
Traditional educational practices are not always effective. Many students feel overwhelmed and tired of the commonly used teaching methods.
Is there a way to improve classic educational processes?
One of the great approaches is microlearning. It looks like a breath of fresh air as it divides complex information into small pieces and simplifies learning processes. You don’t have to attend boring lectures or read lengthy textbooks.
However, can this approach compete with classical education?
Let’s find out why students should use it to get smart outcomes.
Microlearning in modern education processes: its role and power
Any student project may start with numerous barriers and difficulties. What initially seemed simple often turns into uncertainty.
Let’s imagine a common project in the field of business management.
Even when you initiate and schedule it, you need specific knowledge and skills. There’s a lot to learn.
What is the best way to plan and visualize a project? How to control tasks and schedules within a chosen planning tool? Is it better to use well-known software like Excel or look for a more advanced solution?
This is where microlearning comes to the rescue. To get answers quickly, students can use scientific articles, bestselling books, infographics, YouTube videos, podcasts, or even quizzes.
They can quickly explore appropriate platforms, including Excel’s capabilities for planning. If the Microsoft tool doesn’t suit them, they can easily find information about an alternative, such as any Gantt chart-based software. For instance, it’s easy to explore how to convert Excel to a Gantt chart aquí.
It’s important to understand that the core characteristic of microlearning is its brevity. A typical learning session may last just 10–15 minutes. This time is pretty enough to learn new skills and concepts.
Now let’s dig deeper and find out how microlearning methods boost learning effectiveness.
What are the benefits of microlearning methods?
Our digital reality leaves little time and space for relaxation, that is why many students often feel overwhelmed by information. Microlearning helps solve this problem by providing short and useful content.
Below is how this approach improves learning outcomes.
- It encourages rapid learning. With microlearning, students can quickly acquire knowledge and immediately apply it in practice. This is useful for subjects that require practical application (language learning, problem-solving, coding, etc.).
- It has a positive effect on memory. When students have short learning sessions, they can focus on one concept at a time. The presentation of data in small chunks allows the brain to process and retain it more efficiently.
- It provides flexibility. By following the microlearning approach, students can learn anytime and anywhere. They can quickly watch or listen to a short lesson, even if they only have a few free minutes between important tasks or before bed.
- It boosts motivation and engagement. Traditional lectures often look overwhelming. Microlearning makes the educational processes more engaging as it typically comes with multimedia elements like quizzes and videos.
To ensure success in implementing microlearning, it is also important to follow best practices.
What are the best practices of microlearning?
Students should consider the best practices mentioned below to better understand all possible benefits of microlearning. Let’s explore them.
1. Active learning
Microlearning will be more effective if you actively engage with the required material. It can include taking a short quiz after watching a video, participating in a discussion, or applying what you’ve learned to real-world problems. Be aware that passive learning will not produce the same results.
2. Short sessions focused on the essentials
Each lesson should cover one specific topic. You will likely fail if you absorb too much content in short lessons. Try to simplify and improve the learning process, rather than overload yourself with large amounts of data.
3. Multimedia for more engagement
If you add any infographics, animations, or videos, your microlearning sessions become more engaging and memorable.
Instead of just reading the text, try to interact with the content in every way.
3 examples of microlearning in action
You may find examples of microlearning everywhere.
Here are three cases that you may know:
- Headway. This dynamic microlearning app focuses on personal growth and self-improvement through the lens of learning. It combines key concepts from popular science books on business, psychology, health, and more.
- TED YouTube channel. This popular channel with short lessons is widely known among students and professionals in many spheres. It covers a variety of subjects and makes difficult concepts accessible and engaging.
- TikTok. This social network is not only known for entertaining content. It can also be useful in education. TikTok covers various topics, from learning Chinese to gardening tips. You can easily focus on specific questions and get answers in just 15-30 seconds.
Make microlearning your reliable ally
Microlearning solves many problems in modern educational processes.
Whether it’s a professional podcast, YouTube videos, or short reels on TikTok, such content is quickly absorbed and remembered by many. Its impact leads to improved student performance in today’s digital environment.
With the rise of on-demand educational content, gamification, and mobile learning, microlearning has become an integral part of educational processes and a real trend.
Don’t ignore it and reach great results.