5 Microlearning Myths That Might Ruin Your Online Course
Microlearning is one of the most efficient educational tools that is being used today by digital academy creators. This tool has been noted to enhance the performance of students by almost 72%. The major reason why microlearning has gained so much popularity within the eLearning industry is because of the easy accessibility and bite-sized portion of knowledge that it creates which is very easy to remember and retain. If you have you been trying to incorporate microlearning to your digital academy then here are a few myths and misconceptions that you must steer clear from. In this article, we’re going to explore some of the common mistakes that people make while trying to incorporate microlearning into their training courses or digital academies. We are also going to explore why you need to avoid these common mistakes in order to increase the performance of your online courses.
So here’s a list of 5 microlearning myths that can ruin your course.
1. Microlearning Is All About Portioning Your Content
This is one of the most common myths that even experts preach about sometimes. To understand why this is a myth, you need to understand the basic concept of microlearning. Microlearning is all about creating concise modules of knowledge that can be studied by learners as a standalone as well as a part of the whole topic. Simply fragmenting the data and creating non-relevant chunks of content is not what microlearning is all about. So, if you are trying to implement microlearning then do not simply portion data, try to create standalone modules that have clear learning targets and are a part of the whole course.
2. Microlearning Can Be Used As A Substitute For Full Courses
This is a myth that can pretty much ruin the learning graph of any student. Microlearning may be a powerful tool but it is certainly not a substitute for proper classes and other relevant coursework. Rather, microlearning excels at making the course content stick and hence helps with the retainment of topics. It can be used as a powerful reinforcement tool but only after the student already has the learning experience through proper courses and lessons.
3. Microlearning Can Be Applied For All Topics
It is widely believed within the eLearning industry that microlearning can indeed be applied universally to courses of all different niches. This is not wise. Microlearning is all about helping people learn on the go. User-behavior microlearning has been developed to contain bite-sized content so that learners can scan through the content, retain it, and move on. However, this approach often fails when there are certain topics to be learned such as new software operations or physical tasks such as handling certain machinery. In such cases, microlearning isn’t able to help much. However, it can still be used to reinforce the learning that the courses provide the students. So use the microlearning tool wisely and make sure that it complements your course content rather than just using it indiscriminately.
4. Microlearning Is Video-Based And Tech-Dependent
This myth is very popularly believed and not at all what microlearning is all about. Video is simply one of the most frequently used formats for course content. However, you can also design infographics or quizzes that fulfill the purposes of reinforcement of the core topics discussed within the course. Microlearning is also a simple tool that you can utilize within your course—it does not need deep technical knowledge to be implemented. In fact, a number of training modules and other learning drives have utilized microlearning via checklists, quizzes, decision cards, and other learning aids. Hence, you don’t need to become a technical wizard in order to implement microlearning within your course. You simply need to follow the guidelines and segment data rather than chucking it into portions of the same video.
5. Microlearning Is Ineffective
While it is true that there are limitations to what your microlearning modules can or cannot do, it does not necessarily mean that it is ineffective as a learning aid or performance enhancement tool. Statistics clearly indicate that 83% of students learn better from short modules and precise course content rather than more tedious counterparts. So go through the facts and figures and get ahead of the myth.
Microlearning and its various advantages can only be utilized to the fullest when you have a good LMS and efficient course creation tools that allow you to create, launch, and make changes to your online courses effectively.
