Microlearning Videos for Learning & Development

In my recent article “Global Learning & Development with Digital Academies” I wrote about Microlearning Videos being an important content format for Digital Academies.

The goal of this article is to take a closer look at the benefits of animated Microlearning Videos and to show you how easy it is for L&D and HR professionals to get their custom #microlearningvideo, based on their organization’s internal learning content.

In addition, at the end of this article, I invite you for a short experiment to see if reading an article or watching a short video is more engaging?!

As you know, video is one of the most popular ways for how people learn and consume content both on desktop and mobile devices. We use video for entertainment (e.g.: TV / Netflix) and for education (e.g.: YouTube / Video Podcasts).

Many of us (including myself) prefer watching a video to reading a lengthy article, however inconvenient it might be to admit this.

We are all used to learning new skills via YouTube and other video tutorials and this is especially true for millennial and post-millennial generations. 

So, if video is such a natural content preference in our daily lives why don’t we use it more as part of our professional #learninganddevelopment?

Corporate learning does not have to be boring and we can simply take content formats that we like to consume in our private lives and use them to create more engaging professional L&D experiences.

This is why we at Lighthouse have been developing custom-made Microlearning Videos for our clients, as part of larger L&D Programs / Learning Journeys and as stand-alone learning interactions.

Let’s look at some of the benefits Microlearning Videos offer:

Bite-sized

Microlearning videos break down learning into short, easily digestible pieces, making content easier to understand and remember. In addition, they help to retain a higher percentage of newly acquired knowledge by building a narrative that is easy to follow.

Just-in-time

Microlearning videos are available to your learners at the moment of their learning need on both mobile and desktop devices. This supports on-the-job learning and fits in with the 70-20-10 Framework.

Quick & Engaging

Microlearning videos are perfect for engaging adult learners with short attention spans and appeal to millennial learners. When L&D professionals tell a story with their very own Microlearning Video they can grab learners’, employees’, customers' and stakeholders’ attention alike.

The creative process of developing a Microlearning Video consists out of 4 steps with minimal time investment required from L&D / HR professionals. Lighthouse will take care of the entire production process and deliver your custom-made, animated microlearning explainer videos with narration and music. In other words, we will help you wow your learners, customers, and help you look good in front of senior management.

As a first step, the client chooses their learning topic and shares any internal core learning content (presentations, documents, etc.) with Lighthouse and chooses the preferred voice artist for the narration. At this stage, you will already know exactly how much your video project will cost.

Next, our team writes the video script and develops a storyboard that will help L&D / HR professionals envision the Microlearning Video before it is even developed. This storyboard helps our clients give concrete feedback and their feedback can be quickly implemented.

After the script and storyboard are finalized the video development and animation begins. Our designers and video experts will make sure the video fits the client’s corporate identity, integrate the narration from one of our expert voice artists, and include ambient music.

Last, but not least, the client can share their feedback about the video and after all feedback has been implemented share the final Microlearning Video with their learners by sending the video to them directly or uploading it to their Learning Management System. The final video can be used by an unlimited number of learners, which can significantly reduce the per-learner investment. 

And now, let’s get to our short experiment to see if reading an article or watching a short video is more engaging?!

If you got this far you probably read the whole article or scrolled ahead after seeing the long text.  Now you can compare your reading experience to watching the following video:

Let me know about your experience (reading vs. watching the video) in the comments below.

If you liked this article give it a like and feel free to connect with me here on LinkedIn at Peter Biro and follow our journey at Lighthouse Organizational Development.