Microlearning

Microlearning is a relatively new concept introduced a decade ago in higher education. It is a highly focussed, flexible and extremely targeted approach
to teaching and learning suited for the fast-paced world. This article presents the advantages of microlearning for Term Supervisors and Clinical Tutors.

First discussed in Austria conference in 2005, microlearning refer to a relatively small
learning consumption and short term learning activities. The material, called
microcontent is information published in short form, with its length dictated by the
constraint of a single main topic which can stand on its own, limited by the physical
and technical limitations of the software and devices. The shift to microlearning
happens because of information avalanche, ease of people to cope with small chuck of
learning and its feature of anytime, anywhere and any pace. Advantages and
disadvantages are discussed as well as it suitability in the educational institution. The
four design principles are anytime-anywhere availability, relevant audio visual,
customizable and ‘less is more’. Microlearning management tool TalentLMS and an
example of mobile browser based microlearning are discussed. Now started to get
widespread, microlearning or it characteristics will be the way of choice in the
future.

Mobile microlearning targets a new audience of learners: employees and workers outside of offices, using smartphones for flexible, anywhere, anytime training. The term 'mobile' emphasizes that the content is made for small screens of smartphones. According to literature and industry reports, micro-lessons are generally between 30 s and 5 min. While research shows that mobile microlearning is a promising approach, it remains unclear how the current systems have been 'built': What are the underlying principles of such platforms? The goal of this study was to explore mobile-microlearning platforms and to unpack their inherent design principles. We applied different methods: First, we reviewed literature in both academic publications and industry reports in two iterative rounds. Second , we conducted interviews with industry professionals, e.g., directors and entrepreneurs of mobile-and micro-learning systems. Results show a set of 15 principles regarding technical issues, pedagogical usability of micro-content interaction and sequenced instructional flow. They can be used to detect issues and challenges in existing mobile platforms and may inform meaningful design principles for future development. The results expose that a more critical eye on the learning design implied in the small-screen platforms is needed e.g., future systems may include learning designs for higher order thinking skills.

In this study, applicability of connectivism-based micro-learning in foreign language learning was investigated. For this purpose, an application which reflects the basic principles of connectivism and micro-learning, “Voscreen”, was used by 22 learners in two groups who were learning English at the school of foreign languages of a state university for 4 weeks. “Voscreen” has the characteristics of bite-sized learning, which could be stated as a subfield of micro-learning. Data were collected in the spring semester of 2016-2017 academic year. This is a qualitative case study which started with a group of 22 learners, and it continued with a group of 6 participants who were selected through the purposeful sampling method so that the research could be done in depth. In addition, the participants were observed by the investigator himself during the study process. The investigator’s diary and individual interviews were evaluated through qualitative data analysis. Also, the results of a questionnaire designed to get to know the participants were presented.

As a result, the application used in the study contributed positively to the development of positive attitudes towards foreign language learning, helped learners allocate time for English outside the classroom, and helped them improve their listening and pronunciation skills.

Keywords: connectivism, micro-learning, bite-sized learning

Life Long Learning and Web 2.0
Microlearning and Self Directed Learning
Chryssa Sofianopoulou, Despina Kamilali
Harokopio University
csofian@hua.gr ; deskamilali@gmail.com

Topic:
Experiences in Education
Lifelong Learning


Introduction: Web 2.0 encourages teaching and learning processes, based on personalization, collaboration and having learners take responsibility for learning. Focusing on these aspects, this paper examines the possibility of combining the theories of Microlearning and Self Directed Learning (SDL), for a new educational approach.

Microlearning: Microlearning is an emerging theory of learning that utilizes web content, with activities of short duration. It offers a new way of designing and organizing learning, like learning in small steps and small units of content, with structure and classification created by the learner.

SDL: SDL is a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes.
SDL can be implemented in an educational context by the application of Garrison’s model, which has three dimensions: self-management, self-monitoring and motivation.

Microlearning and Self-management: Microlearning uses the endless educational resources of the Internet in enhancing self-management, which depends on available educational resources. Self-management, however, sets rules and standards of education (what and how it should be learned).

Microlearning and Self-monitoring: In Microlearning, learners are producers and consumers of content, building their own mental structures through exploration and social interaction. Through these activities, the learner can be responsible for the creation of personal meaning, and accept the assessment of the quality of learning outcomes in an educational context, as provided by self-monitoring.

