Microlearning: A Workout for Your Brain
You’re having kopi with friends and the conversations have gotten predictable. There’s the urge to bring meaningful discussions to the table but you’re not sure where to start. It’s tiring enough trying to keep your grandchildren entertained without toys or mobile devices while their parents are at work. Or maybe mental stimulation just isn’t high on the priority list when you’re doing the right thing and staying safe indoors most of the time.
Picking up new skills or ideas can be an excellent way to exercise your brain and improve your mental agility. But if you’ve got precious little time to spare, with distractions all around, e-learning can easily become a victim of procrastination.
Enter microlearning, the trending “younger sister” of e-learning. It’s widely used in business environments for training and development, and has gained popularity amongst individuals thanks to its engaging and media-rich nature.
What Is Microlearning?
As its name suggests, microlearning means learning in short bursts, sometimes in as quickly as three minutes. Contrast this with regular online learning, which may take up to hours, even days. Microlearning works because it plays nice with your attention span and working memory, cutting to the chase without forcing you to sift through heaps of background information.
Microlearning has many advantages: it’s informal, on-demand, and highly customised, meaning that creators out there are continuously producing content to fulfil all types of learning needs. Accessibility is also a plus point as content is widely available on mobile devices.
How to Engage in Microlearning
With so many social media platforms and learning apps at your disposal, look for content creators that support microlearning by delivering bite-sized content. Use a method of delivery that best suits you: if you’re a visual learner with squirmy toddlers in tow, kill two birds with one stone by watching a YouTube tutorial on how to create origami. If you’re an auditory learner, tune in to short podcasts on audio streaming platforms like Spotify for some fresh perspectives on current affairs for your next kopi session.
Using Microlearning to Improve Brain Functions
The frontal lobe is the front part of the brain highly involved in maintaining our memory, judgement and attention span. It’s also commonly linked to diseases such as dementia. Engaging in short bursts of learning and repetition helps to keep the gears in your brain moving and increases your memory retention ability. If you intend to strengthen your mind in your golden years, what better way than to start with microlearning?
Non-Digital Microlearning
Microlearning may have gained popularity in this digital age, but if you find yourself without easy access to mobile devices or the Internet, fret not. Our libraries are treasure troves of resources — simply head down to a library and take your pick from a variety of topics and learning tools.
Here’s an idea to get you started: borrow a language handbook and take a few minutes daily to learn a new word or a sentence. You can even challenge yourself and take your self-taught language learning to the next level by writing a poem within a time limit.
Learning in the face of a pandemic need not be daunting. Done right, microlearning can be a worthwhile endeavour that’ll help you sustain a healthy mind in the long run.
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Text by
Seri Mazliana
National Library Board
