning is described in foreign sources as a method of education that mainly appeals to millennials (a generation of people born between 1981 and 1996), who represent more than half of the workforce. This specific group quickly orients itself in new technologies, does not feel the need for traditional education, and according to forecasts will make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025 and will require flexible forms of employment (Training Millennial: 7 Things You Should Do Right Now).

Microlearning is favored by those who have packed schedules and those who prefer to choose when and how they want to work. In the modern world, information spreads faster than ever before, thanks to the internet. We see a tendency, especially among the younger generation, to show no interest in education that would last several hours and require long travel to the place of instruction. People like simple and quick solutions that they can immediately put into practice. For all these target groups, this concept in education could be suitable.

What We Need to Know About Microlearning

Before we begin the topic of microlearning, let us present one study conducted by an American agency that offers its services in the field of introducing new technologies into education. In 2018, the survey asked education and human resources professionals what they thought should be the priority for those creating education within an organization. Here are several selected ideas (10 Things Modern L&D Professionals Should Be Doing, 2018):

  • attention should be paid to providing tools that allow participants to access educational content according to their needs and at the time when they need it most (i.e., content in mobile applications);
  • the use of videos is becoming standard;
  • use new technologies in the creation of educational programs;
  • access to necessary information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, outside of working hours for the purpose of self-study;
  • combining discussion forums, social media, educational materials, and virtual reality into a single whole;
  • education designed to motivate participants to develop critical thinking and not be afraid to ask questions, less mechanical memorization of material;
  • include greater opportunities for interaction and sharing of experiences in educational programs;
  • allow training participants to provide feedback to educators and show them their learning progress;
  • more adventurous and engaging education using gamification elements results in participants remembering more and being more motivated to make further progress;
  • current educational offerings compete with information on the internet; it is necessary to provide added value that cannot be found online;
  • microlearning offers an opportunity for people with a low ability to sustain attention.

Even in Slovakia, we research the introduction of new technologies, although we still prefer "classic" teaching in the form of lectures and seminars. Foreign practice shows that sooner or later we too will have to adapt to new market demands and personalize services (including educational ones).

B. Frk is known not only as the author of various professional publications but also designs education based on new trends. We chose him as a model in this field and he clarifies the definition of microlearning. According to B. Frk (2017, In: Firemní vzdělávání, 2017), it is a concept of education that works with compressed "packets" of educational content that the participant uses when needed. It can also involve the rapid delivery of specific information or instructions, where short videos, texts, or graphical representations of instructions can be used. Frk emphasizes the availability of smartphones and the internet. We believe that microlearning materials do not necessarily have to be exclusively included in some application or video available on the internet or the intranet of a private company. If needed, it would be possible to create a custom flyer containing photographs, a brief text explaining the given phenomenon, and a chart or table with numerical data as a supplement to the overall content. For comparison, we also emphasize the explanation by foreign author L. Noland (2016), who writes about the use of microlearning in worker training, where this concept is based on acquiring new knowledge and skills in small "portions" that represent modules, and those represent a task or process that the worker must master. The goal is to structure thoughts and ideas (Noland, L. 2016). K. Gutierrez (2017) outlines the differences between a microlearning course and a macrolearning course:

To supplement, we also mention a foreign explanation of microlearning which states that courses are divided into smaller segments, micro-lessons do not last longer than 15 minutes (author's note: based on a review of several publications, we found various time ranges; some sources state no more than 4 minutes, 7 minutes), and may also include the solving of practical tasks combined with immediate evaluation (Converting Long Form eLearning Courses to Short-Form: An Invitation to Microlearning, 2018).

Without understanding the larger whole and context, we cannot design those small "pieces" that we offer as a quick instruction or as "first aid" in clarifying or explaining a fact. Only when we know the background, history, and theory can we distinguish what a complete newcomer needs to know.

As every educational method has its rules, microlearning is no exception. What is typical of microlearning is that throughout the entire duration, the content sticks to a single idea and pursues only one objective. We should avoid theories and history, be direct, and immediately offer the necessary information or instructions. We can compare this to searching the internet, where we enter keywords into a search engine — in this kind of short education, we look for a solution to only one problem that we are primarily addressing. We can point to cross-cutting topics that will be discussed in later modules, but we should not devote any more attention to them. Despite its short duration, it is not yet guaranteed that the training will engage the participant. When designing, we should keep in mind how to capture the attention of our learners, especially those who use mobile applications, because after uninstalling them they may not return. We must always view our design through the eyes of the client. What value do we bring? What do we want to engage them with? Do we provide them with a solution to their actual problem or guide them to find a way to solve their problem? What can they actually do with what they learn, and how can they use the acquired information further? Perhaps they are bored because they haven't learned anything new. Feedback should function in the form of a questionnaire or interview, which ensures that education is personalized, gives our participant the feeling that they are an important part of creating the program they will use, and we can prevent them from rejecting it. If we are in the realm of informal education (e.g., learning foreign languages or designing training for company employees), the content must build on the knowledge participants have already acquired, which they then either update or expand. (Adapted from 8 Commandments of Bite-Sized Learning, 2018). Before creating micro-modules, we ask ourselves (Converting Long Form eLearning Courses to Short-Form: An Invitation to Microlearning): What is the problem? What does the participant need to learn to bridge the gap between what they already know and what will change their attitude, knowledge, or abilities? What problem-solving procedure will they learn? If it is important, how will it be delivered to them? Which information is good to know? From what sources will we draw?

