Implementing Microlearning

What is Microlearning

Microlearning is a method of learning in which information through short form, digital content. This content can be shared through video, audio or short blocks of easily digested text.  It is an efficient way of learning as the teaching method, being so short, doesn’t massively interrupt workflow.

There are forms of Microlearning all around us, to the point that many people don’t even realise. For example; TED Talks are short, 18 minute lectures that focus on one specific topic throughout, making it a microlearning resource. Another named method of microlearning would be Duolingo. Duolingo is a language learning app which requires its users to complete short lessons every day. With these lessons only being a few minutes long, it classifies as a Microlearning resource.

Benefits to Microlearning

There are a lot of benefits to teaching through microlearning. This includes the flexibility; with the content being short-form, it means people can fit in this method of learning around a busy schedule.

It has also ben researched that microlearning produces better retention of information. After a shorter time taking in the information, students then have the time to take a quick break to process the information they have just taken in.

More in depth research into the benefits can be found on this document written by Rebecca Martin for MobieTrain.

How can TEL help me implement Microlearning?

There are a great number of ways that Microlearning can be implemented into teaching. These can include short activities such as quizzes, games and pop quizzes. There are also resources like short videos and Moodle plugins that TEL can help implement.

These examples include many features provided through the H5P plugin, and TEL can also help create short-form video content that can be implemented into Moodle pages or into lectures.

Video Example

Please see below for an example video for what Microlearning resources TEL can provide.

H5P

H5P is a plugin that can be embedded into a online page. It is a plugin that helps create short, interactive activities that can be customised by the creator. By being customisable, the content in the activity can match the content being taught. Once installed to the page, you can choose which of the many activities becomes active on the Moodle page.

Learning Management Systems that support H5P include Moodle, Blackboard, WordPress, Canvas, BrightSpace and Drupal. With Moodle being the primary of these used at York St John, TEL can offer training in implementing this plugin onto your Moodle pages.

Short Form Videos

As well as the H5P plugin and the activities that com with that, TEL can also help by creating short form videos that can be embedded in Moodle pages.

These videos can contain any content being taught, squeezed down into a few minutes. By using stand-out graphics, TEL can create engaging content for students to enhance the learning in a short snippet of time. These videos can be short explanations, step-by-step tutorials or anything else that can follow these themes. To find out more about how TEL can help create these videos, please contact Lorna (l.lebrun@yorksj.ac.uk).