How to Create Microlearning Courses
Although microlearning courses have been popular since the early 2000s, they have recently seen a surge in popularity as learners struggle to find the time to consume long-form training content like eLearning courses.
By breaking long-form eLearning content into small chunks, you can make even the most complex concepts easy to understand and retain, even if you only have two minutes to spare at work during your lunch break.
If you want to know how to create microlearning courses in 2023 and beyond, keep reading!
What is microlearning?
Microlearning is an instructional design approach that delivers elearning content in short, digestible bursts.
This makes it an ideal format for busy learners who want to fit learning into their already-packed schedules.
Plus, microlearning effectively boosts retention and ensures learners can apply what they've learned.
Microlearning is flexible and can be delivered via various digital channels.
Microlearning courses have risen because they are cost-effective, easy to create, and highly engaging.
That is why they are prevalent in the corporate learning world, where businesses can save millions of dollars by reducing training time from months to days or weeks.
How to create microlearning courses
Define your learning objective(s)
Before creating micro-learning content, you must identify your course's learning objectives.
These objectives will help guide the development of your micro-learning courses and ensure they align with your larger goals.
If you are unsure of what should be included in these lessons, review a few topics from your formal training program or other materials developed by people who know the subject matter well.
Once you have established these objectives, list them on a sheet of paper, so they are visible while developing microlearning content.
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Know your learners
To create a practical microlearning course, you must first know your learners.
What are their needs?
What are their learning styles?
What motivates them?
Once you understand your learners well, you can begin creating your elearning course. But before you do, keep these five points in mind:
Identify the learner's objective and specific behaviors that the learner will observe if they succeed.
Break down each step or lesson into a few words or sentences. Keep these as short as possible to avoid overwhelming your learners with information.
Clearly define what the learner should be able to do after completing each step or lesson. Ensure these skills are transferable and relevant to real-world situations and contexts (such as job-related scenarios).
Decide how long each step or lesson should be – this will vary depending on how much content is included and how much time people usually spend on different activities on any given day.
Brainstorm ideas for topics
Make a list of potential topics you could cover in a microlearning course.
Once you have your list, start narrowing it down by identifying which topics would be the most beneficial for your learners.
Remember that micro-learning courses are typically shorter than traditional ones, so you must focus on essential information.
Once you have settled on a few potential topics, research to see what other resources are available on the subject matter, and try to identify topics that can be broken down into smaller, manageable chunks.
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Create an outline of each learning topic/module
Before you start creating your microlearning course, it is essential to sit down and create an outline of each learning topic or module.
This will help you stay organized and on track as you develop your elearning course.
Here are ten steps to creating a microlearning course outline:
Choose a broad topic for your elearning course.
Narrow your focus by brainstorming specific subtopics related to your chosen topic.
Organize your subtopics into a logical order.
Draft a brief description of each subtopic.
Determine the delivery format for each subtopic (e.g., video, audio, text, etc.).
Use a color-coded system to note the type of media needed for each subtopic.
Decide how much time you want to spend developing each module (e.g., one hour, two hours).
Identify where these modules should be located within your course/platform.
Assign content experts for each module, if necessary.
Estimate how many slides/pages are needed per module
Develop learning content
Microlearning is about creating small, bite-sized pieces of content that learners can easily consume and digest.
When it comes to developing microlearning content, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Be specific with your learning objectives, so the learner knows what they're trying to accomplish.
Your lesson should also provide clear instructions on how to achieve the objective. And finally, make sure you include any tools or information the learner will need to complete their tasks.
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Design learning material (visuals, audio, video)
The visuals, audio, and video you use in your microlearning course will greatly affect how engaging and effective it is.
You want to ensure that the elearning content is high quality and relevant to the topic.
An excellent way to ensure this is to create a storyboard or outline of the content before you start filming or recording anything.
This will help you stay on track and ensure that all the pieces fit together nicely.
Keep it engaging
The best microlearning courses are the ones that keep learners engaged throughout. Start by picking one topic, but cover it in depth. Next, keep explanations and instructions short (usually two or three sentences). Use images as much as possible to avoid using long paragraphs. Have interactive activities for learners to practice at the end of each lesson so they can apply what they learned independently.
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Apply an active and relatable tone
When creating microlearning courses, it is important to maintain an active and relatable tone.
This will help ensure that your audience remains engaged and invested in the material. Here are seven tips for doing just that:
Keep your language simple.
Use relatable examples and scenarios.
Be clear and concise in your explanations.
Engage your learners with questions and activities.
Encourage interaction and collaboration among learners.
Make use of multimedia elements whenever possible.
Provide opportunities for feedback and reflection throughout the course.
TheLearning LAB is the best authoring tool for creating microlearning courses.
When creating microlearning courses, you need an e-learning authoring tool with specific features to make the process easier. Here are seven features you should look for:
A user-friendly interface makes creating and editing content easy.
The ability to add multimedia elements like videos, images, and audio.
The ability to create quizzes and assessments to test learners' knowledge.
The ability to track learner progress and performance.
The ability to easily publish courses online or export them for offline use.
The ability to integrate with other learning management systems (LMSs).
A free trial or demo so you can try out the software before you buy it.
Penceo eLearning course design agency works with TheLearning LAB to provide a powerful authoring tool designed for creating microlearning courses. TheLearning LAB authoring tool has a user-friendly interface that makes creating and editing courses easy.
In addition, you can add text, images, audio, video, quizzes, and more to make your micro-learning courses interactive. Our eLearning platform has a built-in learning management system (LMS), so you can quickly deploy your courses to learners.