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Not all learning is created equal. While certain types of learning like compliance training and necessary certifications require large chunks of time, other things like incorporating a new skill or refreshing old knowledge don't have to. Bite-sized learning works by breaking down concepts into small, digestible pieces. You'd be surprised what you can learn in just a few minutes.
What is Bite-Sized Learning?
If you haven’t heard of bite-sized learning, it is breaking up large blocks of information into smaller sections. Also called microlearning, this method is made for a world where multitasking is necessary and short attention spans are a reality. Plus, research backs these claims up. Research shows bite-size eLearning can increase information transfer and result in better understanding, application and retention than a day-long equivalent. Cost-wise, it can prove to save up to 30 percent.
What benefits does this learning provide?
We’ve talked a little bit about the benefits of bite-sized learning, but let’s explore them a bit deeper. There are several pros to breaking your learning up into smaller modules, including:
1. It's Faster
Bite-sized learning is less time commitment for employees. When a team is on a deadline or traveling to a tradeshow for example, training can take a backseat. When teams are told they can need to allocate just 20 minutes of their day to training, it’s a lot easier to fit into their schedule.
2. You Can Get Specific
Even though a topic may be tailored to one team such as sales training, this topic could be so large it entails a three-day training session. With bite-sized learning, this same course can be broken up into several smaller subset topics. And this training could take place over a longer period of time. For example, one module may cover customer service and another closing the deal. With this tailored approach, it allows employees to absorb each section of a topic before moving onto the next. And if one employee needs to spend longer on one topic, it allows other employees to work ahead.
3. Easier Content Creation
If you are tasked with creating training modules or work with a Learning Management System (LMS) to create these, complex topics take time to finesse. But with bite-sized learning, it’s easier. Not only are the courses shorter, but you only need to focus on one topic at a time. This allows you to be more creative in your course design and what the desired learning outcome should be.
4. Mobile-Friendly
We briefly touched on this one, but in this digital age, we rely more and more on our phones. Your corporate training program needs to be mobile-friendly. When an employee is traveling for work or a sales team is out on a call, bite-sized learning should literally be at their fingertips. Let’s say you have a team out of the office for a new pitch and they have downtime before their meeting. It’s a lot easier to take a quick training course on their phone than commit to a day-long course back in the office.
5. Increased Retention
Let’s face it, we all have 50 thoughts in our heads at one time. Even though employees may be physically sitting in a classroom, this does not mean they are mentally focused on training. And the longer a training session goes on, the less engaged employees become. With bite-sized learning, short bursts of information allow for more information retained. And since employees are giving up less of their time all at once, they are more willing “to be present” during training.
6. Cost-effective
The best benefit of bite-sized learning is it saves companies money. Think about the amount of time spent in training where these employees could be at their desks working. Or the money used to hire training facilitators. And the money spent on course development. All of these costs can be reduced with bite-sized learning. Training happens in shorter periods of time and courses become more compact. This allows for more workable hours and less lengthy course building.
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