What is Microlearning?
Have you ever been on a week-long intensive training course? Or given a chunky book of exercises and then told to promptly digest it? Or perhaps you were provided with a bunch of digital learning materials such as lengthy online tutorials and you just ended up glazing over it and not knowing where to start – sound familiar? Learning is tough. Learning takes time. And trying to learn too much in one go does not work. Even if you think you are taking it in, much of it will be lost in the first 24 hours.
Let’s look at the concept of microlearning (also called micro eLearning), which is all about delivering personalized content to learners in small bite-sized pieces, at the right time, based on users’ needs. It’s challenging enough to retain the learning without getting overwhelmed or distracted. Microlearning supports self-paced learning techniques, putting the individual in control of what and when they are learning.
In a wider sense, microlearning is often used to describe informal learning or the unscheduled way that most of us learn to do our daily jobs: gaining knowledge a small bit at a time, on the job, at our own pace. We want answers to our questions when we come across problems and we want assistance right away. It’s challenging to learn how to resolve a problem months before actually encountering it, as by then the user has forgotten most of the taught solution. Users want on-the-job help and support tools to prevent these stumbling blocks that might occur when they confront something unfamiliar.
Pushing Customized Content to Users at the Right Time
Unlike traditional approaches to eLearning, microlearning often skews toward push technology, which provides learners with relevant and useful content to help them progress and perform to the best of their ability. This reduces the cognitive load on the learners and gives them fast access to knowledge, all at the right time within their workflow.
At Assima, an important part of our core focus is improving end-user performance on enterprise applications. We do this by embedding unobtrusive icons within the application screen that are linked to helpful tips, as well as the option of popup windows that provide step-by-step instruction from the beginning, or guidance when the user is challenged to complete a process mid-workflow. These digital learning tools naturally steer the user to the next best step, without the need to leave the application or expend resources internally to find the answer.
Our solution suite includes Assima Assist, which provides an intelligent overlay containing information, personalized process guidance and recommended actions to seamlessly and efficiently direct the user to their next steps. Based on the user’s profile, relevant content is delivered to the individual in the live application in small bursts, directly at the point of need.
Benefits of this Approach:
- Real-time data quality improvements
- Engaged and motivated employees
- Optimal system performance
- Quick and easy global distribution of digital learning content
- Operational risk reduction
- Increased customer satisfaction
If you are embarking on a digital learning journey, then the concept of microlearning (and micro-eLearning) is a key consideration if your goals are to increase knowledge retention and accelerate the productivity of your application users.