As companies try to stay ahead of their competitors, having knowledgeable staff with the most up to date skills is paramount. However to provide staff with the right knowledge can be costly in any organization. Instead of the traditional classroom training conducted by full time corporate trainers, there are many advantages with microlearning in an online learning environment.
According to Knowles, children are needy while adults are independents who actively pursue what they want and need in their lives. With microlearning in an elearning environment, study materials can be easily tailored to modules relating to specific areas of work and employees can decide what training they need, when they want it and where they want it. Most employees perceive training as top down and therefore may show some resistance towards it. However by engaging employees to make such decisions, it may result in a more positive shift in their attitudes towards training.
Microlearning and elearning not only provide the convenience and flexibility which fits into the lifestyles of employees, it also improves the productivity and bottom line for an organization. By allowing employees to “pull” the information anytime at the convenience of their homes, it means less disruption and downtime at work. Furthermore companies no longer have to carry a fixed overhead cost in having full time corporate trainers in their payrolls. As the training materials are developed in units, information in a segment can be easily edited or updated with minimal interruption to the remaining curriculum. The costs (direct and indirect) associated to make such changes would be less than having to take the entire course offline.
In short, microlearning and elearning complement one another and when used effectively can have a major impact on employees’ learning experiences and ultimately organizations’ performances.
References
Harward, D. (2016). Current Issue. Retrieved from Training Industry: http://www.trainingindustry.com/ezine/current-issue/key-trends-for-2016-focusing-on-the- science-of-learning-to-better-engage-the-adult-learner.aspx
Pappas, C. (2013, May 9). Instructional Design. Retrieved from elearning industry: https://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of-malcolm-knowles
Spencer, R. (2016, Jun 27). Microlearning. Retrieved from elearning industry: https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-must-have-5-microlearning-benefits-cannot-ignore
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