Microlearning as a concept of breaking educational content into small, easily accessible modules only gained awareness a few years ago. In the United States, microlearning is a popular solution for explaining various topics to millennials. However, after reviewing professional materials, we can conclude that it also offers benefits to economically active individuals in the workplace. Elli Soper is dedicated to microlearning and offers several reasons how it can engage participants in education (Soper, E. 2019):

  • it guides learners: adults have different educational needs than in childhood; they need to know what new information will bring them and how they can use it in their lives. Microlearning goes straight to the essence, answering the questions adults need to know — "how" and "why";
  • flexible content and accessibility: abroad, microlearning is part of digital applications, enabling quick content and feature updates in the application. Users know that what they are learning is something they can use in their everyday lives and have access to refreshed content;
  • it increases information retention: the contemporary world requires us to remember as many facts as possible, making it harder to recall what we have already learned in the past. Therefore, content that is broken into short, "digestible," and engaging pieces is easier to remember;
  • easily applicable data: modules are designed to be concise and present the essence of the matter, so it is not difficult to understand how what we have learned can be put into practice;
  • education on the go: technology touches many areas of our lives, and education is no exception. Content included in mobile device applications allows those interested in expanding their knowledge to do so anywhere and whenever they need it;
  • a solution for time-strapped individuals: more and more people complain about a lack of time. Many workers show interest in both their personal and professional development, but the thought of spending an entire day in a classroom causes them stress. Microlearning is designed so that a person can learn while performing their work or household duties.

With its flexibility and ease of use, microlearning can cover various educational needs, especially for those with packed schedules.

K. Gutierrez, based on her 2018 survey, found several interesting statistics showing that microlearning is 50% more attractive (participants engage more in this type of education because it is time-efficient and supported by multimedia), is 17% more effective (better focus on content, faster comprehension, low cognitive load motivates further study), 8 out of 10 training professionals prefer microlearning (in the UK, as many as 94% of L&D professionals surveyed have positive experiences), microlearning suits the younger generation as well (especially individuals who cannot focus for extended periods, because they encounter content requiring short-term and intense concentration), and costs less (referring to lower financial and time costs for creation, because content is reduced yet effective and precisely targeted) (Gutierrez, K. 2018).

Microlearning can therefore take many forms in fulfilling various objectives. We keep in mind the basic principles of micro-lessons, and we ask ourselves questions that guide us in the right direction on the path to creating an educational program according to the client's wishes and needs. Some foreign authors and designers show better educational results when working with young adults who prefer microlearning for its quick and concise delivery of facts. Even creating short content does not guarantee that participants will like it; we still keep in mind what could motivate them and why they should learn something.

Well-Designed Microlearning

Despite the success of a training session, it can happen that participants forget the information they acquired as soon as they return to the workplace. It is natural that we forget something we learned when we no longer use that knowledge. Foreign specialists in creating personalized interactive content in both marketing and education confirm that information retention is a major challenge in the business world, because entrepreneurs strive for customers to remember their brand. "If people don't identify with a topic, they simply let it go" (4 Ways To Make Learning Retention Part of Your Training Program, 2018). We also hold the view that in the current knowledge-based world, our brain must evaluate which information needs to be remembered and is useful to us, and which is not. The very title of the article "Microlearning is a Product of Information Overload" in the professional journal Firemní vzdělávání supports our idea. Běhounková (In: Firemní vzdělávání, pp. 3–5) writes that "for development, it is more effective to focus on a single idea or skill in a short time, and in microlearning we get what we need at the time when it suits us."

Educational content, as well as marketing messages and advertisements, must be configured by specialists so that information transfers from short-term to long-term memory. Microlearning is also helpful in the memorization process. Foreign authors offer several tips on using techniques for fixing information (4 Ways To Make Learning Retention Part of Your Training Program, 2018):

  • repetition: short exercises immediately after the end of training help, which need to be repeated. Some applications, e.g., when learning foreign languages, test users at the beginning and end of lessons before moving on to the next one;
  • clarity: microlearning offers content in easily manageable short segments, making the main idea simple and easy to understand. We understand the purpose, provide participants with brief summaries, and it is appropriate to use practical examples and review exercises;
  • storytelling: people love stories. Stories used in microlearning aim to teach something. It is recommended to add characters, a scenario, and a plot — the resulting narrative is a tool for creating an emotional experience for learners;
  • reinforcement: without review, learned material is quickly forgotten and the educators' efforts are wasted. Reinforcement consists of exercises, discussions, and conversations with supervisors. We must be able to see, based on results, how we are mastering the given topic.