Microlearning and Motivation: To be strongly motivated, learners need to understand how learning goals will satisfy their needs and will be achievable. Microlearning does not require learners to spend a great deal of their time, is flexible and can be integrated into the daily lives of working adults.

Conclusion: Taking one by one the three dimensions of Garrison’s model, this paper examines if Microlearning theory and SDL, can complement each other. As it is shown, it seems that their combined application is possible. The benefits of this new educational approach might be the development of new methods to exploit the endless web resources, while promoting self-direction in learning, in an educational context.

Keywords: Microlearning, Self Directed Learning, Garrison’s model, Web 2.0.

"Life Long Learning and Web 2.0 Microlearning and Self Directed Learning Chryssa Sofianopoulou, Despina Kamilali Harokopio University csofian@hua.gr ; deskamilali@gmail.com Topic: Experiences in Education Lifelong Learning Introduction: Web 2.0 encourages teaching and learning processes, based on personalization, collaboration and having learners take responsibility for learning. Focusing on these aspects, this paper examines the possibility of combining the theories of Microlearning and Self Directed Learning (SDL), for a new educational approach. Microlearning: Microlearning is an emerging theory of learning that utilizes web content, with activities of short duration. It offers a new way of designing and organizing learning, like learning in small steps and small units of content, with structure and classification created by the learner. SDL: SDL is a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes. SDL can be implemented in an educational context by the application of Garrison’s model, which has three dimensions: self-management, self-monitoring and motivation. Microlearning and Self-management: Microlearning uses the endless educational resources of the Internet in enhancing self-management, which depends on available educational resources. Self-management, however, sets rules and standards of education (what and how it should be learned). Microlearning and Self-monitoring: In Microlearning, learners are producers and consumers of content, building their own mental structures through exploration and social interaction. Through these activities, the learner can be responsible for the creation of personal meaning, and accept the assessment of the quality of learning outcomes in an educational context, as provided by self-monitoring. Microlearning and Motivation: To be strongly motivated, learners need to understand how learning goals will satisfy their needs and will be achievable. Microlearning does not require learners to spend a great deal of their time, is flexible and can be integrated into the daily lives of working adults. Conclusion: Taking one by one the three dimensions of Garrison’s model, this paper examines if Microlearning theory and SDL, can complement each other. As it is shown, it seems that their combined application is possible. The benefits of this new educational approach might be the development of new methods to exploit the endless web resources, while promoting self-direction in learning, in an educational context. Keywords: Microlearning, Self Directed Learning, Garrison’s model, Web 2.0. "

This study aimed to investigate the proposed standards of designing microcontent in a digital learning environment. The research used the analytical descriptive research procedures based on deliberative inquiry approach in the presentation, study and analysis of the researches to obtain the standards. A final list of 4 standards and 62 indicators can be used to design microcontent in digital learning environments for application in digital education and training fields.

สรลักษณ์ ลีลา, ศศิธร ชูแก้ว และปรัชญนันท์ นิลสุข (2562)
การพัฒนารูปแบบการจัดการเรียนรู้แบบจุลภาคด้วยหนังสือมีชีวิตเพื่อส่งเสริมการคิดเชิงประมวลผล. การประชุมวิชาการระดับชาติ “สารสนเทศศาสตร์วิชาการ 2019”, มหาวิทยาลัยวลัยลักษณ์ วันที่ 25-26 มิถุนายน 2562.
https://wjst.wu.ac.th/index.php/wuresearch

A need exists to facilitate social as well as communal constructivism while fostering self-directed learning in language classrooms at university level. In this regard, videos can be used as a means to motivate students to critically interact with content and to engage collaboratively with new technologies. Furthermore, it is important to consider the duration of videos and as such, short instructional videos were employed for this study. This research reports on how student teachers perceived the creation and use of short instructional videos as multimodal open educational resources in an Afrikaans language classroom at university level. Short instructional videos (as a form of microlearning) boast many advantages that correspond with literature and the perceptions of students. In this article, a qualitative research approach was followed, which involved reflections by the participants submitted by means of a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. From this analysis, the following themes were identified: Challenges encountered by students, advantages of using short instructional videos, aspects enjoyed about creating the short instructional videos, and affordances of creating short instructional videos. From the analysis, it was clear that students are positive about the production and use of videos. It was also evident that variables, such as social interaction , knowledge of multimodalities, technical ability, device limitations and the topic of videos, all influence the nature of short videos in this context and that support in classes is necessary in this regard.

