Microlearning has already become a significant trend in e-learning, and many online schools and companies are already using a short content format that has maximum impact. Let's find out what microlearning is and look at 6 inspiring examples of "little by little" learning.
What Is Microlearning
The meaning of microlearning comes from the name itself. This is a format of providing knowledge in small portions - from 2 to 5 minutes. At the same time, classes are organized according to the "1 lesson - 1 topic" format.
E-learning course creators use text, video, and images at the same time. The advantage of the short format is that students focus on the topic as much as possible and quickly learn new knowledge. This is especially important given the tendency of people to clip thinking, which are the peculiarities of perceiving information as a sequence of individual events. Therefore, microlearning guarantees conciseness and specificity, concentrating helpful information.
The secret behind the popularity of microlearning is that even great skills can be mastered with short videos. That is why this format is ideal for those who value their time. And teachers, in turn, catch the trend towards the transition to learning through mobile devices and offer the most suitable conditions for developing skills.
What Is the Primary Purpose of Microlearning
Microlearning attracts students to master a new topic gradually. They do small tasks that relate to the topic of the lesson.
This approach also solves three main tasks:
- It acts as an addition to a broader training course.
- It helps to identify gaps in knowledge and decide which direction to move on.
- It solves specific problems at a particular time (for example, if a person lacks competence in solving a problem).
Therefore, the demand for the short content format is snowballing.
Best Microlearning Examples
There are dozens of successful cases with short format lessons, and they cover a variety of areas and solve global business problems. Let's take a look at 6 of the most exciting examples of microlearning:
Online Learning Solutions from Elucidat
You need to spend a lot of time and effort to put new knowledge into practice. At the same time, it is not necessary to pass a comprehensive training course, because the information received can be forgotten after a few weeks. Instead, it is better to pay attention to the interval learning method and learn gradually.
Elucidat, a cloud platform for creating e-learning courses, has developed a unique solution with great potential. It enables students to master the theory and immediately execute practical tasks to consolidate knowledge. As a result, students are most satisfied with the educational process.
Microtasks gradually develop the abilities and skills of students. And the high adaptability of the online application allows you to track progress and keep users motivated, which is essential for learning success.
Easy10 Mobile App for Learning Foreign Languages
One of the most popular niches in microlearning is foreign languages. The demand for learning English, German, French, and other languages remains stable. However, people are looking to get the maximum result in less time.
The Easy 10 app is designed to help users learn foreign languages. All you need is to learn only 10 words or phrases per day to succeed. Therefore, in just one year of study, you can learn 3,650 new words and expressions, from the simplest to vocabulary to the level of IELTS and TOEFL tests! The app is currently available in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and other languages .
The Easy 10 application has a user-friendly interface - users may exploit cards where the word and its meaning are indicated. Further, students can look at the transcription of words and listen to their pronunciation. At the same time, an intelligent system for repeating the material covered is used. In addition to new words, you will complete tests and tasks to repeat the previous day's words every day. Words that you learn worse will be repeated more often and the time spent is significantly reduced.
You are awarded points for completing tasks, forming an overall rating among other users. You can track your progress on the calendar. Here you can find out how many words you have learned and how many days you have been studying without interruptions.
Thus, the Easy10 application combines the best features of adaptive and microlearning.
Short Q&A Videos For IT Experts From Cisco
Our following example is the case of Cisco, which found a way to help developers by launching a series of TechTalks videos.
This company runs a unique certification program. It allows you to test the knowledge and skills of developers who want to work with Cisco solutions. This uses micro-learning technology to learn all the necessary information to pass the exam.
Why did Cisco decide to do this project? The company's management understands that it is hard for potential users of their products to study extensive material before the exam. And information overload leads to students quickly forgetting almost everything they learned.
Therefore, the company has developed a particular Cisco Learning Network repository with TechTalks videos up to 10 minutes long. Each video addresses a specific concept or concept, and the video series aims to refresh knowledge on the most popular IT topics.
