By Carla Torgerson and Sue Iannone

As we’ve discussed in previous articles, microlearning techniques can be extremely useful for a range of training applications.  These include preparing learners for live training events, post-event reinforcement, stand-alone training programs, or performance support.

But, microlearning isn’t devoid of challenges.  The Association for Talent Development (ATD) did some research on the key barriers that prevent organizations from embracing microlearning.  In this article, we’ll look at four of the most common ones.  If a Learning and Development (L&D) team adopts microlearning approaches without a plan to deal with the issues below, then it will get push-back.  Furthermore, programs are more likely to fail, and people could easily get the impression that microlearning doesn’t work.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at those common barriers.

Barrier 1 – Learners are not held accountable

Learning programs will have no impact if the intended learners don’t actually use them.  For learners, the top priority is doing their primary jobs.  Participating in learning programs will always take a back seat to that.  As a result, it can be tough to get learners to engage with informal or non-mandatory learning programs.

So, how to get around this barrier?  Well, the company could make it mandatory to participate and then track utilization.  That generally gets people moving.  There are, however, other ways to drive participation.

One way is to make the training as relevant as possible to the learner’s number one priority: His or her day-to-day job.  “Just in time” learning or workflow learning are prime examples of this.  Those types of learning resources are specifically designed to help the learner do a part of their job, right when they need it.

Other techniques for driving participation include:

• Enage with the learners’ managers so that they will help hold learners accountable (e.g., by asking learners questions about the program(s) in one-on-one meetings or staff meetings, etc.)
• Send e-mail reminders to learners about the program in question, using messaging that puts learners’ priorities first and makes it relevant to their jobs (i.e., “Got 5 minutes? Here are 5 tips to help make your next sales call a smashing success! Click here.”)
• Use incentives, like contests or drawings to drive participation (i.e., “Everyone who completes the module by next Friday gets entered to win a …!”)

Barrier 2 – Not easy enough for learners to access microlearning from anywhere

Microlearning must be easily accessible to learners when and where they need it.  If you want to deliver your microlearning solution to mobile devices and your LMS is not mobile-friendly, then you might need to find another means of delivering the program.

Don’t try to deliver a program using a platform that isn’t suited to it.  Find work-aounds if needed.  For example, could the content be e-mailed to learners?  Everyone has access to e-mail on their phones.  Alternatively, could a portal be created through which learners could access the material using mobile devices?  Or, for the case in question, is mobile absolutely necessary?  Could learners actually grasp the material just as effectively from their desks using the LMS?  If so, then resetting management expectations may be required.

Barrier 3 – Fitting microlearning into employees’ day

This barrier is very closely related to Barrier #1 above.  If the microlearning resource is viewed by learners as relevant and useful—and it serves their work priorities—then they’re more likely to make time for it.  The key is to design learning that actually helps learners do their jobs, and then communicate those benefits in ways that help the learners answer “What’s in it for me?”

Barrier 4 – Inability to tie learning to performance

We’ve heard this barrier before. The challenge of quantifying the links between learning and performance is not just related to microlearning.  It’s the primary challenge facing all of L&D in general.

But with microlearning it can actually be easier to measure the link between learning and performance than it is with longer-form approaches.  Changes in performance can be much more easily linked to a 5-minute, highly-focused microlearning module than to an hour-long e-course.  For example, if you measure an improvement in metrics related to X, and you had just delivered microlearning specific to X, then it’s easier to make the connection.

What’s Next?

Keep checking back with us for more articles on microlearning.  In our next installment, we’ll cover some key pitfalls to avoid when developing microlearning resources.

The post Barriers to Creating Effective Microlearning appeared first on Bull City Blue.

By Carla Torgerson and Sue Iannone

In previous blogs, we’ve discussed how microlearning can be used to prepare learners for learning events, and as follow-up after learning events.  In this article, we’ll consider how microlearning can be used as stand-alone training.

Key Benefits

Of course, using microlearning as stand-alone training can provide all the core benefits of elearning.  For example, microlearning is:

1. Asynchronous, meaning that learners can access it any any time. There’s no need to get everyone together at the same time.
2. Self-paced, enabling each learner to progress at a rate that personally works best.
3. Accessible any place, through a mobile device or computer.