Within a communal constructivist approach and a context of contribution-oriented pedagogy, students not only consume content they can also produce content for reuse within the educational context. To this end, teachers should create opportunities for co-creation and collaboration between students and teachers in order to construct microlearning objects. This chapter explores the affordances of self-directed multimodal learning for microlearning. Multimodal learning is an approach to education where individual modal preferences, communication through different modalities, and learning, teaching and delivery by means of different modes are considered. The chapter presents a short illustrative case study and proposes practical steps to create opportunities conducive to effective student self-directed multimodal learning through microlearning object creation.

The study aims to design a Microlearning environment based on Theory of Cognitive Load to develop Postponed Achievement and Self-Directed Learning Skills among female students at Taibah University, and then to measure its effectiveness. The study employed quasi experimental design; and implemented in the first semester of the academic year (1441H); on a sample consisted of (13) female students intentionally selected from the College of Education, who were studying E-Learning course. The researcher used the following tools: achievement test and self-directed learning scale. The study results showed that there was effectiveness limited of microlearning environment design based on theory of cognitive load in developing achievement, meanwhile there was effectiveness in developing postponed achievement. Results of the study also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in both pre and post measurements in self-directed learning skills. The study recommended applying the current study to a larger sample and from other university degree levels with different majors and through other educational applications.

To cite this version: Emmanuel Burguete. Proposition d'une méthodologie de conception et d'évaluation d'un SPOC en microlearning. Adjectif : analyses et recherches sur les TICE, Laboratoire Education, Discours et Apprentissages (EDA), 2021, 2021 (1). hal-03147446 Proposition d'une méthodologie de conception et d'évaluation d'un SPOC en microlearning Mots clefs : Microlearning, DBR, SPOC, ECR en éducation, ADDIE Consultable sur le site de l'éditeur : http://www.adjectif.net/spip/spip.php?article547 Résumé : Cet article s'intéresse à une formation à destination d'étudiants en ostéopathie sur le diagnostic d'opportunité ayant été élaborée dans une démarche de type ADDIE (Analyse, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation). Une évaluation de l'efficacité pédagogique du dispositif a été réalisée dans le cadre d'une étude expérimentale bicentrique à l'aide d'un essai contrôlé randomisé. Les 23 étudiants s'étant inscrits à la plateforme ont significativement davantage progressé entre deux tests sur table sur le plan des connaissances que les 41 n'ayant pas suivi la formation. D'autre part, les 16 étudiants qui se sont inscrits et connectés au moins une fois ont légèrement plus progressé que le groupe s'étant seulement inscrit. Malgré un manque de puissance statistique, le dispositif de type SPOC créé en microlearning paraît efficace pour améliorer les connaissances des étudiants, mais n'a pas été adapté pour évaluer les compétences. D'autres sessions utilisant cette méthodologie d'ingénierie pédagogique de granularisation seront nécessaires pour pouvoir en cerner les limites et évaluer d'autres critères de jugements.

A need exists to facilitate social as well as communal constructivism while fostering self-directed learning in language classrooms at university level. In this regard, videos can be used as a means to motivate students to critically interact with content and to engage collaboratively with new technologies. Furthermore, it is important to consider the duration of videos and as such, short instructional videos were employed for this study. This research reports on how student teachers perceived the creation and use of short instructional videos as multimodal open educational resources in an Afrikaans language classroom at university level. Short instructional videos (as a form of microlearning) boast many advantages that correspond with literature and the perceptions of students. In this article, a qualitative research approach was followed, which involved reflections by the participants submitted by means of a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. From this analysis, the following themes were identified: Challenges encountered by students, advantages of using short instructional videos, aspects enjoyed about creating the short instructional videos, and affordances of creating short instructional videos. From the analysis, it was clear that students are positive about the production and use of videos. It was also evident that variables, such as social interaction , knowledge of multimodalities, technical ability, device limitations and the topic of videos, all influence the nature of short videos in this context and that support in classes is necessary in this regard.

