Have you seen Mal Poulin's article about microlearning in the Fall issue of SAP Education North America’s SAP Education Solutions e-magazine (it’s on page 5)? If you haven’t, you may be the only one! This was by far the most clicked on article in the magazine.
One reason for the article's popularity could be that Mal is a great writer. Or maybe it’s because “microlearning” is not just a buzz word. It’s an approach that is truly relevant in our fast changing world.
As Mal defines it, “Microlearning is when knowledge is acquired discretely in sizes that satisfy immediate needs to enable performance. As technologies advance, microlearning evolves and continues to match business needs and pace.” He also lists 10 common sense characteristics of good microlearning, but I won’t steal his thunder by divulging them here!.
As Mal's definition implies, we’re all understandably concerned that the knowledge of our workforce must keep pace with technology innovations. And this is not just true in the SAP world, but everywhere! In the old world of training, keeping pace meant developing full training courses and assembling employees in the classroom. That’s still important. But change is happening at such a speed and we need a more workable solution.
That’s the beauty of microlearning. It enables you to crank up the pace of learning, but in a way that’s manageable. Most organizations have the means to create and distribute small bits (or drips) of learning to satisfy urgent needs. This can be done by word of mouth via your super users, by e-mail, or you can take advantage of applications that enable you to create small bits of learning quickly, and distribute them tactically.
Learning at the speed of change. These days it’s not just a good idea, it's a necessity. Maybe that’s why everyone wants to read Mal’s article.
