Micro-Learning has lots of advantages, configuration management is not one of them
By definition, Micro-Learning is “small” bits of a larger concept, but because they are small, there are lots of discrete bites (individual learning objects), which can make version and quality control a nightmare.
Imagine you are tasked with ensuring all the numbers on billiard balls are facing up. If the balls are racked…this is a simple task; after the break shot and the balls are scattered, that same task becomes more challenging. Likewise, ensuring the content integrity of learning materials is easier when the content is maintained as one course.
Microlearning has lots of advantages as an instructional strategy. It, along with space repetition and adaptive learning, is the gold standard for teaching certain types of quantifiable learning. But the more learning objects there are, the greater the challenge of ensuring they are timely, accurate, and error-free.
What can be done to ensure content integrity?
One great untapped resource in most learner platforms is the learner themselves. Empower the learner to quickly and easily tag and comment on learning bits. One of the big disadvantages of asynchronous learning is the inability to ask questions. Giving the learner the ability to provide feedback on learning objects allows:
- The learner to ask questions – which in turn indicates the need for clarification and/or possibly the need for additional intervention.
- Errors to be quickly tagged and corrected, ensuring content integrity.
- The empowerment of the learner – the learner feels valued.
The relative reliability of Wikipedia is proof that a distributed approach to content verification can be very effective. What makes learner-generated feedback even more effective in the model that I’m describing is that learners can tag and comment but not edit. Editing is done by a subject matter expert (SME) after reviewing the comments.
In summary:
- Learners can comment and tag content that is either unclear or incorrect.
- SMEs and/or instructional designers can review the comments and look for trends, therefore quickly correct outdated or inaccurate information.
- Instructional designers can also quickly determine areas for improvement in the content.
To know more about “Using Microlearning to Teach Business Sustainability“. Click here…