But, microlearning provides added benefits.  It also:

1. Maximizes flexibility and minimizes disruption to each learner’s work day.
2. Increases retention. Think about this question - Which is more effective at driving up retention: A one-and-done hour-long training session or a series of five- to eight-minute mini-modules delivered once per week for 5 weeks?  In many cases, it’s the latter.

Example

Here’s a brief example to illustrate how you can use microlearning as stand-alone training, and get a better result than using traditional approaches.  Imagine that a training leader needs to get a large number of call center workers “up to speed” on a new product or service offering.

Traditionally, this might require scheduling a training session that all call center employees would have to attend.  Call center workers need to be covering the phones, so it would be impossible to get all workers at the same training session simultaneously.  So, the training leader would need to schedule several alternative time slots, for which call center workers could register.  This would enable everyone to cycle through the one- or two-hour session while still maintaining at least partial call coverage during session times.

Needless to say, that approach would be disruptive to the workers and to customer service.  In addition, the “one-and-done” nature of the training is less conducive to learning and retention.

Now, let’s consider a different approach…one that uses microlearning.  The training leader could divide the content into 4 or 5 “bite-sized chunks,” each of which could stand on its own.  Then, the training leader could create a series of brief “mini-modules” that call center employees could go through at their own pace.

Each module would cover a discreet topic related to the new product or service.  For example:

• Overview, defining the new offering, the target customers, and why it’s important
• Features and benefits
• How to engage potential customers
• Questions customers frequently ask

Learners are much more likely to retain information that is given to them in pieces over a period of time, rather than all at once.  Sure, those call center employees still need to be scheduled off the phones to take this training, but it’s far easier to schedule a 10 minute “learning break” than it is to find 1-2 hours when half the agents can be taken off the phones to attend a session together. That makes this approach far less disruptive to the business’s normal operations.

What’s Coming Next?

In our next installment, we’ll identify the top barriers to using microlearning effectively.

The post Using Microlearning for Stand-Alone Training appeared first on Bull City Blue.

By Carla Torgerson and Sue Iannone

In the last installment, we explored how to use microlearning techniques to prepare learners for live training events.  But what about after the event?  Can microlearning techniques help learners retain what they learned, as well as perform better in their jobs?  Yes, they can.  Here’s how.

Why Reinforce Learning After Live Events?

Most L&D professionals know about the “Forgetting Curve” – an estimate of how quickly people forget content learned in a formal learning environment. While we can debate how quickly people forget new information, one thing is clear: Learners do have a tendency to forget recently-learned information pretty rapidly.  That’s why it’s important to reinforce learning in the days, weeks, and even months following a live training event.

We typically reinforce learning for two key reasons:

1. Increase retention of key concepts
2. Make it easier for learners to apply what they are learning to the job (i.e., performance support)

Why Microlearning for Post-Event Reinforcement?

Microlearning is great for post-event reinforcement because it meshes so nicely with the reality that most learners face – that they don’t have a lot of time for long-form reinforcement activities.  They can much more easily fit short, “bite-sized” learning activities into their work day.

In addition, some types of reinforcement are meant to be used just-in-time, as learners perform job-related tasks.  “How-to” resources for using a piece of software or operating a piece of equipment are great examples.  These resources must quickly hone in on the task at hand, and enable learners to use them in real time. To be most useful, they must focus on what the learner needs at that moment and nothing more.

Examples

Here are a few examples of microlearning tools and techniques that you can use after an event to reinforce learning and/or to be used as performance support. We’re confident you can come up with many more ideas:

