Skip to main content

Week 4, Post 1: Microlearning Challenges

 In my exploration of this week's articles, the first one to catch my attention was about the use of microlearning challenges to promote student self-directed learning. This article was particularly interesting to me because I value the use of microlearning in an educational context. With all the new learning trends going on, microlearning has been increasingly utilized due the its flexibility, motivational elements, engagement, and other things like shortness. So when I noticed this article being on the list, I was interested to learn more about the impact that this form of learning is having in our Higher Education Institutions. 

With any type of learning, it is very necessary to have certain guidelines in place for how learners need to participate or go about their learning. Microlearning is one of those instances where learners still need some type of reward for participation which in this case is making it a requirement within a course. In the case of the article, we see this with the badges that were awarded to students based on challenge completion. At the same time, students get to take the lead for how they go about their learning based on the time flexibility, options for learning, and finding ways to incorporate what they're learning within a given course. 

Something I noted was that the researchers talked about how "Motivating voluntary learners is one of the biggest challenges of any optional learning experience " (Dennen et.Al p.176). This is a great point that was brought up, considering that learners tend to focus on required course materials and assignments. It is certainly a challenge to have people do something that is optional, which is why some sort of reward would be helpful in promoting participation. 


Reference

Dennen, V. P., Arslan, Ö., & Bong, J. (2024). Optional embedded microlearning challenges: Promoting self-directed learning and extension in a higher education course. Educational Technology & Society, 27(1), 166-182. https://doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202401_27(1).SP04 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My First Blog

 Welcome to Kenia's Corner! As someone who is unfamiliar with blogs, I am a little concerned about how well this is going to be. If you happen to be reading this, please feel free to leave some words of encouragement.  For this first blog post, I wanted to share my ideas regarding the concept of Web 2.0. I think that Web 2.0 changed the internet dramatically and shaped it into what we all now conceive as the online world. In this week's reading, I was interested in learning about the history of the web and how the different versions are different from the excerpt of Dr Dennen's upcoming book. The beginning of the internet was so exciting, and it grew even more over the last couple of decades to have such an abundant resource of information. The plethora of resources we have now is thanks to Web 2.0, where we can share information while also consuming it.  Despite the web developing into a big resource, I consider all this information's negative side effects. It sometime
6 comments
Read more

Dearest Readers... (Bridgerton)

Any Bridgerton fans in this course? If so, please let me know your thoughts about the first half of the new season so far.  For those who are unfamiliar, Bridgeton is a series that follows a powerful family amidst their search for love while navigating London's high society. Since I am now caught up with the new season, I wanted to share some remarks regarding lady Whistledown and how exciting it is every time she shares her thoughts and gossip about society. Now, in that society, there is a patriarchal system but imagine it being on steroids as women are not allowed much to do. So Lady Whistledown has been keeping a hidden identity while writing about her society.  Now that you've had that introduction, I wanted to talk about how Lady Whistledown's articles would have been ideal for a blog in this day and age. Her articles would have made a popular blog, as a lot of people love to hear about the gossip and things that go on in the communities they are part of. Now the adva
3 comments
Read more

Is Social Media a Practical Method for Learning?

 In this week's readings, one of the articles I read was about the case study done on high school students and how they use social media platforms for informal learning. The article, titled "Teens and Social Media: A Case Study of High School Students’ Informal Learning Practices and Trajectories," found that students can potentially learn through non-traditional methods, such as social media when it aligns with their interests. The primary themes found within the research were that there are three sorts of informal learning that include "career/future planning, entrepreneurship, and hobbies" (baggy et al. 242).These themes came as no surprise as we are aware that there are algorithms on social media for a reason. However, it was interesting to see career planning as one of the main ones that came up.  When I think about the concept of learning through social media, I think more about entrepreneurship and hobbies. There have been several instances where people h
4 comments
Read more