Why Micro-Learning won't work
An odd title to be found on a website selling bite-size training materials don’t you think?
Perhaps I ought to extend the title a little: Bite size training won’t work if that’s all you do. And to think of it, neither will your e-learning, or resources library.
Much like a cocktail sausage and a vol-au-vent won’t fill you up the same way that a roast dinner will.
Bite-size training should be seen as part of a learning buffet - one of the many options available to learners in your organisation, but it needs to be supplemented with other bite-size elements to create a satisfying 'meal': Bite-size training is part of a blended solution, not a replacement for traditional training. It should be delivered along with some self-directed study, a coaching conversation, e-learning, active reflection, a discussion on social media. Taken TOGETHER these bite-size elements can replace a traditional day (or two-day) workshop.
Anyone who has catered for a large group knows that creating a good buffet is just as hard work as cooking a roast dinner, so bite-size training (if it is to be a success) isn’t always an easy option. It offers more flexibility (as a buffet does in comparison with a sit-down dinner), and if properly planned and substituted, it can be a satisfying alternative. But equally, one element e.g. e-learning, a 90-minute whistle-stop session, can leave people disappointed and hungry for more if that’s all they can have.
So make sure that you include some live bite-size training workshops as well as e-learning, some social methods as well as independent ones, and opportunities for deep-dives as well as light touches.