1. E-Mail Campaign – You use e-mail to deliver short pieces of information to learners over time, reviewing and reinforcing key things they learned in the training. It’s important to focus on the most relevant information and determine the optimal cadence.
2. Pulsed Knowledge Questions – The idea is to ask the learner a series of multiple choice questions over time. This technique adds reinforcement which leads to retention. It can also push learners to more thoughtfully engage with the information.  High relevance and proper cadence are also important for this technique.
3. Wallet Cards – Reference cards and similar tools are great for reinforcing key points. They can also be used for performance support, if the content is a checklist or other job aid.
4. Infographics / Job Aids – Infographics can be highly useful, whether static (printed or electronic) or interactive. If an employee posts one of these things on his or her bulletin board and refers to it regularly, you know it’s making a difference for him/her.  A good example of a job aid might be an objection handler:  A tool that outlines common objections a sales rep might experience, as well as the proper responses.  It’s important to note that an infographic is not a discrete item on this list, as you could incorporate an infographic into a wallet card, detail aid, etc.
5. Detail Aids – Sales reps often use printed or interactive detail aids to communicate with potential customers. These resources can really help sales reps structure narratives, recall key facts and messages, and communicate more effectively.
6. Video Clips – “How-to” video clips can be very useful, particularly for performance support. Remember the example we gave earlier about using a piece of software or operating a piece of equipment?
7. How-To-Guides – Short “how-to” guides can really help people get a task done quickly and accurately. Think of the Quick-Start Guide that came with your last laptop computer, DVD player, or other electronic gadget.

How about you?  What other microlearning tools and techniques have you used for post-event reinforcement or performance support?

What’s Coming Next?

In our next installment, we’ll explore how you can use microlearning techniques for stand-alone training.

The post Using Microlearning for Post-Event Reinforcement and Performance Support appeared first on Bull City Blue.

By Carla Torgerson and Sue Iannone

In previous articles, we defined microlearning and we described how long (or short) microlearning materials should be.  Now, it’s time to move into application.  We previously defined microlearning as short content that could be used as preparation before a learning event, follow-up to support a learning event, stand-alone training, and performance support. Here, we describe how you can use microlearning techniques to prepare learners for longer form, live training events.

Why Prepare Learners?

As anyone working in Learning and Development (L&D) knows, live training is expensive.  It often takes a lot of time, energy, and money to get everyone together and to plan and execute an effective event.  Naturally, L&D pros want to make the most out of every minute of live training to ensure that money is well spent.

So, it makes sense to prepare learners ahead of time.  Ideally, learners should come to a live event with enough baseline knowledge and awareness to ensure a productive session…or series of sessions.  Learners will get more out of the discussions, role-plays, and other live activities if they’ve done some useful prep work ahead of time.

Why Microlearning for Event Prep?

Most L&D professionals are familiar with having pre-work before a class. But we’re also equally familiar with low completion rates and low impact to the class environment. By its very nature, microlearning is well-suited to the task of preparing learners for live events.  Our learners are busy and don’t have a lot of time to do complicated pre-reads or other long-form activities.  However, everyone can make time to go through some short-form learning to prepare.

Using microlearning increases the chance that learners will actually review the material and show up ready to roll.  In some highly formal environments (like the pharmaceutical industry, for example) learning activities are usually mandatory and tracked.  So the learners are likely to go through the materials ahead of time regardless of length.  However, they’re much more likely to truly engage with the material and learn something if it’s delivered in ways that work for them.  And that usually means in short, bite-sized chunks.

Examples

Here are a few examples of microlearning tools and techniques that you can use to prepare learners for live events.  These are just some examples to warm up your thinking, going from simple to more complex.  We’re confident you can come up with many more ideas:

1. Short Reads – Short articles, fact sheets, or other pre-reads can be very helpful. In the “old days”, we might have sent complicated long-form articles.  Nowadays, we know it’s more productive to send short pieces that are thoughtfully distilled to the most important pieces of information.
2. Infographics – People really like infographics. They can contain a lot of information in an easy-to-comprehend format.  They can be static or interactive.
3. Voice-Over Presentations – A brief, annotated PowerPoint can be helpful, as long as the information is relevant and thoughtfully delivered. Again, shorter is better with this non-interactive format.
4. Videos – Video clips are a great way to share information quickly.
5. Mini-Modules – Mini eLearning modules add interactivity and can create more engagement.

What other approaches have YOU used?

What’s Coming Next?

In our next installment, we’ll explore how you can use microlearning techniques after a learning event to reinforce key learnings and help drive performance on the job.

The post Using Microlearning as Preparation for Live Learning Events appeared first on Bull City Blue.

By Carla Torgerson and Sue Iannone

If microlearning can be any learning and the common thread is its length, then the next natural question is, “How long is a piece of microlearning?”  The answer really depends on the content you’re teaching and the use case.

