Knowledge Transfer may conjure up mental images of 1960s Sci-Fi movies where a large lever is pulled by a cackling, maniacal villain and the consciousness of some malevolent being is transferred from a rubbery-looking monster to a screaming damsel trapped in an elaborate-yet-flimsy, cocoon-like pod [no? well it will now] but sadly the truth is somewhat more mundane. Here’s what you need to know about knowledge transfer with regards to the world of eLearning and microlearning plus how it can help your business.
What is Knowledge Transfer?
Knowledge transfer is the general term used to describe sharing knowledge from one entity to another. In the context of a lesson, it means informing the student of new information. In an organisational sense it means duplicating information from said organisation to a learner in order to inform them of new processes, practices or policies. In the sphere of microlearning it’s frequently used at the beginning of a microlesson in the form of text or a video and is followed by questions to ensure that the learner has absorbed the transferred knowledge.
What are the most effective methods of knowledge transfer?
Instructional Designers are in agreement that video is one of the best media to use for knowledge transfer. It’s far more engaging than a wall of text and so getting one’s message across becomes more effective. However, too much video can become counterproductive as there are limits as to how much new information can be absorbed by most learners (see chunking strategy). As such, employing a microlearning strategy is very effective when it comes to institutional knowledge transfer – play a short video and then ask questions to reinforce your message. Further reinforcement is recommended in the form of providing context to the lesson and reiterating information regardless of whether the learner got an answer correct or incorrect.
Other ways to ensure that transfer is as successful as it can be involve adding interactive elements and gamification to your microlessons. For more information on these, check out these tips for making a great micro lesson plan.
If you’d like to try out a mobile-focused learning management system that makes knowledge transfer effective and engaging, get in touch at enquiries@edapp.com. You can also try EdApp’s Mobile LMS and authoring tool for free by signing up here.