Greetings all.

I recently made a presentation to my colleagues on the topic of Microlearning and a review of the basic principles that define what Microlearning is. It was well received, and in the process of developing this presentation I learned more than I had known on the topic. The focus of the presentation ultimately was to see how my organization could apply these principles to the work that we do in the higher education field. In my exploration, I discovered the roots of Microlearning and how it developed, and gained a better understanding of the principles.

Although I am likely writing to some people that have some knowledge on this topic, I would still like to provide a bit of background for the newbies on the community that may be looking to understand this more. I am going to  provide some of my own thoughts in this article, but also share some of the resources that I used to  do my research and prepare my presentation. If you are knowledgeable on the topic, you may know more than I, and that is great. I am not claiming to be an expert in this topic, but someone who is greatly interested in it.

Just One Man’s Definiton

At its core, I believe Microlearning is providing quick, bite sized learning to an audience where they want, when they want, and how they want. There are a lot of definitions out there, and I am paraphrasing some of them. But there are keys in each of the definitions that align with the principles I will speak of further down.

A Bit of History

For those of you not familiar with Microlearning, let me take you down a brief history of where it came from and how it has been used over the years. I have learned this this with the help of some articles (mentioned below) that you can read to gain further information and knowledge.

The term Microlearning first appeared in 1963 in a book called ‘The Economics of Human Resources by Hector Correa. But it wasn’t until technology advanced and we started delivering courses online that Microlearning really took off. At least in it’s current form.

But not all Microlearning needs to be online. Sure current eLearning software and LMS offerings can make it cool and slick, but Microlearning has been used well before computers. And it continues to be used in the traditional classroom in the form of handouts, job aids, in-class videos, etc. But technology brings advancement and cool new ways to deliver Microlearning to the masses. Like Adobe Captivate.

Just a Few of the Good Resources I Have Used.

The Principles of Microlearning have seen some debate, with some experts focusing on more or less, depending who you talk to. There are a couple of articles that I would like to cite that I used in my research.

Before I mention them, I will state that I have no affiliation with anything I link to in this article, so there is nothing I get from mentioning them.

The first I will mention is from Axonify and I thought this article had a lot of good information in it to share. I pulled a few things used in my presentation from this one. Specifically, I really like the list of references included at the end of the article. I also like the Myths section, which I found interesting and informative.

I also used some information from this post from Study.com. While the focus is on a younger audience, there is still some great information included about the basic principles and some ways to break up classes to make them engaging and interactive with students. There is also a great section on the pitfalls of Microlearning.

Lastly, I will mention one from Openstax as it touches on some principles that I will speak to. Further to this article, I was able to find some other great information on this site. I spent some time researching and reading up on a few different topics posted. One thing I really do like about what they have written is Why Microlearning is important, and it truly is an important element of learning, in my opinion. I will not repeat what has been written, but take a read as I find it interesting.

What About Those Principles?

As I mentioned,  many people have written and reviewed the different Principles of Microlearning. And there are a lot of opinions, including on this community, that speak about Microlearning and what it brings to the education table. I want to share some of the information I have researched and communicate my own thoughts on what I think are important principles to follow. These are the ones that I think of when I am looking at developing Microlearning sections in my Instructional Design and eLearning work.

The List

1. Short

Microlearning by its definition is short. But how short is short? This can best be answered by asking another question. How long is a piece of string? Really, when we talk about the length of a course, there are many opinions out there. Some will say nothing more than 5-7 minutes. Others will say up to 25 is ok. Personally, I think the longest a Microlearning module should be is 10 – 15 minutes. Anything longer than that can likely be cut down by thinking further about the second principle. Which is up next.

2. Focused

This principle is one of the easier ones to understand and possibly more difficult to apply, but if you focus, it should become easier (see what I did there?). When we focus on one thing at a time, we are typically able to learn, or complete that one thing successfully. But the instinct for many is to try to put more into something. To try to add something else, to make it more complete. And that is not the idea with Microlearning. We want to focus on one topic, one objective at a time when we create content. This can be hard. But this is a very important principle to ensure you are creating Microlearning content.

3. Interactive

This principle doesn’t need to be based on technology, or applications, it can, and it can be nice if it does, but Interactive doesn’t mean technology. The way I understand this principle is by thinking of Active Learning and engaging learners with content that brings them into the material and encourages them to stay. Our learning needs to have great information, focused on one objective, fit within a short time, but it also has to involve some interactivity so they can apply what they have learned.

4. Flexible

Microlearning also needs to be flexible. Flexible to be presented on its own, as part of another course, or a series of linked Microlearning elements. Flexible for whatever needs may arise. It also needs to be available for whenever and wherever a learner wants to access it. That flexibility is key to Microlearning. It should not be tied to a location, but flexible in its delivery.

5. Variety

“Variety is the spice of life”, isn’t that what they say? Well, this is the last principle I will speak of, and I think it is just as important as the others. But this principle doesn’t mean we need to create a different Microlearning element every time we present a piece of information. But we shouldn’t just do the same thing over and over either. This is a great way to lose that Interactivity I spoke of earlier.

Using Captivate.

As we think of developing Microlearning elements, and using Captivate to produce at least some of them, keep these principles in mind as I believe they are a good guide in development. Captivate provides us with the opportunity to create, design and develop responsive projects that fit very nicely with Microlearning. I personally am working to up my skill with designing responsive projects in hopes of creating more micro courses in my work. I’m looking forward to it, and I continue to work every day on it.  One little bit at a time.

Summary

In closing, I wanted to present these principles and let them sink in. There is much more to applying the principles that could follow, and I may write on this in the near future. But for now, hopefully you enjoy what I have shared and maybe you have been inspired to at least look a bit further into Microlearning and how you could use it in your work.

Thanks again for reading.