There are no hard and fast rules regarding length, but we generally think of microlearning as any learning content that can be consumed in about five minutes or less.  But, that five minutes is not a rule.  It’s just a guideline. The only “rule” is that microlearning content should be “just long enough” to give the learner what they need at that moment.

Let’s consider some different situations and use cases and see how they might impact length.  There are times when good microlearning should probably be less than 5 minutes, and there are times when it should be a little longer than 5 minutes.

Less Than 5 Minutes

Keeping microlearning content to less than 5 minutes is generally best when:

• The learners already have a solid foundation of knowledge in the subject at hand – If no new concepts need to be taught and you simply need to add new information into an existing mental framework, then you can keep it very short.
• Learning content is to be used “just-in-time” – If the learners must be able to reference content in real-time to perform a specific task, then it’s best to keep it short. Cut right to the core of what the learner needs at the time, avoiding extraneous material.  There’s a sense of urgency, after all, so get right to it.  Wallet cards, short “How to” videos (perhaps even 2 minutes or less), and similar tools will get the job done.  A lot of performance support content would fall into this category.
• Learning is informal, and not required – For informal, voluntary learning, people generally respond better to content that is 4 minutes or less.

More Than 5 Minutes

Microlearning can be longer than 5 minutes when the learners have no solid foundation of knowledge in the subject.  It’s not advisable to try to insert bits of microlearning content into a mental framework that doesn’t exist.  With “green” learners, you need to build that framework, and that takes more time.  If you can apply microlearning to a situation like that, then individual pieces of content could easily run 7-10 minutes.

Formal training—which is mandatory and tracked—can also be longer (generally speaking).  Examples of formal learning might be new hire training or a POA meeting.

The Bottom Line

A piece of learning content that is just five minutes long—but that’s not useful to your learners—is a waste of five minutes¹. A piece of learning content may need to be trimmed to three minutes to give learners just what they need.  Or, it may need to be expanded to eight minutes to give the depth and clarity the learner needs to properly grasp the content. So again, the five-minute length is a guideline.

What’s Coming Next?

In our next installment, we’ll explore how you can apply microlearning to prepare learners before a learning event.

1. Thanks to Diane Elkins, owner of Artisan E-Learning, who has been saying this for years!

The post How “Micro” Does Microlearning Need to Be? appeared first on Bull City Blue.

By Carla Torgerson and Sue Iannone

“Microlearning” is a huge buzz word in learning and development (L&D) these days.  It seems like everyone is doing it or wants to be doing it.  The problem is, people often have a hard time defining just what “it” is.  In addition, there’s even less certainty around how to use microlearning to make the most positive difference for your organization.

The good news is that microlearning can be a powerful tool in the L&D organization’s toolbox.  It just needs to be used in the right ways.  In upcoming articles, we’ll spend some time covering different facets of microlearning.  In this “micro” article, though, we’re going to start building the foundation by providing a standard definition of microlearning.

Definition of Microlearning

To cut right to the chase, “microlearning” simply refers to a piece of educational content that can be consumed quickly.  In many ways, microlearning is just a mash-up of lots of things we’ve been doing in the past: just-in-time learning, performance support, and many others.  But, it’s presented in a short form.

Microlearning content can stand alone or support other learning activities (like instructor-led classes, eLearning modules, simulations, etc.). It can be used as:

• Preparation before a learning event
• Follow-up to support a learning event
• Stand-alone training
• Performance support

Those options pretty much cover any time someone could be learning.  If you teach something—or augment other teaching to enhance retention with short-form content—you are “going micro”.

What’s Coming Next?

In our next article, we’ll answer a common question:  How “micro” does microlearning need to be?  After that article, we’ll explore how microlearning can be applied as preparation before a learning event, follow-up after an event, stand-alone training, and as performance support.

The post What is Microlearning? appeared first on Bull City Blue.

By Nathan Pienkowski

In recent years, a lot of ink has been spilled regarding the idea of the “Modern Learner.”  In this article, we discuss whether the so-called “Modern Learner” is really that much different from any other learner.  The answer is yes…and no…and that has implications for Learning and Development (L&D) professionals.  Let’s dig a little deeper.

What is the Modern Learner?

