How to Make Microlearning Courses Online
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What is Microlearning?Microlearning refers to the practice of delivering bite-sized training content, focused on specific learning objectives. Unlike traditional...
What is Microlearning?
Microlearning refers to the practice of delivering bite-sized training content, focused on specific learning objectives. Unlike traditional elearning courses, microlearning modules offer brief, concise lessons, often aimed at closing knowledge gaps or reinforcing knowledge.
What are the Benefits of Microlearning?
The key benefits of microlearning include:
- Adaptability for Mobile Devices: Microlearning videos and content fit perfectly on smartphones, enabling learners to study on-the-go.
- Improved Knowledge Retention: Bite-sized learning materials enhance knowledge retention by delivering just the "need to know" info.
- Flexibility: Learners can go through microlearning courses at their own pace.
- Engaging Formats: Incorporation of animations, infographics, and short videos keeps the attention span of learners.
- Efficient Onboarding: New employees can undergo onboarding and corporate training more efficiently, without being overwhelmed.
6 Steps to Create Effective Microlearning Courses:
- Define Learning Objectives: Understand the target audience and what they need to achieve.
- Structure Your Content: Break content into microlearning modules, focusing on specific subjects or skills.
- Use Diverse Formats: Incorporate multimedia such as animations, podcasts, quizzes, and simulations.
- Incorporate Real-World Scenarios: Microlearning is effective when it offers real-world applications.
- Implement Gamification: Enhance the learning experience through games, points, and rewards.
- Test and Feedback: Always pilot your course with a small group, collect feedback, and refine.
How to Design Microlearning?
Focus on learning outcomes. A successful microlearning design incorporates visuals, is high-quality, and directly addresses the subject matter. Use templates and authoring tools that allow drag and drop functionalities, ensuring a user-friendly design process.
How to Create Microlearning Courses?
Initiate with a solid learning strategy. Use an authoring tool, select appropriate templates, and combine text with multimedia elements like animations, infographics, and short videos. Remember to link additional resources and ensure it's mobile-compatible.
Limitations of Microlearning:
While microlearning offers numerous benefits, it's not ideal for complex subjects that require deep dives. Moreover, if not designed well, the learning experience can feel fragmented.
Top 9 Microlearning Tools:
1. Axonify
Axonify is a microlearning platform designed to boost employee knowledge retention and drive business results. The platform provides bite-sized learning content that can be accessed via mobile devices, focusing on the individual needs and knowledge gaps of each learner. Axonify offers real-world scenarios to help learners apply what they've learned, making it particularly useful for corporate training and onboarding.
Top 5 Features
- Bite-sized learning modules
- Real-world scenarios
- Employee training focus
- Mobile accessibility
- Knowledge retention analytics
Pricing: Custom pricing, contact Axonify for a quote.
2. TalentCards
TalentCards is a microlearning tool that enables organizations to deliver training in small, digestible chunks through a mobile platform. It uses elements like short videos, quizzes, and infographics to keep learners engaged. TalentCards is particularly useful for training programs where learning objectives require attention to detail, such as compliance or soft skills training.
Top 5 Features
- Multimedia content (videos, infographics)
- Quizzes for knowledge retention
- Learning objectives tracking
- Mobile-friendly
- Easy authoring tool with drag and drop
Pricing: Starting at $49/month for 100 users.
3. Saba
Saba is a robust Learning Management System (LMS) that offers a microlearning component as part of its functionality. It delivers high-quality, bite-sized elearning courses and content like short videos and quizzes that cater to the shorter attention span of modern learners. Saba also integrates with social media to enhance the learning experience.
Top 5 Features
- High-quality elearning content
- Social media integration
- On-demand courses
- Quizzes and assessments
- Employee onboarding
Pricing: Custom pricing, contact Saba for a quote.
4. Gnowbe
Gnowbe is a microlearning platform that focuses on ‘learn-by-doing’ experiences. It offers a wide variety of content types, from short videos and podcasts to quizzes and surveys, aimed at improving knowledge retention and training outcomes. Its mobile-first approach makes it easy for learners to engage with the content on smartphones.
Top 5 Features
- Mobile-first design
- ‘Learn-by-doing’ approach
- Variety of content types (podcasts, videos)
- User-friendly interface
- On-demand availability
Pricing: Custom pricing, contact Gnowbe for a quote.
5. EdApp
EdApp is a mobile-first microlearning platform that offers templates and an easy-to-use authoring tool. The platform is designed for quick content creation, allowing instructional designers or subject matter experts to create effective microlearning courses. EdApp also offers gamification elements to make learning more engaging.
Top 5 Features
- Mobile-first platform
- Easy-to-use authoring tool
- Gamification elements
- Templates for quick content creation
- Short videos and animations
Pricing: Free for up to 50 monthly active users, custom pricing beyond that.
6. OttoLearn
OttoLearn provides adaptive microlearning experiences tailored to individual needs. It regularly updates training modules to target knowledge gaps, offering a dynamic learning experience. OttoLearn's real-world simulations and quizzes help ensure knowledge retention.
Top 5 Features
- Adaptive learning paths
- Real-world simulations
- Dynamic content updates
- Quizzes for knowledge retention
- Workflow integration
Pricing: Starts at $650/month for 100 users.
7. Qstream
Qstream is designed to improve employee performance through knowledge reinforcement and analytics. It uses short, scenario-based challenges followed by explanations to ensure understanding and retention, making it effective for corporate training programs.
Top 5 Features
- Scenario-based challenges
- Knowledge reinforcement
- Analytics for learning outcomes
- Quick, bite-sized modules
- Employee performance tracking
Pricing: Custom pricing, contact Qstream for a quote.
8. Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate offers a specialized set of features for creating microlearning content, including short videos, quizzes, and simulations. Its authoring tool is one of the most robust in the industry, allowing for high levels of customization and multimedia integration.
Top 5 Features
- Robust authoring tool
- Multimedia integration
- High customization
- Effective simulations
- Quizzes for knowledge retention
Pricing: A one-time purchase cost of $1,299.
9. Elucidat
Elucidat is an elearning authoring tool that offers microlearning capabilities. It focuses on scalability and ease-of-use, allowing businesses to create content rapidly. It is particularly effective for businesses looking to deploy training content quickly and at scale.
Top 5 Features
- Scalability
- User-friendly authoring tool
- Rapid content creation
- Templates for quick start
- On-demand courses
Pricing: Custom pricing, contact Elucidat for a quote.
Microlearning tools focus on delivering bite-sized, easily digestible pieces of learning content that help learners quickly acquire the skills and knowledge they need. Whether you're focused on corporate training, onboarding, or general education, these platforms offer a range of features to meet different learning objectives and styles.
FAQs:
How to create engaging microlearning content?
By integrating multimedia, gamification, real-world scenarios, and ensuring content directly addresses the knowledge gaps.
How long should a micro course be?
Ideally, 2-10 minutes, focusing on a specific learning objective.
What is the microlearning design process?
It starts by defining objectives, structuring content, designing with user-friendly templates, adding multimedia, and reviewing with real users.
What is the difference between microlearning and e-learning?
While both fall under online learning, microlearning offers bite-sized modules focusing on specific objectives, whereas e-learning might offer extensive courses with broader subjects.
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Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.