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Microlearning and Moodle, part 8

Microlearning examples.

Here I continue my reflections on Microlearning.

Using the Wikipedia page on Microlearning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microlearning as the starting point for these reflections. And trying to closely tie this page to my real-world practice with Moodle, H5P, and our ElearningWorld Mobile App.

The Wikipedia page concludes with some examples of MIcrolearning.

Let’s see how they sit with me…

  • Reading a paragraph of text, e-mail or SMS
    • A paragraph of text, or an SMS (or email of the equivalent length) – yes!  This meets my “Coffee test” for microlearning … can the learning activity take place in less time than it takes me to order and receive my coffee?
  • Listening to an informational (short) podcast
    • Hmmmm, a short ‘podcast’ ?  Might be better to think of microlearning example here as a short audio clip?
  • Watching a short video clip
    • Yes
  • Viewing a flashcard
    • Yes (options exist right now using H5P object)
  • Memorising a word, vocabulary, definition or formula
    • Yes
  • Sorting a set of (micro-content) items by chronological order
    • Seems a bit specific – ‘sorting’ – but the idea here is that one could quickly rank, prioritise, or otherwise order some content. Trying to think if there are any H5P content types that allow this, even on a mobile device?
  • Selecting an answer to a question
    • Yes (easy in Moodle, or just with a H5P object)
  • Answering questions in quizzes
    • Being careful here, quizzes are not by their nature automatically ‘short and sweet’ – I think I prefer the above “answer A question”
  • Playful learning with micro-games
    • This is where H5P might be perfect?
  • Composing a haiku or a short poem
    • Hmmmm, that stands out a bit. Not sure it passes my Coffee Test. And it also feels different to other examples here because it’s about generating something new, rather than consuming a bite of information or learning content.
  • Writing or drawing a reflection on just-viewed content
    • Again, this could be quite time-consuming, I know learners who would agonise over this for 30 minutes no problem!
  • Rating confidence in an answer to a question
    • Hmmmm, Certainty Based Testing? Moodle has a great feature for teachers to be able to add this to quiz questions. It’s not a lot different to “answering a question” to be honest, and maybe should be part of the same microlearning event and example?

I can definitely see a series of simple questions, maybe each day, that users get used to responding to working well. Over time (several weeks or months) this would represent an interesting figure in a gradebook.

This list of examples is useful, at least for newer content creators and teachers who want some quick ideas.

I think readers here can probably do better than this list though!

Anyone want to share their ideas?

Stuart Mealor
Latest posts by Stuart Mealor (see all)

Stuart Mealor

Stuart is interested in all things e-learning, with specific interests in Moodle, e-learning strategy, and business development. His experience in education over 30 years, MBA in International Business, and knowledge of e-learning systems implementation, together with graphic design background, give him a unique skill set for e-learning projects.

2 thoughts on “Microlearning and Moodle, part 8

  • Jane Shaw

    An interesting summary, Stuart. The one that stood out for me was the “sorting by chronological order”. I can see this being useful in terms of using clones to demonstrate a basic understanding of terminology, especially in science based learning. I’m off to play around with this idea …

    Reply
    • blank ElearningWorld Admin

      It will be interesting to see what ideas you come up with!

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