Uno de los momentos más emocionantes para las universidades es recibir a sus nuevas generaciones de estudiantes. Esta emoción es compartida, por supuesto. También las generaciones que ingresan tienen muchas expectativas sobre su nueva vida universitaria. En la Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) se vive está emoción de manera muy responsable. Recientemente, se ha inaugurado un servicio de información muy ágil, divertido y sencillo sobre los servicios más importantes que la UAQ le ofrece a su comunidad educativa. Se llama UAQPEDIA. Échale un ojo al link: https://bit.ly/YT-UAQpedia, allí encontrarás videos de corta duración sobre la historia de tu universidad, sobre los puntos más importantes de la reglamentación universitaria, sobre tus derechos y obligaciones como nueva o nuevo universitario y sobre el ejercicio presupuestario de esta institución. Claro que también encontrarás información sobre diversos servicios que tienes a tu disposición, como los servicios de salud y el seguro facultativo, becas, acceso a información científica y tecnológica, servicios deportivos, etcétera. Y, como es de esperarse, también podrás revisar en esos videos una larga lista de proyectos universitarios que han colocado a la UAQ en la vanguardia de la inclusión y el progreso. Por ejemplo, podrás ver cómo trabajan las especialistas en perspectiva de género, cómo se está construyendo una cultura de paz en tu universidad, o cómo estamos colaborando en la defensa del medio ambiente. Todos estos videos forman parte de un proyecto de investigación sobre tecnología educativa que tiene por objetivo aplicar los nuevos hallazgos de esta materia en favor de la UAQ. Si pones atención en la serie de videos de UAQPEDIA, verás que son de corta duración, están realizados de manera muy atractiva, con un lenguaje muy sencillo y toman en cuenta las dudas que pudieras tener sobre cada uno de esos temas. Este método de diseño de objetos de aprendizaje se llama microlearning, o microaprendizaje. Es un método muy novedoso que nació en la industria hace décadas, pero que también está siendo exitoso cuando se aplica en las instituciones. Recuerda: el proyecto se llama UAQPEDIA y puedes encontrarlo en youtube; o échale un ojo en: https://bit.ly/YT-UAQpedia

For institutional teaching, learning objects need to be linked into a Learning Management System (LMS). The SCORM and AICC standards have enabled the platform-independent creation of such learning objects, but newer standards like Common Cartridge (CC) and xAPI supersede this. MicroLearning in particular has specific requirements, especially when applied in mobile learning, which can be met by these new standards. This paper will provide an overview and a comparison of the various standards and the implications of their application in MicroLearning contexts.

Cet article s'intéresse à une formation à destination d'étudiants en ostéopathie sur le diagnostic d'opportunité ayant été élaborée dans une démarche de type ADDIE (Analyse, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation). Une évaluation de l'efficacité pédagogique du dispositif a été réalisée dans le cadre d'une étude expérimentale bicentrique à l'aide d'un essai contrôlé randomisé. Les 23 étudiants s'étant inscrits à la plateforme ont significativement davantage progressé entre deux tests sur table sur le plan des connaissances que les 41 n'ayant pas suivi la formation. D'autre part, les 16 étudiants qui se sont inscrits et connectés au moins une fois ont légèrement plus progressé que le groupe s'étant seulement inscrit. Malgré un manque de puissance statistique, le dispositif de type SPOC créé en microlearning paraît efficace pour améliorer les connaissances des étudiants, mais n'a pas été adapté pour évaluer les compétences. D'autres sessions utilisant cette méthodologie d'ingénierie pédagogique de granularisation seront nécessaires pour pouvoir en cerner les limites et évaluer d'autres critères de jugements.

