24 minutes a week to learn

The modern learner has just 24 minutes a week to devote to corporate training and development, equivalent to only 1% of a typical working week. According to a Deloitte study, today's employee is overwhelmed and unwilling to spend too much time on an in-person or online course.

The research also finds that learners are usually distracted and impatient, and want access to content at the very moment they need it. With the possibilities offered by today's technology, and smartphones evolving to do practically everything a computer can do, patience has diminished considerably. A slow-loading website, for example, leads customers to leave and move on to another one.

Faced with this trend, organizations have also had to adapt and redesign their learning strategies. To do so, they are increasingly turning to microlearning. Microlearning modules averaging 3 to 5 minutes help organizations keep learners engaged with the topics being taught. Shorter modules keep the demands on learners' patience in check.

Philip Guo, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Rochester, examined online learning statistics and found that learning content should be less than 9 minutes long to hold learners' attention. Ideally, microlearning modules should also include short videos, animations, PDF files, interactive infographics and mini-games to engage learners and help them learn in the 24 minutes a week they devote to it.