Image: Unsplash.com/ Stephen Phillips
These days, online students’ education is far removed from traditional learning as we know it. Rather than keeping their eyes glued to textbooks in exa
m-oriented, teacher-dominant learning environments, students are eager to try new options, which is why learning WordPress is on the rise.
Recently conceived, these methods are specifically designed to address the idiosyncrasies of modern students who are learning remotely. Among the most popular and effective among these approaches is, of course, using microlearning techniques in WordPress e-learning.
The main goal behind microlearning is to give online students digestible content that they can excitedly sink their teeth into and that isn’t overly time-consuming.
This bite-sized content resides within equally bite-sized modules that, ideally, keep learners focused on their material, subsequently allowing them to master the platform and become adept plugin users.
So, to that end, let’s discuss ways we can integrate microlearning techniques in WordPress e-learning, as well as tools needed to improve the students’ experience.
Breaking Down The Power Of Microlearning Techniques in WordPress e-Learning
Learning pretty much anything online may seem daunting if you’ve not yet dipped your toes into that topic, but WordPress can seem particularly intimidating.
Between its diverse array of features and a seemingly unending list of functionalities, it isn’t always the easiest website builder to use. That’s where microlearning techniques in WordPress and their promise of turning big concepts into digestible modules come in.
Regardless of their experience levels, online students can take advantage of focused modules that lower the barrier to enrollment and can help them get their hands dirty quickly when it comes to learning
Microlearning also gives online educators the freedom to craft educational content that grabs the attention of students and helps them absorb what they’re learning effectively.
A 5-minute lesson is much easier to advertise than, let’s say, a 2-hour comprehensive course.
Microlearning Techniques in WordPress (e-Learning) in Real-Life
Image: Pixabay.com/ Gerd Altmann
Let’s say we’ve got ourselves a complete newcomer to WordPress who’s ready to dive into the subject and gain a deeper understanding of the WordPress website builder.
If we told you that their first exposure to WordPress in an online education setting was to create custom WP post types, would you say they had an easy or difficult time?
Yeah, we both know the answer to that question.
So rather than throwing a newbie straight into the deep end expecting them to sink or swim with advanced-level content, online educators can give newcomers to WordPress a handy series of bite-sized modules. Each of them can focus on a specific task which is coming up with custom post types in this case.
In addition, one module can cover the basics of making those posts, whereas another dives into fiddling with custom fields. A third one can also focus on visual elements, mainly images, and UI aspects. Ultimately, the goal behind each module is to address a single facet of the process, which gives online students a great foundation that they can build incrementally and at their own pace.
Keep in mind that this process of constructing microlearning modules can apply to practically any topic that’s WordPress-related. A seasoned WordPress veteran can still benefit from a series of modules that incrementally build on previous lessons.
This is especially important when learning how to convert HEIC to JPG, because conversions like this are important when it comes to maintaining compatibility across various platforms and devices. As a result, online educators can design user-friendly solutions to navigating this conversion process with a series of WordPress microlearning modules. Likewise, it’s also a great opportunity to showcase various plugins to students.
Boosting Online Learners’ Knowledge Retention And Material Engagement
A successful series of microlearning modules does more than just break down complicated concepts into bite-sized pieces. It can also increase engagement rates and knowledge retention among online students.
It’s not much of a secret that our attention spans are smaller than they’ve ever been. E-learning platforms are necessary to reconcile dwindling attention with the ongoing need to provide online students with quality and effective educational content that keeps them interested.
Microlearning, ideally, achieves this reconciliation by giving online students content in short enough bursts that they don’t feel overwhelmed or like they can’t keep up with the course material.
The structure that microlearning techniques in WordPress offer is also highly conducive to the typically hectic schedules of online students (they’re learning remotely for a reason, after all). Once they’ve completed a module within a matter of minutes, students are likely to feel an exhilarating sense of motivation to move on to the next module and overcome it in an equally small amount of time.
Using WP Plugins with Microlearning Techniques in WordPress e-Learning
Image: Unsplash.com/ Stephen Phillips
Fortunately, WordPress is versatile enough that it can seamlessly integrate microlearning with the help of added plugins. These plugins and additional WordPress tools are key to rounding out an online student’s microlearning experience and catering to their specific needs as well as those of online educators.
Here are some ways to blend plugins with microlearning techniques in WordPress (e-Learning):
- Content chunking. Online educators can effectively break down their course content with plugins that enable content chunking. Content chunking with WordPress plugins involves dividing course material into logical sections that learners can navigate at their own pace and based on their experience levels.
- Reinforce knowledge retention with quizzes. Interactive quizzes for reinforcement are easy ways for online educators to keep their students focused and engaged with material that feels like it’s fresh and consistently varied. Educators can use plugins to place these quizzes at the end of each module, improving student retention and soliciting feedback on quiz performance.
- Use plugins to track progress. It’s a no-brainer that tracking progress is key to any e-learning environment, and WP plugins are specifically designed to help educators track the progress of their online students. Conversely, learners can also track the efficiency of their microlearning techniques in WordPress, whether it’s comparing themselves to other users or their personal goals and benchmarks.
- Incorporate some gamification. Gamification includes objectives, tasks, and activities that keep students motivated and introduce unique elements like points and badges that feel like they came straight out of a AAA video game developer’s latest release. Educators can also expand and include rankings, unique titles, and limited prizes, all with the goal of fostering a competitive and high-octane learning environment.
Conclusion
By using proper microlearning techniques in WordPress learning programs, online educators can nurture improvements in knowledge retention and engagement among their online students with varied, digestible, and innovative series of microlearning modules.
Whether you’re teaching online students at the beginner, intermediate, or advanced level, microlearning makes it easy for you as an educator to deliver content to your students. It’s not difficult to implement, but once you do it, your online students will remain focused, motivated, and, most importantly, work toward continuous improvement.