As for now, thousands of people can watch short videos about essential concepts in IT. This eliminates the need to watch long and endless videos because you may find all the information in one video.
Moreover, the content is balanced between attracting attention and keeping the student's interest. Therefore, Cisco's TechTalks videos are used to remind you of essential concepts and mechanics.
Google Manager Training Courses
The global tech giant continues to set trends. Google has created a simple and effective tool for training managers in a safe corporate culture. It extends the scope of traditional learning and offers more in less time.
Google Whisper Courses videos and seminars combine a theoretical and practical approach. In this way, they solve the problem of learning in the classroom and offer managers to gain valuable knowledge and immediately put it into practice.
The structure of the courses is straightforward: e-learning participants receive letters by email. They contain ideas for improving the efficiency of individual processes and the team. They can be voiced during the next team meeting, and you may get a response from your colleagues.
Why was this solution successful? It's all about human psychology, and we often need a little push to put the idea into practice. And in each Google Whisper Courses email, the student receives precise instructions for use and a call to action.
Grovo Microlearning Business Platform
In addition to individual apps, courses, or knowledge bases, there are some full-fledged educational platforms for training employees. One of the most famous is Grovo.
This platform allows teams of any level to grow and develop. Moreover, it facilitates the adaptation of new employees, making it faster and more transparent.
Grovo offers an extensive knowledge base with content on the most in-demand topics (e.g., leadership, business communications, personal growth, customer service, sales, etc.). In total, more than 2,500 positions are available on the website. Employees can view videos and complete interactive tests on the online platform. This approach improves learning and increases motivation to complete the training course.
In addition to using turnkey courses, companies can create their product using templates. All you need is to subscribe to Content Anytime and choose the template you like.
Digital Sales Automation Platform from Cardinal Health
It is also worth analyzing a case from Cardinal Health. Previously, the company's management faced difficulties in implementing solutions for sales automation, which required finding an effective solution.
The Canadian company is a Fortune 14 leader in civil health, and that is why its popularity has skyrocketed and the workload on its employees. Therefore, optimizing costs and automating routine tasks was necessary, especially for training employees and working with clients.
What challenges does Cardinal Health face?
- Sales representatives were highly mobile, but this was a problem for arranging training in the company's office. So, it was not always possible to gather sufficient people to give them new and valuable knowledge.
- A vast number of the same type of requests came to the support service, despite the constant training of employees. The reason for the problem was in the level of knowledge retention. Therefore, responding to repeated requests from customers took a massive amount of time.
- Classes for sales managers focused on the importance of using Salesforce CRM rather than hands-on experience with digital solutions. The theoretical approach is ineffective, so many employees were lost when they started working with CRM.
So Cardinal Health turned to the digital platform Whatfix for help, which offered its technology to improve the training of sales representatives. They were trained in real-time using Whatfix's core technology, Digital Adoption. It consists of interactive step-by-step guides in the learning process, and sales managers perform 1 specific task in 1 session. This approach will reduce the training course duration and increase its effectiveness.
With an improved learning model, employees picked up Salesforce CRM faster. This, in turn, made it possible to process user requests faster. Sales managers could learn in their own style without interrupting their core tasks. Therefore, online learning has brought more benefits than classroom training.
Some Words To Sum Up
Microlearning has become a widespread trend in the world of online education. The innovative strategy fits perfectly into everyday life and brings much more benefit and pleasure than classic courses.
If you plan to use the short format, then look to the top educational platforms to create compelling content. They offer turnkey e-learning solutions that allow you to launch your first course in 30 minutes. A course builder with a step-by-step checklist, branding tools, and video recording instruments are among them.
You should also follow new trends and implement them into your product. Thus, adaptive learning technologies and game mechanics are in the most significant demand. These directions make courses more attractive and practical. As a result, completion of training modules and student satisfaction increase.
We hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions about microlearning, please leave them in the comments below. We will answer all your questions, and the most interesting ones will be analyzed in detail in our following materials!