Bite-sized Learning, Big Returns

“I want-to-know,” “I want-to-do,” “I want-to-go,” and “I want-to-buy”. We live in a society where increasingly we live in micro-moments. One example is that 82% of people consult their phones while they're standing in a store deciding which product to buy. That behavior, coupled with less sleep and more stress, suggest that learning designers need to serve content that can be accessed anytime, anywhere, from any device. Ideally, content can be pushed or pulled to fit in these bite-sized moments.

Satisfying micro-moment needs is the secret sauce for converting inquiries into sales. Is it possible to apply the 4 “I want” moments and the 3 needs they deliver (1) Be There, (2) Be Relevant, and (3) Be Quick to course design? Is this the next iteration of mobile learning? Will it build brand (institution) loyalty?

• Be There - Instructor presence from before the course starts and ending with a follow-up after the course ends.
• Be Relevant - Be useful; design so they can find what they need, when they need it; Help them stay on the path by minimizing distractions (map to outcomes & provide the map).
• Be Quick- Help them stay on task by responding quickly

When COVID-19 disrupted education world-wide, many teachers and learners found themselves suddenly online. As vendors offered access to technology that supported delivering classes at a distance, teachers ported their in-person classes laterally to synchronous online meetings. This has become known as Emergency Remote Learning (ERL) to differentiate it from intentional online course design. Not knowing how long the pandemic would last, instructional technologists and trainers provided emergency training for institutions’ Learning Management Systems (LMS) and the meeting product (i.e., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Big Blue Button, WebEx, and ConexED). As time went on, some technologists dedicated time to research and prepare to offer HyFlex delivery and hybrid courses. Delgado Community College offered sessions to the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) faculty in designing HyFlex lessons, micro-learning, and mobile course design.

It became increasingly evident that the pandemic was not ending anytime soon. The silver lining in the disruption is not that it happened but for how long it happened. It afforded more time for learners, teachers, support service providers, and administrators to consider online learning as a viable option for classes that prior to COVID-19, they would not have considered moving online

Unfortunately, in part due to ERL delivery, and in part due to teacher and learner fatigue, student outcomes were not as strong as they could be for online and hybrid learning. In addition, many institutions experienced losses in student enrollment. They are not certain whether the students will return to their institutions or how to encourage them to return.

At the start of the pandemic, Fletcher Technical and Community College planned to launch its Global Online Learning Division. A year later, it is rebooting the launch planning. The lessons learned from COVID-19 are strongly influencing the formation of the division and related support services. It is directly driving top-down and bottom-up improvements in course design, course quality certification, instructor certification, starting with a review of program and course outcomes. COVID-19 illuminated learner requirements for online and distance education. We strongly anticipate that by applying the constructs of micro-moments to online and distance education to address the learner requirements, we will better serve the students and move the needle for learner success. We also anticipate that over time, this new model of course design will be popular with students and permit stable and sustainable enrollment.  Designing courses for micro-moments enables flexible and agile design and delivery, using short bursts of relevant content, activities and assessments, and for providing quick, meaningful feedback.

Organization of the Session: Provide a clear outline of the content to be covered during your session and incorporate realistic timeframes and descriptions for each segment. It is important for the information in this section to align with the other elements of the proposal.

(5-7 mins)           Welcome & Introduction

• What are micro-moments? (Fact or fiction poll format in PlayPosit)
• Why apply them to course design and delivery? (open-ended poll in chat)

(20-25 mins)    Pedagogical Strategies

• What have we identified?
• Example Lesson & Q&A (Ask what audience thinks the benefit is for each strategy - Jamboard, Lucidspark or Miro collaborative activity)

(10 minutes)   The Results

• Results
• Next Steps

(5-10 Mins) Q & A

At the end the session, participants:

1. should be able to explain micro-moments
2. should be able to describe why and how micro-moments can be applied to course design and delivery

Note: We are open to presenting as Discovery Session. I think it is limited to a 15-minute prresetation?