Module 2: Microlearning and Mobile Accessibility

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Technology grows every day!

Moore's Law (1965) even notes that the processing power that a computer is capable of performing doubles every two years. This is all happening while the size of a computer is getting smaller. Remember! A computer is not just what we sit at our desks all day working on. Computers are all around us. They are our phones, tablets, eReaders, and even cars and traffic lights. When technology is so accessible, why would we ONLY learn in a traditional classroom setting?

This is why the use of microlearning has made an impact on modern technology-based education. MicroLearning is a complex approach to education based on using web content to connect activities that are of shorter duration (Javorcik & Polasek, 2019, p. 255, para. 4). Learning that happens through the internet with videos, apps, and websites is an idea that has been around since the basic accessibility of the internet. Now that the internet is on your phone, microlearning is now accessible anywhere. YouTube tutorials, quick-read blogs (like this one), and info-graphics have made learning high-speed, differentiated, mobile, and possible for just about every topic, even beyond K-12 education.

Recently, I have developed a website-based app that can be saved onto the home screen of your mobile device. This app has been designed as a workplace training that can be web and mobile accessible. It assists teachers who are new to a teaching schedule that involves two schools. Before a school year begins and the summer is in full swing, teachers are still working to prepare for the new year. "Nationally, 99 percent of teachers participated in one or more professional learning activities over the summer," (Steiner et al., 2021). By allowing teachers to have this information as an app, it can be reviewed on their own time and does not require a specific professional learning experience, schedule, or cost. The information can be accessible wherever the educator may be (because teachers deserve a vacation too). This allows the education to take a moment to be outside of the time-consuming, presenter-based learning experiences. The tips, tricks, and skills provided in the Split School Teaching App are sorted into categories to allow for information to be presented in smaller pieces of information. This can be beneficial when preparing for the new year and for recapping when a specific situation occurs during the year. The app also allows for the storage of key takeaways to look back on as the year progresses.

By allowing for microlearning opportunities for educators to bring new ideas into their own learning environment, teachers have time to prepare and apply what they know. The busy schedules they experience may begin to feel less stressful when the learning can control the amount of content being presented and the accessibility of the information.

To access the mentioned app, you can click on this link to view it.

If you are interested in knowing more information about the app, including the learning objectives and app instructions, you can view the infographic below.

For more information about microlearning or the advancement of computing technology, check out the references for this post.

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References

Javorcik, T., & Polasek, R. (2019). Practical application of microlearning in education of future teachers. Proceedings of the European Conference on E-Learning. https://doi.org/10.34190/eel.19.031

Moore, G. E. (1965). Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits. Electronics Magazine, 38(8), 1–6.

Steiner, E. D., Stelitano, L., Bogart, A., & Meyers, S. (2021). The Promise of Summer as a Time for Teacher Professional Learning: Findings from a National Survey and Implications from the BellXcel Program. In RAND Corporation eBooks. RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/rra196-1