MURGive way to Microlearning!
Amongst the various factors, defining the landscape of businesses, one of the strongest factors has been technology. Technology is being leveraged to solve problems, small and big, usual and unusual, easy and difficult. One of the biggest advantages is how it breaks down barriers and enhances access.
In the space of learning and development, technology is playing a defining role too. It impacts our ecosystem and the way we learn. Let me explain. Our environment is full of stimulus and a wide variety of media. We are available across various devices and in various avatars. And these shifts will continue.
What fundamentally hasn’t changed is the way we learn. We learn by reflecting on our experiences and by practicing deliberately. We learn best when it is self – directed and when it connects well to our work and life.
Mobile-based microlearning has been instrumental in bridging the gap between our environment and how we learn. But what is microlearning? ‘
Microlearning implies short bursts of learning ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes. And it could be anything – such as 30 seconds read, watching a short video, discussing a topic with an expert colleague or even reflecting on a conversation you have just heard. Most of us do it very unconsciously.
For example, have you ever opened up a link to read something while on an Uber ride? Or maybe late in the night, you remembered a topic and just googled it? Or maybe while traveling back on the metro, catch up on learning a new language? Or maybe you are health conscious and you have an app that sends you short exercise routines for you to pick up? These are all examples of Microlearning.
Microlearning is being leveraged not only by the L&D industry but several others. Here are some examples :
Blinkist – Provides summarized versions of the most popular non – fictions in the form of text and sound bites.
Noom – A very popular health app that sends a daily dose of healthy tips along with activities to help the learner keep a track of his/her health plan.
DuoLingo – An app that helps a person learn a new language by spending anywhere between 05 to 20 minutes every day. The lessons are structured very well to ensure that learning is effortless and impactful.
Microlearning definitely poses some questions :
- How effective is Microlearning?
- Doesn’t microlearning prevent the learner from learning deeply?
- What are the various uses of Microlearning? Can it be a component of our L&D strategies?
Stay tuned for the answers to these and many more such questions related to the ever-evolving field of microlearning!
