Microlearning in employee training essentially involves acquiring e-Learning in small chunks or as minute bursts of training material. The idea is to feed participants information that they can understand within short periods.
Experts have expressed the importance of creating learning courses with the goal of making comprehension easier. Format, however sophisticated or attractive, will not guarantee the success of the training. Employees only learn well when the training programs are captivating. It is best to focus on theshort, simple and narrow topic at a time, make the learning modules precise, requiring little effort from individual sessions and straight to the point and so on. These guarantee that microlearning makes learning in the workplace an exhilarating experience.
These make microlearning a perfect fit for mobile learning (especially via smartphones, tablets and computers). But it isn’t set in stone that microlearning has must take place over mobile devices. Besides mobile devices, microlearning can take place on other platforms.
Many human resource experts have embraces this new trend of eLearning. Allowing learners to focus on one topic at a time allows the leaner take charge of the knowledge-acquisition process. All the leaning is taken at the learner’s pace, thereby retaining the learner’s interest in the lesson at hand. While most employer like the idea of choosing the order of the lessons, others cherish the freedom to access the material long after the training has been completed.
For the purposes of this article, we shall focus on the advantages of microlearning in employee training in the workplace. Why are employers and HR managers choosing this trend over the older training models? Is it because it allows trainers to effortlessly evaluate and certify the learner’s comprehension of each topic? Or is it because it assists in the identification of learning cracks or difficulties with the curricula? Experts have identified a lot of benefits to the learner and the employee trainer, but I will list the top five on my list.
1. Improved Trainee Retention
Experts have shown that the human brain cannot process and retain beyond seven (plus or minus two) portions of information in the short-term memory (STM) at once. This information processing theory also states that the material and/or learning content has to be meaningful before the learner can retain it.
Microlearning was designed after taking into cognizance, George Miller’s learning theory. This is why it is effective in promoting learner retention during and after workplace training.
2. Fantastic Accessibility
It benefits the learner and the trainer when they can access their training course whenever and through whatever means they deem fit. This is why most businesses prefer to display workplace training content through web-based training platforms.
When the training content is strategically split into bite-sized chunks, learners can finish their microlearning courses from the comfort of their mobile devices. Because the content is broken down into smaller topics, learners can wrap up portions of training all through the day, while also finding time to resolve problems that might come up during the work period.
3. Helps Employees Finish Trainings At Their Own Convenience
The modern-day work environment is filled with a lot of stress and employees are often unable to learn under pressure. Microlearninghas the advantage of making the learning process convenient for the learner by adjusting to the learner’s needs. Because the learner isin control of the learning process, they can finish portions of their training at their own pace, when their attention span can accommodate more information. The learner also has the luxury of choosing a preferred learning format and study method.
In other words, the trainers and training designers can tailor the learning content and method of delivery to suit the employee’s needs. They can vary the training materials to include one or more of the following: narration, pictures, text, video, and so on.
4. Makes It Easier For Trainers to Validate and Evaluate Learners’ Progress
Part of education involves constant evaluation so as to measure the progress of the learner. During employee training in the workplace, trainers often struggle with the evaluation aspect of the training. But microlearning removes this difficulty by helping the trainers evaluate the learner after each chunk of the training content has been completed. This way both learner and trainer can pinpoint areas of difficulty and areas of distinction. The embedded tests questions are often an effective measure of the extent of learning and comprehension. When learners receive feedback from their trainers, they feel motivated to work harder at grasping the content of future lessons.
5. Trainers Can Update Training Contents Without Difficulty
Learning materials are constantly being updated. With microlearning, trainers and content creators don’t have to struggle to revise specific sections of the training content. Learners can study the revised portion alone. There won’t be any need for the employee to waste work hours relearning a previously learned course. This saves the employer time and money.
However, trainers must know that they have a duty to reach out to their former students every time an adjustment has been made to the web-based learning materials.
In conclusion, microlearning has come to stay. Most business owners prefer the web-based training platform as the most effective method of transferring training content in portions. It also helps trainers effectively evaluate learner’s performance. To a large extent, it guarantees that workplace training is useful, remembered and functionalin the learner’s work.
Shruti Gupta is a writer, marketer and outreaching expert .She writes about technology, startups & other niches. She has contributed to a number of famous websites like Thenextweb, Deccanchronicle and Crazyegg. Stay tuned with her at:@shruti_gupta01 or via Skype : shrutigupta2811
