You have already created a microlearning or are currently working on one? A major challenge is that your learners have enough time to learn at all. In the third part of our summer series, we will show you how to ensure sufficient learning time and motivated learners:
Reading Tip: All articles from the series “Challenges in Microlearning” at a glance:
Update your content
Make content available for everyone
Introduce fixed learning times (here)
Create a learning culture
Although the learning bites in microlearning are kept as short as possible, many learners find it hard to take the necessary time for them. On the other hand, not all employers provide enough free time for learning. That’s why we want to show you how to ensure sufficient learning time.
In the blog, we have already reported in detail on the topic of “fixed learning times.” If you want to first learn about the three types of learning times, I recommend this article: Establishing Learning Times in Companies
Update August 2022: Are you even more interested in the topic of learning bites or microlearning? Then read the article about Learning Nuggets (Definition + Examples) in our blog now!
4 Tips for Sufficient Learning Time in Microlearning
Tip 1: Create a Weekly Plan
Make it easy for your learners by offering only a few learning units at a time. Send them a brief overview of the topics for the coming days once a week. This way, they can directly integrate the microlearning units into their own schedule. An example: 5 working days = 5 learning units
Tip 2: Allow Flexible Time Allocation
Every learner is different: Some like to learn in one go, while others prefer to distribute it over several days. Let your learners organize their time flexibly. If you have designed your learning bites in the spirit of microlearning, your weekly plan consists of several self-contained units. Your learners can then distribute them individually over their week or work on them in one go.
Tip 3: Remind Your Learners of Their Tasks
In a stressful work environment, learning often takes a backseat or is consciously pushed aside. To ensure that your weekly task is not forgotten, a brief reminder, such as an email or a message directly from the learning platform, is helpful.
Tip 4: Test Knowledge
Short learning units that you complete in between carry the risk of being quickly forgotten. Therefore, it helps your learners if they have to complete a short quiz with 2-5 questions each week.
As you can see, it's not that difficult to create fixed learning times in the workday. What matters is that the learning volume is not too large and it does not put pressure on your learners. After all, learning is meant to enrich and improve the workday. If learning feels easy accordingly and perhaps even becomes a pleasant change in everyday life, your microlearning is particularly effective!
Summary: How You Can Support Your Learners:
Create a microlearning plan that your learners can refer to
Allow your learners the choice of when they want to work on the microlearning content
Remind them of the microlearning bites by sending brief reminders
Increase accountability through regular small quizzes and repetitions
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