Week 11: Microlearning OER

Hi Team, Thank you for putting this OER together. I definitely appreciated the layout on your weebly site, where it was easy to access each module and keep track of what I'd completed. I think my biggest piece of advice would be to paraphrase/reword some of the content that you're providing. It seemed like there was a lot of information that was quoted directly from sources, (Module 1 - "What is Microlearning" and Module 2 from Trang, for example). I know others have already addressed the fact that Module 2 seemed sub-par, and I think the amount of direct quoting in that module is part of the issue. Also, I think some things could introduced in a little bit more detail, like the "Meet the Modern Learner" diagram (Module 3) which seemed a bit disconnected. I'm thinking maybe the prezi format (which worked well for a lot of aspects) made introducing certain diagrams/components awkward? On the very minor side of things, some of the wording for classroom management was pulled from one of the tech companies you profiled, so I'd recommend changing that, and the "Why?" section on Module 5 didn't make complete sense (to me, there seemed to be a grammatical issue that made it confusing). Anyways, I hope I didn't bog you down things to consider changing. As a whole, I really did find the content you provided to be quite useful, and will be reflecting more on the forgetting curve as I go about planning out my future teaching units.

Over all, very interesting OER. I appreciated that you tried to apply microlearning. However, as you mention the modules were a bit long to be considered microlearning. I think you definitely could have delivered the information in shorter lessons if you selected an appropriate platform. This is one of the reasons that video is the go-to for microlearning, as you can use sound, image, and text to convey a message and pack a lot more information into a shorter time span.

Thank you Kendra, Michael and Matthew! I enjoyed the content and feel of your microlearning module and must concur with others that the use of Prezi was spot-on and a really great workaround to more expensive options! I wish the motion of Prezi could be turned off, though, because it makes me a little motion sick, exacerbated by some sinus/inner ear issues I'm currently experiencing. I enjoyed how it felt like a true microlearning experience with short quizzes at the end of each unit "bite." I am going to definitely work toward developing microlearning opportunities for my students (as shared in my final quiz) and to create more portfolio pieces. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but the 5th module opened differently than the rest.

Hi Team Micro Learning. This was perhaps one of the modules that I enjoyed the most because it was concise and clear a la St.Thomas Aquinas! :) I liked how you simulated the micro-learning environment using Weebly and Prezi. The Pomodoro strategy was my big takeaway along with the information on key micro-learning providers in the industry. I also liked the fact that your presentation addressed academic education and corporate training and development areas. The two areas of improvement would be: 1. using higher resolution screenshots for the Docebo Report as the images were grainy or you could embed the hyperlinks to the actual website and 2. Changing the contentious quiz question on "Just-in-time" learning that has already been discussed and addressed in the comments below. Overall, great job!

Hello Micro Learning Team, I enjoyed you OER so much. Especially as i can relate to the concentration span, however with this OER I did not struggle to follow and complete at all. Very well selected and "broken down" content from theory to practical examples. Great quizzes and repetition of the content. It could not have done better. I have nothing to mention on improvement. Thank you for this! I wish all OER'S were build up as Micro learning - I would feel much more comfortable at the end still knowing what i just read.

Thank you, Team Microlearning! You honoured your topic well by presenting a lot of valuable information in bite-sized pieces. I, on the other hand, did not honour the advice you offered or the advice of the experts you cited in terms of spacing out my learning as one should in microlearning. Instead, I completed all 6 modules in one sitting. This was simply necessary given other commitments this past week. I imagine that there are other learners out there who are just like me: while we absolutely prefer and enjoy the flexibility and relevance of just-in-time accessibility of microlearning, sometimes just-in-time still means just-in-time-to-meet-a-learning-deadline. The most powerful learning I gained from your OER is that the benefits of microlearning quickly fade away if you do not space out the learning. While this may seem obvious as it supports the data presented in your OER, I was really struck by how microlearning must stay micro. For example, when going through all of the modules at once, I found the Prezi format frustrating as I had to keep clicking and going in and out of circles of information, and going in and out of one quiz after another when I could have done one big quiz on all of it at the end (and then, 30 days from now, I'd only remember X% of the information...which I already can't remember!) Of course, this is not a criticism of your format. It is, however, an "a-ha" moment for me about the reality of the learning landscape in 2020. Sometimes learners to learn to in order to apply learning right in the moment, and sometimes learners still need to learn because our work (or educational program requirements) tell us it is necessary. I imagine that no amount of spacing, gamification, engaging infographics and videos will ever change that. I can tell you that I now know where I will go when I want to get good information on the benefits, challenges and industry leaders in microlearning. Thank you for the macro-impact!

The micro-learning experience delivered through short Prezis was an innovative and creative touch to your OER. The information was not too overwhelming, although there were six modules to complete. The topics were focused and on point. It seems like the target audience was more for corporate training since it seems like there are not that many options specific to education (in the K-12 sector, at least). Good distribution of audio-visual, text, and diagrams and no technical issues. Overall, job well done!

Hi Carla, thanks for taking the time to provide some very beneficial constructive feedback - it only helps us improve things! It felt challenging to try and incorporate suitable academic articles related to microlearning due to their sheer length but now that you've pointed it out, it is really important to strike more of a balance between the types of references (especially removing the sub-par ones). Would you agree that providing learners with the summary or key findings of an academic article would be a form of microlearning? Also, thank you for point out that question! That Module 2 question should actually be as follows: What is just-in-time learning? A. On demand learning taken at one's own pace. B. A benefit of microlearning. C. Both A and B. D. An interchangeable term to microlearning. Because you're right 'just-in-time learning' is not interchangeable with microlearning. The actual answer should be C!

Hey Guys- thanks for a great OER! I think your use of Prezi was the best I have ever experienced and you utilized it exceptionally well to deliver our microlearning experience this week. Apart from some great content in many of the modules, I did feel like Module 2 was perhaps below par in quality in relation to your other modules. I have to concur with Paul on this one and say that I think the references used were perhaps not the best and although the information referenced was sound, the language use wasn’t and this detracted from the experience for me in this module. I also feel that I need to slightly contest one of the quiz questions, which stated that just-in-time learning is an interchangeable term to microlearning. Although just-in-time learning is perhaps a feature of microlearning, I wouldn’t say the two words are interchangeable as just-in-time learning on its own doesn’t have to be a short burst of content that is made available like in the case of microlearning? My final point of critique would be that I felt the content in Module 4 could perhaps have been incorporated into Module 1 where the history and definitions are discussed around microlearning. Although this might seem like a lot of critical feedback, all in all I really enjoyed the microlearning OER week and would like to thank you for the work that you have put into this.

Congratulations Team Microlearning! I really enjoyed learning about this important phenomenon and will be looking to put it into practice in my school next year. I liked the “check for understanding” activities after each module and found the use of Prezi in this context quite effective. I do have some suggestions for improvement: 1) I think you should replace the ERPINNEWS article with a different source. The poor quality of the writing definitely lets you OER down! 2) I feel your site would benefit from highlighting a few more research based sources of information, and removing some of the marketing content. If you rely too much on industry sales pitches in some sections, you risk losing some of the trust and authority that you’ve worked hard to establish in other parts of the site. Thanks again for introducing us to this exciting and promising learning modality!