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of Microlearning - learning small chunks during short interactions with content or peers – seems to be a sign of changing assumptions about the nature of knowledge; knowledge is becoming more short-lived in its relevance, less coherent and more distributed than ever before (Hug & Friesen, 2007). Learning under these circumstances is not always a clearly distinguishable activity, e.g. separated from working or leasure. Learning is becoming an integral part of short task flows or a network of tasks, often executed across multiple media, following continuously shifting foci (ibid.). Although Microlearning fits well with the trends of flexibilisation in today’s labor markets, it is worth recalling Liessmann’s (2006) critique of today’s ‘knowledge society’, where decisions about the usefulness of knowledge and best practices seem to be made in a rather arbitrary fashion. For example, Liessmann argues that too much focus on learning outcomes leaves no room for learning contextual or historical references. However, context and history are important conditions for understanding something systematically and becoming able to adapt and further develop knowledge when circumstances change. Not surprisingly learning formats that support contextually integrated learning are receiving increased attention from researchers and practitioners alike. Confirming the trend, the latest ‘Innovating Pedagogy’ report from the OU UK lists “crowd learning” and “geo-learning” among the top ten innovations in 2013 (Sharples et al., 2013). Hence our overall objective is to suggest a cross-fertilisation framework for crowdsourced Microlearning, which can contextualise Microlearning on the one hand and improve the impact and the quality of crowdsourcing initiatives on the other hand. To achieve this objective, the paper proceeds as follows: - Define the conceptual characteristics of Microlearning and Microtasking (crowdsourcing), providing a brief overview of the research on the topics; - Derive a framework for ‘crowdsourced Microlearning’ matching archetypes of crowdsourcing scenarios with typical design challenges in Microlearning; - Discuss existing cases that show a potential for combining crowdsourcing and microlearning; - Suggest future research needs for crowdsourced Microlearning. This way, we hope to contribute to an objective that has been on the Microlearning agenda since the first Microlearning conference in 2005: “We want to better understand the motivational factors of learners and how to integrate information acquisition and learning for organisations into the ongoing flow of daily activities.” (Bruck, 2005).

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of Microlearning - learning small chunks during short interactions with content or peers – seems to be a sign of changing assumptions about the nature of knowledge; knowledge is becoming more short-lived in its relevance, less coherent and more distributed than ever before (Hug & Friesen, 2007). Learning under these circumstances is not always a clearly distinguishable activity, e.g. separated from working or leasure. Learning is becoming an integral part of short task flows or a network of tasks, often executed across multiple media, following continuously shifting foci (ibid.). Although Microlearning fits well with the trends of flexibilisation in today’s labor markets, it is worth recalling Liessmann’s (2006) critique of today’s ‘knowledge society’, where decisions about the usefulness of knowledge and best practices seem to be made in a rather arbitrary fashion. For example, Liessmann argues that too much focus on learning outcomes leaves no room for learning contextual or historical references. However, context and history are important conditions for understanding something systematically and becoming able to adapt and further develop knowledge when circumstances change. Not surprisingly learning formats that support contextually integrated learning are receiving increased attention from researchers and practitioners alike. Confirming the trend, the latest ‘Innovating Pedagogy’ report from the OU UK lists “crowd learning” and “geo-learning” among the top ten innovations in 2013 (Sharples et al., 2013). Hence our overall objective is to suggest a cross-fertilisation framework for crowdsourced Microlearning, which can contextualise Microlearning on the one hand and improve the impact and the quality of crowdsourcing initiatives on the other hand. To achieve this objective, the paper proceeds as follows: - Define the conceptual characteristics of Microlearning and Microtasking (crowdsourcing), providing a brief overview of the research on the topics; - Derive a framework for ‘crowdsourced Microlearning’ matching archetypes of crowdsourcing scenarios with typical design challenges in Microlearning; - Discuss existing cases that show a potential for combining crowdsourcing and microlearning; - Suggest future research needs for crowdsourced Microlearning. This way, we hope to contribute to an objective that has been on the Microlearning agenda since the first Microlearning conference in 2005: “We want to better understand the motivational factors of learners and how to integrate information acquisition and learning for organisations into the ongoing flow of daily activities.” (Bruck, 2005).

Educational materials play a fundamental role in distance learning, they are usually designed based upon diverse criteria or development principles mainly originated in graphic design or learning-teaching strategies adapted to technological media. At present these materials have a great level of interactivity, giving the student the possibility of intervening actively in their own learning process. This article considers such resources as open and complex systems, allowing for a new interdisciplinary perspective and introducing a new concept that comes from other science fields, entropy, as another factor to be taken into account in the process of analysis and selection of these materials in the educational environment. The aim is, thus, to find the necessary conditions these applications must have accepting, from a constructivist approach, that the student's role has to be a protagonist one in the technology-mediated learning process.