In the wake of a merger, a business experienced recurrent clashes and turmoil, as the internal business cultures opposed each other. The values of the two original business were simply not compatible.

The business poured resources into personnel seminars, team-building and consultants, but the conflict seemed to escalate rather than die down. Then, the management came up with a new idea.

They equipped the employees with smartphones and, once a week, sent them a short video clip and some questions. The videos showed work situations in which conflicts of values could emerge, and each employee had to consider potential solutions and report back via their phone. These messages were sent during work hours, and the employees were to respond during work hours.

This got the ball rolling. Employees approached each other with increased awareness and a better repertoire of possible solutions, and the differences in values shifted and adjusted to better align with each other. Before they knew it, the two groups were truly merged.

This story was shared with us during a conference PedIT attended in 2008. Before we got home, the idea of “micro lessons” was conceived and given life. Today, it is one of the most thoroughly developed functions of PedIT.

The micro lessons are used as an addition to regular online lectures in many of our courses. Midweek, the participants get a text message notifying them of a new micro lesson, easily accessed from wherever they are.

By investing just 5 minutes of their day, the participant can take in a little bit of information, respond to a question or get a short introduction or repetition in a topic. As far back as 1885, German psychologist Ebbinghaus wrote about how small repetitions on a subject could help counteract the decline of memory after learning something new.

The micro lessons are also valuable tools for business communications. Through a short message, a business can update its employees on the latest news, ask for input, give praise for good results, train them in a new skill or repeat previous training.

This multifunctional tool helps blur the lines between training, information updates and company communication, while strengthening awareness, focus and a feeling of inclusion.

This June, PedIT is attending another conference, this time to demonstrate how our micro lessons can be used by medical centres and hospitals for educational and informational updates on pharmaceuticals.

Well-formed micro lessons make each step on the knowledge ladder easy to climb, and can help you reach the top in no time.

PedIT is so easy to use, it’s hard to believe! Perhaps you should get in touch to see what PedIT and micro lessons could do for you and your business?