What are micro-modules?
According to ITSC eLearning Team of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, micro-module is a part of micro-learning. It is a way of teaching and delivering content to students in small and very specific bursts that is used to support blended learning and encourage teacher-student discussion in flipped classroom.
Micro-module can be used to provide continual re-enforcement for learning and enhance the teaching quality. Instead of giving the whole lecture in one long class presentation, the lesson material is divided into sub-module parts, sub topic or "chunks" unit where the learners can have access for 24/7 review through Learning Management Systems (LMS) platform. This allows students to access and study at their own pace: reading the course materials, playing the video, listening to the audio podcast as long as needed until they gain understanding of the topic.
The delivery of micro-modules can be in a form of video presentation, audio or screen recording, or PowerPoint slide shows on a single and focus define topic.
The Challenges
The challenge is that not all teachers are comfortable with certain kind of production activities such as speak and acting in front of camera, preparing script for audio or screen recording. While some micro-modules can be produced without spending extra time on preparation, some highly produced contents which include complex graphic and animations might take much longer to prepare and require more additional resources such as equipment and experienced multimedia team: director, editor, graphic designer, animators and instructional designers.
The micro-modules concept can be a stand-alone learning pedagogy, where the entire delivery of the course is based on short-term learning activities which include illustrations, infographic, PDF, module podcast, short videos, mini projects, quizzes and assignments that allow students to study and complete within a short period of learning.
ITSC eLearning Tutorial: Micro-Modules
You can visit ITSC eLearning page and watch the turorial videos if you would like to learn more about different micro-module videos.
Process
Creating a micro-module might be a challenging task for some teachers. It starts with a goal or a vision of how you would like your students to benefit from the module;
Example
As you plan and develop micro-modules for your course, at the same time you can also gain inspiration and learn from various style and micro-module example videos available from the link below.
Resources
Dive more from our inspirational list of internal and external resources of eLearning industry leaders and practitioners.