Basically, our concept of the Modern Learner is as follows:

In the western world today, people are highly distracted by cell phones, televisions, computers, tablets and a host of other things.  Individual tools—such as the cell phone—contain many distractions within themselves, such as e-mails, texts, social media, web browsers, and more.

As a result, learners today have become conditioned to think differently, interact with the world differently, and have different expectations regarding how they learn.  By extension, it’s hard to get their attention (and even harder to hold it), they want their information delivered in easily digestible “bite-sized” chunks, and they don’t want to immerse themselves in long-form training that requires concentration for extended periods.

That’s the concept, and L&D professionals have taken it to heart, working to develop learning programs that cater to the needs and expectations of the modern learners.  But, is it right?  Does it make sense to apply it in all cases?

The Modern Learner Concept:  It’s true, but…

It is true that, in general, westerners today exhibit the characteristics of the modern learner.  It’s important to remember that these characteristics (shorter attention span, limited desire to concentrate, need for instant gratification and frequent rewards, highly visual approach to learning, etc.) are the result of psychological conditioning and not any physical changes.  Modern learners’ brains are biologically no different from those that were learning things back in the 1850s, for example.

The mechanisms through which people learn are biologically-based and fundamental to humans.  They change at the rate of evolution so, in other words, very slowly.

However, the psychological conditioning evident in modern learners is real, and L&D professionals deal with that in numerous ways.  For example, they might apply microlearning techniques, breaking learning content into small chunks that require very little time on an individual basis.  L&D pros might also use gamification, often enabled by mobile technology, to help make learning more experiential.

A host of techniques like the ones above can be deployed to reach modern learners.  This is good.  But, it is possible to get too much of a good thing, as these techniques are not appropriate in all cases.  In fact, there are times when they can be counter-productive.

Too often, we are asked to apply these techniques because the training leader believes “that’s how training is done these days.”  The idea is that learning always needs to be broken into small, discreet chunks or that mobile technology needs to be leveraged, and so on.  That idea is wrong, so let’s see when it’s appropriate to cater to modern learners vs. when it’s not.

When (and When Not) to Cater to the “Modern Learner”

Generally, training techniques that cater to the Modern Learner concept are best used when the training needs to:

• Explain concepts
• Impart bits of information or easily learned skills that are relatively discreet or independent from one another
• Reinforce more complex learnings that were delivered during other training (i.e. performance support)

For example, we once had a customer that needed to train its sales force to use a range of new functions within its customer relationship management (CRM) system.  Most of these functions were independent of one another and relatively easy to learn by themselves.

So, we created a series of very short modules, one for each “skill.”  In addition, we created a game for each skill that encouraged competition between sales reps and enabled them to practice.  In this case, chunking the information into smaller pieces—and leveraging tech-driven games—was just the ticket.

In other cases, catering to the Modern Learner concept is not appropriate.  For example, it’s not usually appropriate when training learners on complex skills, which themselves are often amalgamations of multiple interrelated sub-skills.

Modern Learner-oriented approaches are useful as reinforcement or for performance support in some of these cases.  But, the fact remains that learning complex skills requires attention, concentration, time, and practice.  One doesn’t typically learn to be a great sales rep by going through a series of short e-modules.  It’s tough to train a manager on how to have difficult conversations with subordinates via these approaches, either.  Effectively having those conversations requires a complex array of interrelated skills that need to be imparted and practiced.  Sorry, Modern Learners, sometimes you just have to put the phone down and concentrate.

Applying the Modern Learner concept in the wrong situations will, at best, provide a sub-optimal result.  In some cases, it can also cost more for less.  Sometimes, training vendors are all-to-willing to create a series of short e-modules because it’s the “cool” thing to do, rather than a more appropriate form of training for a given situation.  The irony is, the “cool” thing to do can cost more money for less total training time and less impact.

Summing Up

So, the key takeaways of all this are as follows:

• Modern westerners typically exhibit “Modern Learner” characteristics.
• These characteristics are the result of psychological conditioning, but learners’ biology has not changed a bit.
• Techniques for reaching Modern Leaners can be effective, but they must be used when appropriate.
• In general, these techniques are appropriate when imparting bits of knowledge (or skills) that are relatively independent of one another.
• They are less appropriate for complex skills training.

Good luck out there!

The post Are “Modern Learners” Really That Different? appeared first on Bull City Blue.