For Activity 1 please take a look at Ed App and take a look around. After please download Ed App for apple (here) or android (here) and use the code "ETEC522" when signing up and take the first lesson Microlearning. If you do not wish to download the app, you are missing out, but you can access the first microlearning lesson on microlearning here.
After taking the first lesson feel free to start/join in on the discussion below. Please consider the following questions: -- How did you enjoy learning using the microlearning lesson? -- Have you employed microlearning lesson plans in your teaching before? -- How do you think you could employ microlearning lessons in your own educational or work environment?
35 Comments
Mackenzie Moyer
7/10/2017 08:31:20 pm
I use microlearning as a choice model when designing/developing e-learning modules. I work in healthcare, and a lot of the content I've created has been mandatory, which necessitates creating something that's quick, painless, and (with gamification elements) enjoyable. By using gamification and really honing your message, you can pull learners in and have them enjoy the content. This gives the learner some semblance of voluntary participation (or anti-pre-annoying the learner, if you will, from the fact they're being forced into a learning experience). I also taught ESL for many years, and used microlearning in the classroom. I had to teach 4 classes, back to back, with 1 hour per class, with students coming from formal-schools to our cram school. In that context, I again employed lots of micro-participation, combined with game elements (relay races, ball games, etc). My students enjoyed it, and they learned a lot. This method lends itself very well to drilling. Microlearning does work, and is especially useful for the basics and "dry" content. Picture charts/matrices, vocabulary, etc. This was exemplified in the awesome apps you shared. I think it's important to keep one thing in mind: have the learners do what they need to do, and the learning comes from that (not telling them, only give them factoids and information when its vitally connected to doing something). Bloom's Taxonomy is indispensable here. For instance, one could have learners differentiate between different principles, theories, definitions, tools, or people; if students need to learn vocabulary and grammar, have them put the two together the entire class, swapping out words from sentences, forwards, backwards, etc. Lastly, thanks for doing this subject: it's definitely related to what I have in mind for my venture in Assignment 3, and I can refine my venture based on the competitors you've notified me of. Thanks again :)
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Scott Meech
7/10/2017 08:57:59 pm
Apologies there was an issue with the comments not being displayed, so I saved your comment, reset the page and added it again... Hope that isn't a problem!
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Eva Somogyi
7/10/2017 08:32:18 pm
Hi There, Wow! That was fun and manageable on a busy day. Quite enjoyed the process of a quick video and hen a review with 'games'. Which reminds me I have t go back and improve my score...I know I can do better LOL. All joking aside it did feel like an effective way to learn short bursts of information. The ease of doing it results in being more engaged and wanting to participate. Thanks for the intro. Eva
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Scott Meech
7/10/2017 08:59:56 pm
Apologies to you as well, there was a issue with the comments not being displayed, so I had to go and reset the page, so I reposted your comment. Hope that is not a problem!
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Justin Bolivar
7/11/2017 10:12:27 am
Thank-you for introducing us to the app. As I opened it can began going through the first questions and video, I see that it is a really easy/great way to engage students with material. I see this as something that students can use to review material at the beginning or the end of a class. The activities took me a second to figure out what they do, but the user is able to catch on quickly. I can see myself using this sort of technology in the English classroom to review themes, important quotes, as well as to help students brush up on grammar. Teacher grammar in my opinion is awful, but essential. Something like this helps break that chain.
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Scott Meech
7/11/2017 03:07:13 pm
Nail, meet head... but seriously Justin you are exactly right. From most of our research a lot of the microlearning market is aimed at professionals and human resources departments, not a lot of focus on actual young people, only "as millennials hit the workforce" which has been used as a buzz phrase in more than one video about microlearning.
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Justin Bolivar
7/12/2017 09:47:59 am
Did you find any research that showed that it actually increased retention in millennials? I'm just trying to differentiate if it is founded in research, or an assumption.
Scott Meech
7/12/2017 05:51:25 pm
Justin, take a look at this:
Justin Bolivar
7/13/2017 11:03:29 am
Interesting, I'll check those out Scott. I really appreciate the amount of usable and implementable information you've provided so far!
Amanda
7/11/2017 05:13:33 pm
So I had started looking at your website at home and then had to run out to meet up with friends. I actually completed the activity while I was waiting for them, which goes to show how easy it was to use. I grasped all the information, so it was also effective. I've used microlearning in my teaching, but now I can see how valuable microlearning can be for companies as well. With busy employees, a mini-lesson on an app like you introduced us to (thanks for that, I will definitely use it again!) can definitely be beneficial for introducing new projects to teams or reviewing HR policies.
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Ali
7/13/2017 10:36:59 am
What a wonderful story. This actually is one of the many functions of microlearning. It is not simply meant to be a tool used in a classroom, it can also be used as a tool for people on the go.
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Albert
7/11/2017 06:46:19 pm
For the True/False game, there was a real sense of urgency with the timer clock counting down. This seems to tie in really well with gamification ideas. It also 'feels' a lot like some of the apps my students are playing on their phones.
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Scott Meech
7/12/2017 03:27:40 am
Imagine a Candy Crush that actually required you to learn?
