Why Modern Learners Want Bite-Sized Online Training
A study from the Rapid Learning Institute found that 94 percent of learners prefer modules less than 10 minutes in duration (particularly for soft-skill topics), and 65 percent said most online training modules contain too much information. With these statistics in mind, let’s look at 3 reasons why bite-sized online training is popular with modern learners.
1. Modern Learners Have Less Time To Consume Training.
Instead of allocating employees with extended blocks of study time, employers are now squeezing training into gaps in employees’ schedules. This is making long, 60-minute training modules difficult to consume. Modern learners now need shorter sessions (10-15 minutes) that they can quickly complete inside their gaps at work.
A great example of this is the JJVC’s Eye Education app, built using Elucidat's eLearning authoring tool. This app contains a number of accredited 10-minute courses, each one allowing time-poor eye care professionals to complete training that is necessary for their ongoing professional registration.
This bite-sized training was so successful, JJVC saw a 740% increase in course completions over a 12-month period.
2. Modern Learners Have Shorter Attention Spans.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers study has found that Millennials (those born between 1980 and up to the late 1990s) already form 25 percent of the U.S. workforce, and by 2020 will form 50 percent of the world’s workforce.
Millennials’ brains aren’t different from the generations who went before them, but Millennials do have different expectations of how their media is served up and the contexts in which they consume it. For example, they have never known life without (relatively) quick internet, instant information retrieval, and media on demand. They have always been connected with their social circle 24/7 and do most things with at least one internet-connected screen in front of them.
This means that there’s always something vying for a Millennials’ attention, and if their current task is taking too long or doesn’t actively engage them, they’ll soon move on to something else. Even under the best circumstances, you can only expect people to concentrate for about 20 minutes.
The solution? Create bite-sized online training like this What are you doing for the environment? example (created by Elucidat). Each module contains a small nugget of information that can be completed easily in under 10 minutes. Modern learners love this type of training because they can quickly complete each nugget without being distracted.
3. Modern Learners Love Mobile Learning.
Modern learners enjoy consuming training on their mobile devices. But reviewing learning material on small screens can make it harder to focus for extended periods of time. Imagine the difficulty of concentrating on a lesson on a smartphone for 40 minutes while being jostled on the morning commuter train. Modern learners want you to break modules into smaller, more meaningful chunks.
A great example of bite-sized mobile learning is Open University’s To Lie or Not To Lie. Each bite-sized nugget tackles a deep subject and only takes around 15 minutes to complete on a tablet or smartphone screen.
Related: Why mobile learning is important (4 reasons)
Final Thoughts
I’ve shared 3 compelling reasons why modern learners want bite-sized online training. Will you ignore these statistics or will you adapt to what the modern learner wants?
As a training provider, bite-sized online training isn’t hard to produce. In fact, authoring tools like Elucidat offer a simple solution to help you quickly build and maintain smaller, bite-sized modules.