Small to achieve more: this is the secret of micro-learning

Some chats at the coffee-machines, when it was still possible 🙁 , between learning developers and content designers, one said that’s how micro-learning was born few years ago.  

Learning experts motivated by some key facts bet on that move from classical e-learning sessions to micro-learning.  

But at that time, the ‘shape’ of micro-learning was not appealing enough for corporates, still engaged in heavy investments to implement classical LMS and e-learning solutions. Those solutions which were just digital versions of the typical classroom learning concept: too much information to digest (the feeling all trainees after sessions), too many data to follow-up, and all that during too long training sessions…  

All that built on past educational practices, established conventions, or assumptions about the learning process. 

This could explain why after a training session of several hours: 

• 42% is forgotten after only 20 minutes,  
• 66% is forgotten after 1 day,  
• 75% is forgotten within a week!! ¨ 

We are not machines! 🙂

But still most of corporates keep their approaches to learning… is it because micro-learning looked too small, too simple?? 🙂

So, what are those key facts that initiated the micro-learning concept? 

They go simply from how we are made or more precisely how we remember things, and also how our society is changing. 

1) Our brain 

Decades ago, people thought that it is because you are intelligent that you can learn!  

Neuroscience findings prove the opposite. Learning is effective improvement factors of our working intelligence, and how our brain works. 

And thanks to the development of neurosciences, big steps were made in the understanding of learning process, resulting of brain-based learning approach. 

Brain-based learning refers to how teaching and learning content are designed using the basic of how our brain works. And some of the key outputs in successful learning practise are a) shorter content b) frequent session c) interaction 

To make it simple without being a brain expert: we all know that it is far easier to remember one page of text and to remember the content of one page by repeating short learning sessions than to have a full book to read and to remember. 🙂

2) Our society 

Our society is changing or to be accurate: e-learning doesn’t fit to millennials’ ways of learning, not modern? 

New generation learners have grown with and are used to access to on-demand services, to have the choice of personalisation, to evolve in an informal environment. 

Great to create employers branding to catch millennium talents, to offer flexibility in their working environments, but how to keep them engaged in a learning strategy. 

And to approach efficient and qualitative learning, the findings show that micro-learning suits to our capacity and attention spans. 

Micro-learning means: 

• Shorter content. This is a convenient way to offer easy accessibility and flexibility to learners. Learners take control of their learning process setting their own pace and agendas. This is resulting in an increase of engagement. 
• Straight to the point! Formatting content to micro-learning pushes the trainers to rethink the way content is shared keeping the focus on what is relevant. Doing so, the chance of memory losses as mentioned earlier is reduced. It means higher retention conversion. 
• Quality learning. With the right focus on few topics only, making explanations relevant and limited to the topics, self-confidence in learning is increased together with more takeaways. 
• Cost savings and productivity increase 

Yes! this is how we could say: A learning solution which saves costs!  

According to experts like Ray Jimenez in his book 3-minute eLearning, short learning sessions which are the core of micro-learning, bring concrete operational savings for the companies. 

Indeed, development costs can be reduced by 50% and increase the speed of development by 300%. 

As mentioned by our client:  

‘’MindBox allows us to save time in managing learning sessions. When you are clear about the topic you want to train, creating a training session in Mindbox cloud-based platform takes a maximum of 30 minutes. It is also obvious that we make important savings in costs related to e-learning platforms, training room rent and our commuting time to train 500 employees in the region’’ – HR responsible for training 

Benefiting to both the company saving strategy and employee learning engagement, micro-learning brings the right balance. On a stand-alone solution or integrated to existing LMS or e-learning, micro-learning is not only a format to apply, but a learning culture to change and adapt… 

‘’We are not defining learning outcomes as retention, completion, coverage, certification or performance of some tasks while in the e-Learning process. Here, we define learning outcomes on the basis of how fast and how easily a learner is able to apply knowledge and skill to given tasks.’’ Ray Jimenez 

Christophe Beaujard 

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