Microlearning, Macro Impact

Microlearning is something that piqued my curiosity as a teacher, as I thought it might be a practical tool to help me with some issues I was facing in the classroom. The students I was working with were often coming from traumatic experiences, suffering from post-COVID brain fog, or simply under a huge amount of pressure to pass IELTS. 

I wondered if it was possible to take something as mammoth as IELTS material and break it into bite-sized chunks. Would it be worth it? Would the students actually learn anything? Do I even have the time to apply this to my classes? 

I’ve never been a particularly “techy” teacher, but, along with nearly everyone on the planet, I’ve become friends with ChatGPT. I’ve found that while it rarely produces perfection, it does get me off the blank page when thinking about content. 

In the webinar, I gave a very brief walkthrough of how to create slides on 7taps, but before we actually start producing ready-to-use resources, a good deal of planning needs to happen first. 

Let’s look at the steps involved: 

1. Start with a Clear Goal 

Before anything else, get clear on your why. What should someone walk away knowing or being able to do after tapping through your micro-lesson? 

Keep it specific. For example: 

“By the end of this, you’ll be able to identify idiomatic language that is appropriate for essay writing.” 

Short, sharp, and straight to the point. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs to help you create impactful learning objectives: 

https://www.utica.edu/academic/Assessment/new/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20-%20Best.pdf 

2. Know Your Audience! 

Who are you making it for? 

What is their current proficiency level? 

What device will they be using? And what’s their tech proficiency like? 

Understanding your audience means you can choose the right language, tone, examples—and even the right kind of visuals. Also, think mobile: they’re probably doing this on their phone with one thumb while juggling life (or sitting on the toilet). 

3. Map Out Your 7 Taps 

Think of these as your slides or building blocks. Each tap should serve a purpose and build on the last. 

Here’s a simple template you can tweak to fit your topic: 

Tap What to Include 1 A hook: grab attention with a stat, question, or image 2 Key idea #1 3 Key idea #2 4 Key idea #3 5 Real-life example or scenario 6 Quick quiz or knowledge check 7 Wrap-up and a call to action 

You don’t need to be rigid—if you want two taps for interactivity or a tap for a video clip, go for it. 

4. Keep the Content Light! 

Don’t try to pack too much into one card (aim for 30–50 words max). 

Think about your formatting: 

1. Bulleted lists 

2. Bold text for key points 

3. Emojis or icons (if appropriate) ???? 

5. What About Visuals? 

100% text can be quite boring—mix things up! Add: 

1. Images 

2. Icons 

3. GIFs 

4. Short videos 

5. Interactive cards like role plays, quizzes, and polls 

6. Test It Out! 

Before you hit publish, preview it, trial it, and tweak it. 

Get a colleague or friend to test it out and give you feedback! 

7. Don’t Forget About AI 

All of this applies whether you’re building a microlearning resource from scratch or using AI tools to help you along the way. 

AI is far from perfect—you’ll still need to go in and edit the cards if you generate one automatically. 

So, what’s the difference between AI Generating and AI Transformation? 

1. AI Generating gives you a series of questions to answer so it can gather enough information about your students, content, and context to generate a microlearning resource. 

2. AI Transformation allows you to upload an existing PowerPoint, PDF, or link. It then reads your content and creates a microlearning version of that resource. 

In both cases, it’s highly recommended you use your human eyes and brain to check everything it generates! 

AI is a tool we should use to cut down preparation time and get us off the blank page—but nothing beats putting your own personal, human touch on it.