Practicing what was learned, content clarity, engagement, and assessment of acquired knowledge play a significant role in deciding whether a prospective participant will join a course, and this applies to every type of education.

So how should one begin when designing online educational content for a corporate environment? L. Lynch (2018) emphasizes in particular the need for adaptive training in the workplace, because how employees integrate into the work environment is subsequently reflected in their performance. According to Lynch, a well-designed course can save money.

  1. Clarifying the objective right from the beginning is essential, because we will be guided by it throughout the entire training and will be able to ensure that all necessary information has been included in the course.
  2. We use real practical examples based on everyday activities; we can also use case studies that were solved in the past and posed a challenge for the company.
  3. Visualization elements find their use in providing instructions for operating equipment or when introducing new technology or software. A short video is easier to understand than writing out long steps. Texts or animations can be incorporated into a video.
  4. When designing an educational program, one can reach out to members of one's team or organization for help. An example of how to start such collaboration could be a survey among employees to find out what helped them during learning or what they would still like to find out.
  5. Request feedback from employees as soon as they complete their training, but also continue to observe them for some period while they work to find out whether they actually applied the new knowledge.

Institutions and organizations carefully consider which training to invest their time, money, and people in. The right decision proves to be correct only when a thorough needs analysis has been carried out. This analysis can reveal various facts that we have previously overlooked. Unsuccessful training becomes effective when we are honest with ourselves, say what we like and what we would like to change, and work together as a team on improvements.

Since microlearning works with content visualization and in order to better understand the essence, it is important to know which visual tools we can use (adapted from Firemní vzdělávání, 2019, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 5):

All of these tools can be used individually (visual maps, animations, infographics, sketchnoting) or in combination (in videos, on photographs, on posters). We must be careful not to use too many visualizations, which could appear distracting or even chaotic. Similarly, colors should harmonize with each other, and attention should be paid to their proper balance.

Participants already know before the training itself which topics interest them and what they would like to attend. They do not like training where they have to spend an entire workday, which can lead to fatigue and forgetting the important parts. When designing an educational program, we build on techniques that ensure easier information retention. Visualization tools are also useful, transforming a message into a dynamic and entertaining experience.

Tools and Platforms

We can easily create microlearning content ourselves through creative work with visual elements. We will demonstrate how this kind of education works in practice through an overview of the activities of a company whose specialists deal with the creation of customized microlearning for businesses and various institutions. However, if you belong to those who prefer to create something of your own and modern technologies are not foreign to you, you can try an easy-to-use mobile application with a wide range of features.

Grovo Learning. This company based in New York was founded in 2010 and is considered a leader in providing microlearning solutions. A team of microlearning specialists designs solutions that offer a learning experience guaranteed by a combination of videos, text materials, and quizzes. They also offer clients the option of connecting with instructors for more effective delivery of feedback on achieved results. Training designers use proprietary programs in which they create microlearning lessons on demand. They most commonly create training in areas such as work motivation, interest in career growth, rapid integration of new employees, building corporate culture, improving communication among employees, etc. Their work requires studying the organization's operations and interviewing its employees to carry out a thorough needs analysis. (www.grovo.com, accessed 2020)

Yammer. This social network was founded in 2008 and enables communication between sister companies (independent firms with the same business activities) and their clients. Leaders, as well as other employees, use a mobile application to help each other solve problems, share their ideas and experiences with clients, and help one another improve corporate cultures. The goal of this Microsoft application is for people, through building online communities, to ensure they do not repeat mistakes, do not perform useless activities, and can participate in corporate events they would not normally have access to. The application offers many ways to create engaging content — through educational videos or infographics, a colleague or client has access to the necessary information immediately. (www.yammer.com, accessed 2020)

On the market we find a large number of applications providing education in the form of short and interactive exercises or explanatory images and videos. They are often associated with gamification elements to engage users and reach a larger audience. Abroad, educational companies are expanding their service portfolios to meet the needs of even the most demanding and those who for various reasons cannot participate in "classic" training.

Conclusion

The world is changing very rapidly, and in order to be able to adequately respond to these changes, people must devote themselves to continuous education, especially in the professional field. We spend the most time at work, and we have little free time left to dedicate to ourselves.

Everything we undertake and work on should give us deeper meaning; it should motivate and inspire us for further work. In-house trainers in companies and external providers of educational services face many problems with their "clients," such as insufficient motivation for training, poor work performance, low concentration levels, and easy distraction from learning. They must think innovatively before launching a new course so that they can achieve success at the end and all parties are satisfied — the learner, the instructor, and the training commissioner. The modern technical world requires more than just teaching where we find a blackboard, textbooks, notebooks, and a teacher's lecture. If we explore the research more deeply, we find that adult education requires more than that. An adult needs a specific approach in order to learn something new during a course, be able to share their experiences with someone and apply them in solving a task, feel useful, and have fun. There are many ways to gain a training participant's favor, and it is up to us as professionals in this field to decide what we will use in our work.

Author: Bc. Bronislava Jakubičková Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Arts, UKF in Nitra

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