A New Way Of Learning For A New Generation
When you start using microlearning in your organization, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the current stage of the industry. One of the biggest challenges that talent development is facing these days is getting employees to make time for learning. Thankfully, modern technology gives us the means for the instant gratification of our needs. Nowadays, there are apps that can provide us with anything we need, and whenever we need it. We can use them to get lunch at work, a ride home, tickets to a movie, or knowledge about a particular subject or skill right before an important meeting. This ability has a robust and transformative effect on our work environment and our corporate perception.
A Little Bit Of History
The first recorded use of the term can be traced back to 1963, to the book The Economics of Human Resources by Hector Correa. The concept behind it is familiar to most people: Flashcard training is a form of exercise that can be considered an early form of microtraining. The term started trending in the 90s and kept growing in popularity ever since, but the means to further develop microlearning ideas were a lot scarcer back then. It was the rise of the smartphone that gave to microlearning its current form. These portable smart devices capture the spirit of having immediate access to the information you seek in a matter of seconds. According to Apple, there are over 200,000 educational apps available in the App Store, and most of them subscribe to the microlearning model of training.
Traditional Training Vs. Microlearning
Traditional training and microlearning are vastly different. Lengthy content is undoubtedly the signature of traditional training, as it usually favors the long-form format with text, audio, or video. Traditional training is known to take place in a specified area, during a specific period. The teaching material used in traditional training takes a long time to create and can not be easily updated. Another aspect of traditional training is that it does not concern itself with whether or not the learner is motivated.
Last but not least, the success of any traditional training course depends a lot on the abilities of the trainer. Microlearning moves beyond these conventions. In microlearning, content is served in smaller chunks that can be consumed anytime, anyplace. The material is fast to create, easy to update and aims to keep the learner excited and motivated, while it removes the need for a trainer entirely.
An Overview Of This eBook
Millennials, or Gen Y, is a term that describes the people born between 1981 and 1996. This generation has become the managers and leaders of today, with unparalleled technological skills. This is essentially the first generation to grow up with accessible internet and personal computers, and the first generation to confront information overload. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that traditional forms of training are often ineffective with them.
These traits are why microlearning became such a successful disruptor of the digital learning industry. Microlearning succeeds where traditional forms of training often fail; it reduces lessons to small, bite-sized bits that can easily pass through the sieve that is our tight schedule. This eBook covers all aspects of how and why microlearning applies to your organization today.
Some of the chapters included are:
- Information Overload
- Engaging Today’s Workforce
- Short Form Learning In Practice
- The Digital Age
- Putting The Learner First
- Overcoming Barriers
- Small Things, Big Difference
- 10 Key Design Tips
If you are flexible about implementing new and exciting training methods in your company’s Learning and Development culture, you most definitely will benefit from this. You will give your employees a unique chance to grow in a flexible way while making the process enjoyable and productive.
According to Skill Pill, microlearning is the future:
Microlearning isn’t just another learning fad; it really is a change in the way we learn. It assumes an organisation trusts its employees to self-diagnose their learning needs. The result: this short-form style places the user at the centre of the learning proposition, giving them the tools to access content ondemand, at the moment of need and via any device to hand.
The need for these new learning options is more important than ever in the modern workplace. In the UK, data shows that 81% of people believe their career path will be significantly different from their parents, and this number jumps to 84% in the US. It is also shown that 69% of people in the UK like reinventing themselves at work every few years by learning new skills, a number higher in the US at 73%. It is clear that the old days of static, 30-year careers are long behind us, and are instead replaced by the need for the continual learning of new skills in the workplace. Are you ready to embrace microlearning? Ready to offer agile, experience-rich learning, more attuned to the modern workplace and improve business performance?
The next step is using short-form digital learning to its full potential, deconstructing the traditional training model and rebuilding from the ground up with new content and delivery systems.
Unleash The Enormous Potential Of Microlearning
Download the eBook Maximizing Microlearning: An Overview Of Short Form Learning In The Corporate Sector to find the best way to start using microlearning in your organization today. Understand why and how it works, and keep your employees motivated before, during, and after training.
