More microlearning: Here’s how to do it right
April 22, 2020
Build a security awareness campaign in minutes with Infosec's Outsmart Them All kit
Back in January, one of my esteemed Infosec colleagues, Tyler Schultz, wrote a blockbuster article blowing the lid off this whole microlearning strategy thing (Why microlearning works: A security awareness perspective, January 2020). It’s an informative read and for many security awareness practitioners, offering bite-sized training over time makes a lot of sense. It’s effective by increasing information retention through repetition and has the additional benefit of allowing employees to quickly complete the training without disrupting their workday schedule — which will make the boss happy.
Good microlearning succeeds by condensing complex security awareness concepts into small, easily-consumed bits of memorable training. To help you get a firmer grasp of what works for bite-size learning chunks, let’s take a look at a few good examples that caught my eye. They will give you good ideas for building your own microlearning package.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a treasure trove of short, to-the-point, learning videos. The videos are professionally made and NIST presents them in an easy to navigate gallery. You’ll want to check out the Information Technology collection, but I don’t mind admitting I got my geek on and dug around in the other collections, too.
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) is another organization with a strong grasp on effective microlearning. I like the downloadable tip sheets and infographics you can find in its Media Room. Here is an infographic from the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign promoting the good careers that can be made in cybersecurity. This particular infographic has one section with a list of great resources for future cybersecurity pros. I’ve shared this infographic more times than I can remember.
Let’s take a step away from the cybersecurity world and look this fun little bit of microlearning. Bread baking has become hugely popular again with so many people staying safe at home during the pandemic. There are numerous long video tutorials online, but this BuzzFeed post perfectly embraces the concept with this set of short, fun and engaging bread-scoring videos.
Infosec IQ is rolling out its latest microlearning-style phishing simulation and training kit called Outsmart Them All. The kit is free and gives you everything you’ll need to assemble a 12-month security awareness program in about five minutes. It includes amazingly realistic phishing templates, animated education pages, posters, and complete step-by-step campaign instructions.
Employees are the greatest asset in the fight against phishing. Download the free Outsmart Them All phishing simulation and training kit, build a campaign in minutes and teach your workforce to detect and report every phishing email invading their inbox.