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Anne Coustalin
7/12/2017 01:06:25 pm
Hi, thanks for that interesting activity. I actually had a different experience than my peers so far to the gamified microlearning you had us engage with. I found the timed aspect of it to be problematic and a little stressful for me. I wonder also about the learning goals of the activity. Having completed the activity about five minutes ago, I am able to retain three facts: microlearning is about presenting information in small chunks which reflects the way the brain best retains information; microlearning works best with spaced learning; and millennials have a 90 second attention span. I suspect there was more, but it is gone now. I wonder at the usefulness of learning “facts” like that though. I have personally never seen much benefit from memorization of facts, and I must admit to finding that sort of information relatively useless. I would never pass on a statistic like the 90 second attention span without first delving into the research and evaluating it for myself. I need to understand and evaluate “facts” better before I can incorporate them into my own knowledge set.
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Scott Meech
7/12/2017 08:57:06 pm
You are helping to solidify in my mind one of the most important ideas I have taken from my studies in the MET. There are no one-sized-fits-all solutions to education. Everyone is different, and will react very differently to different styles of teaching, activities, collaborations, etc...
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Anne
7/13/2017 11:44:12 am
Hi Scott and Ali,
Charmalee Kirk
7/12/2017 04:27:17 pm
I really enjoyed the micro learning lesson - although for some reason it didn't work when I downloaded it. The timer did get me a bit nervous because I wasn't really sure how much time I would have to complete it. I really do get nervous when a test or activity is timed though, so in thinking about my students, that could be the case for them as well - something to be aware of nonetheless.
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GHASSAN BARHOUMEH
7/12/2017 04:42:19 pm
Hello Guys,
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Agnieszka
7/12/2017 07:06:42 pm
hi
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Scott Meech
7/12/2017 09:17:28 pm
Rich world issues... love that! Although I am not 100% sure it is only a rich world issue. A few years back travelling around South East Asia, everyone was still on their smartphones, a lot, but perhaps the regions I was in, were not as poor as the regions you have just mentioned.
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Madeleine H P Lee
7/13/2017 08:02:33 pm
I enjoyed the microlearning lesson and games as it they were short and simple to grasp. I do agree with my classmates that microlearning seems to be focused on rote memorization. But like what was mentioned earlier in the site, microlearning is to supplement traditional learning, not replace.
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Erin
7/13/2017 08:41:29 pm
I think microlearning is a great tool to compliment traditional instruction. It's funny but they a pilot for a microlearning product just crossed my desk. It is designed to compliment corporate LMS's. Here is a quick intro video if you'd like to look into it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxA4peKiChg It is quite funny and features Ken Jennings. The product relies on micro-learning (although doesn't use the term outright) and small quizzes that function as spaced learning.
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Jakin
7/14/2017 10:52:22 am
From my personal experience I have been contemplating the use of micro-learning to acquire a hard-skill such as a new language. I have been using Duolingo to learn Japanese for the last few months and I have thoroughly enjoyed the learning process. While I haven't been diligent in working on the lesson every day I am still seeing some progress (however slow) just by spending less than 10 minutes few times a week using the app.
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Ali
7/14/2017 11:30:22 am
Great question. Honestly, the question with AI, for me at least, is what won't it replace? I think this applies to so many of the items we've learnt in etec 522 so far.
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Scott Meech
7/14/2017 02:20:50 pm
Why would AI make it obsolete? AI will use these lessons to learn more about you. Duolingo already does that, questions you get wrong are saved and redrilled more often to try to solidify "understanding".
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Scott Meech
7/14/2017 02:35:54 pm
Happy to see Duolingo has Japanese now, it wasn't there a few months back... must be quite new. But in my placement test, I found more than a few mistakes in their translations, so I am worried that we might reinforce a mistake!
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Ali
7/14/2017 11:27:01 am
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Ryan Dorey
7/14/2017 12:28:02 pm
I had a bit of trouble figuring out where to write the ETEC522 code into the app, but the web version was great. I did the games and found that they did get the info to stick in my head. I like the fact that it could be completed quickly and still be quite useful.
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Ryan S
7/14/2017 12:41:45 pm
I love the presentation of this activity - you did a fantastic job of illustrating how microlearning can be effective, while teaching all of the pertinent concepts.
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Kevin Andrews
7/15/2017 06:24:50 am
Hi Ryan,
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Jeff Tan
7/16/2017 04:03:17 pm
Kevin and Ryan,
Kevin Andrews
7/15/2017 07:54:45 am
I've used microlearning for many of my classes over the years when I felt the content was difficult for a good portion of the class to understand or if I knew my younger students could not keep their attention on the task at hand. During an English unit I used https://quizlet.com to discuss theme and conflict and quickly test their knowledge. I'm always impressed by how well it caters to most students. I've found that it can help the needs and wants of the average student and provides a style of learning that retains attention and avoids tedium. Also too, I find microlearning is perfectly tailored for the mobile learning environment we have at my school. as it can easily take advantage of the class set of iPad's. Either Quizlet or Kahoot can be used with the iPads to quickly assess student's knowledge and provide brief bits of knowledge for everyone.
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Ali
7/16/2017 11:09:20 am
Hey Kevin, thank you for linking to that website. It looks a like a valuable tool.
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Kevin Andrews
7/19/2017 04:24:01 pm
Hi Ali,
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Tracey Stevens
7/16/2017 02:13:31 pm
Easy and intuitive way to learn about micro learning. I am not an educator so have never used it before but can definitely see the value of incorporating it when onboarding new employees.
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