Need some snack learning ?

Belinda Japhet 

By Belinda Japhet

In Summary

As a tech-optimist I would like to think that it’s not so much that we are becoming less able to pay attention to information for long periods of time, rather I think that we are infected with a severe case of fear of missing out (FOMO). There is so much information surrounding us, there is so much to see and so many interesting things to consume that we are becoming more and more unable to sacrifice too much time on one thing.

One of the criticisms thrown at the digital generation is that they seem unable to focus. Researchers have given us ample proof that our attention spans are not what they used to be. We can’t read online texts without huge photograph supplements, video and audio to keep us interested. Even the world of entertainment has realised this and now entertainment packages are smaller and easier to consume, hence the rise of webisodes. The literary world too has taken notice, hence the rise of flash fiction, short-short stories which can go down to 100 words.

As a tech-optimist I would like to think that it’s not so much that we are becoming less able to pay attention to information for long periods of time, rather I think that we are infected with a severe case of fear of missing out (FOMO). There is so much information surrounding us, there is so much to see and so many interesting things to consume that we are becoming more and more unable to sacrifice too much time on one thing.

Of course this inability to focus on one thing applies to the world of learning and educators are taking note and developing learning tools that offer up snack sized bits of learning for students on the go. These single-serve educational bites may make it easier for students to tackle the ever-increasing amount of information they need to know, from mastering a programming language to learning the basics of and everything in between. Mobile devices are a perfect extension of this concept, allowing learners to engage in short bursts of learning while waiting in line, on the bus or sitting on the couch. Anthony Gratson of sdiclarity.com writes: “Many eLearning courses that follow the traditional “all-at-once” model require a significant amount of time to complete, which can lead to high amounts of frustration, information overload, and procrastination. “Snacking” provides a lighter, less-stressful context in which learners can bite off bits and pieces of the larger course during their break times, long commutes (as a passenger, of course!), airport wait times, etc.”

Snack learning enthusiasts maintain that people need regular prompts and encouragement to practice and apply their learnings, otherwise training initiatives can be a waste of valuable corporate time and money.

Of course snack learning is not suitable for all situations but it has its time and place. And one of the most suitable places for it is in higher learning distant learning institutions such as Open University. Snack learning would be helpful to students at these institutions because they tend to be more mature, self-driven and often juggle between work, school and even raising a family.

Microsoft has already launched a free learning snacks service. The service includes free, short, interactive presentations about popular topics and have been created by Microsoft Learning experts. Each Snack is delivered by using innovative Microsoft Silverlight technology and includes various media, such as animations and recorded demos.

And, as you can see from the examples above, snack learning can be easy to implement for educators, since most of these learning “bits” require very little planning time or additional materials. Dana Peters, CEO, Mondo Learning Solutions says “There are various ways to foster continuous learning on a topic by incorporating ways for participants to continue to share ideas, successes and new information. Social media style communication tools, job aids, email shout-outs, discussion boards, lunch & learn opportunities, and buddy assignments are just a few ways to keep the learning alive.

All and all, snack-sized learning is about being focused, on target, concise, creative, and very in tune with your learners and stakeholders.”

Snack learning is also perfect for the workplace. The simple method may revolutionise how employees can learn and managers can impact corporate communication.

People would receive frequent bite-sized chunks of information delivered fast and automatically to their mobile phone or PC, to reinforce their learnings and your key corporate messages. Therefore every employee across the organisation can have their own personal trainer, prompting them to take action and focus on their success.