It seems the timing of the learning is key. Though timing is close to the presentation (the salesperson’s waiting at the airport presumably to go to his presentation), it would be prudent for that student to study the module again. This is the idea of distributed practice: Generally, the longer the amount of time elapsed between study sessions, the longer the information is retained [...] As educators, we are concerned with long-term memory and therefore should promote distributed practice’ (pp. 15-16). In this case, the microlearning is a valuable tool to deliver just-in-time, just-enough learning to the salesperson; however, that salesperson, as a student, would benefit from revisiting the material again in order to cement their learning. Cramming through microlearning, be it in the world of business or the world of academia, will likely only yield short-term solutions; instructional designers should take note of distributed practice and build that into lesson completion or achievement. 

 

 

 

Guo PJ, Kim J, and Robin R (2014). How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S 2014); found at http://groups.csail.mit.edu/uid/other-pubs/las2014-pguo-engagement.pdf.

My question regarding this particular case is, does cramming qualify as learning? This kind of point of need access microlearning often  feels like cramming to me. That is until the information is put into action. That said, having worked with many salespeople, they can be an efficient and resourceful bunch and this module may be just what he needs to establish a good working relationship with a new prospect. In this sense the module would have suited the function  – which is to develop the lead. Others have accurately pointed out that he may not be able to effectively answer trouble shooting questions, or very technical queries. But if the module was truly intended to empower salespeople, it would give him enough to work with on the call. Ideally, this module would have beeb accessed in close proximity to exposure to the equipment to give the salesperson tactical picture of his subject. There really are many other questions, such as age, technical ability, experience, type of content in the leaning module – that all play a part in the efficacy of the micro learning in this context. Overall, I think the advantages outweigh any disadvantages. He certainly has more information about the equipment at the end of the module than he did before he accessed it.