The Mindtools L&D Podcast

In Learning & Development, we love a good buzzword: 'blended learning', 'micro learning', 'learning management systems'... anything with 'learning', really. Is this a problem? Or just a time-wasting argument? This week on The GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by the eLearning Guild's David Kelly to discuss. If you'd like to share your thoughts on the show, you can find us on Twitter @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson and @LnDDave. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. For everything eLearning Guild, visit: elearningguild.com The Learning Solutions Conference and Expo runs March 26-28. See: learningsolutions19.com The Realities360 Conference and Expo runs June 25-27. See: realities360.com The DevLearn Conference and Expo runs October 23-25. See: DevLearn19.com For Owen's WILTW on Einstein and Feynman, see: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8742/did-einstein-say-if-you-cant-explain-it-simply-you-dont-understand-it-well-en  Dave recommended the Cooper Hewitt Museum, online at: https://www.cooperhewitt.org/  For a review of the learning styles literature, see: Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological science in the public interest, 9(3), 105-119. The article is available online, but for those seeking a short version, the key paragraphs are: "Although the literature on learning styles is enormous, very few studies have even used an experimental methodology capable of testing the validity of learning styles applied to education. Moreover, of those that did use an appropriate method, several found results that flatly contradict the popular meshing hypothesis. "We conclude therefore, that at present, there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning-styles assessments into general educational practice." This does not mean that learning styles do not exist, but that there is not yet any evidence for the concept making an effective contribution to how people learn.

At this year's Learning Technologies conference, we asked delegates what they thought was missing from the learning-tech industry. Better authoring tools? More interactive video? Dogs as learning stimulants? On this week's show, Ross D, Ross G and Owen discuss a few of the more interesting responses.  If you'd like to share your thoughts on the show, you can find us on Twitter @ross__dickie, @RossGarnerGP and @owenferguson. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. For an overview of single sign-on, check out this entry on Wikipedia.  The Freakonomics episode Ross G refers to is 'The Future of Meat'.

Many organisations regard digital transformation as a strategic priority. But what exactly do we mean when we talk about digital transformation, and where does culture fit into the equation? This week on the podcast, Ross D and Owen are joined by Julie Drybrough from Fuchsia Blue and Daniel Caborn from Manchester Metropolitan University to discuss the role L&D can play in supporting digital transformation. If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can find us on Twitter @ross__dickie, @owenferguson, @fuchsia_blue and @DanielCaborn. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. A summary of the Deloitte research Ross D mentions can be found on the HBR website. If you'd like to brush up on your physics, the two podcast episodes Dan refers to are The Measurement of Time and The Physics of Time. The Dropout podcast, charting the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, is available on the ABC Radio website. If you're interested in learning more about Manchester Metropolitan University's programme to improve the student journey, more details can be found here. Manchester Metropolitan University also have their own podcast, MetCast, including a recent episode on Industry 4.0. 

Think of an experience that triggered such an emotional reaction that your behaviour was permanently changed. Such experiences often happen by accident, but they can also be designed. This week on the GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G is joined by Owen and PA Consulting's Kenny Temowo to discuss experience design in detail, and ask whether it can be scaled to reach larger audiences. If you'd like to share your thoughts on the show, you can find us on Twitter @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson and @K_Temowo. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. Kenny blogs on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktem1/detail/recent-activity/posts/  The 'crossing the line' experience to demonstrate privilege can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5fbQ1-zps  Cathy Moore's Haji Kamal scenario is discussed on Cathy's blog: http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2010/05/elearning-example-branching-scenario/   The College of Extraordinary Experiences in Poland is online at: https://www.extraordinary.college/  Kenny's work-in-progress acrostic for 'experience design' is: U - Unexpected (Do people know it is going to happen?) S - Setting (Where will you set the experience?) H - Humour (Can you disarm, without harming?) I - Interaction (Can you focus on the interaction, rather than tech?) F - Frame (How will you frame the experience?) T - Task (What will the challenges be during the experience?) The paper Owen discussed was: Morehead, K., Dunlosky, J., & Rawson, K. A. (2019). How Much Mightier Is the Pen than the Keyboard for Note-Taking? A Replication and Extension of Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014). Educational Psychology Review, 1-28. You can find out more about China's moon-based botany at: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/plants-flowers-international-space-station-moon-mars/581491/  NASA's surprisingly comprehensive list of U.S. material on the Moon is online at: https://history.nasa.gov/FINAL%20Catalogue%20of%20Manmade%20Material%20on%20the%20Moon.pdf 

It's widely accepted that storytelling can be a powerful tool for L&D professionals. But what do we actually mean when we talk about storytelling and how does it apply to learning design?  This week on the podcast Ross D and James are joined by guest Stephanie Hubka of Protos Learning. If you'd like to share your thoughts on the show, you can find us on Twitter @ross__dickie, @JamesMcLuckie and @StephanieHubka. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. Information on Stephanie's session at ATD 2019 can be found here.  You can watch Luke Merrick's storytelling webinar on the ELN website. The article Stephanie mentions about the relationship between learning and discomfort can be found on Inc.com. The travel website Stephanie runs with her husband is called Road Unraveled. 

A great onboarding experience involves plenty of forms, a few handshakes, and a small chance of a working laptop - or so it might seem. But does it have to be so bureaucratic? We think not. On this week's GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by the CIPD's David Hayden and GP Strategies' Danny Seals to explore a better approach. We discuss the link between recruitment and onboarding, the role of the manager, and the characteristics of a great experience. And we take a stab at defending the word 'onboarding'. If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can find us on Twitter @RossGarnerGP, @owenferguson, @HaydenDavidhrd and @DannyBoy83. The article David referenced from Personnel Today is available at:  https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/new-hires-not-getting-what-they-need-from-onboarding/ David also recommended The Building Centre, at: https://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/ The last time Ross mentioned Freakonomics was in episode 110: http://podcast.goodpractice.com/110-whats-in-your-ld-book-bag And the source for Ross' fact about Alexei Leonov's handgun was The Two Sides of the Moon, by Leonov and David Scott, available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Sides-Moon-David-Scott/dp/1480449237  The CIPD's podcasts are available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts  And Danny's MindChimp podcast is on Podbean: https://mindchimp.podbean.com/ 

The robots are coming for our jobs and we should all be very afraid. Or should we? This week on the podcast, Ross D is joined by Owen, Jonny and guest Marcia Conner to discuss how technology is changing the way we work. If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can find us on Twitter @ross__dickie, @owenferguson, @biofractal and @marciamarcia. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. If you're inclined to learn more about the impact of screens and potatoes on mental health, you can read Amy Orben's summary of the research here. To expand your hibernal vocabulary, check out this article on Merriam Webster.   After recording, Marcia sent us two of her favourite robot-related books: The Fourth Age by Byron Reese and The Piketty Problem by Garth Hallberg.

M, Yoda, Mr Miyagi - we all know a good mentor can make a big difference. But what makes a good mentee? Does everyone need a mentor?  This week on the podcast, Ross D and Peter are joined by Jessi Schatz from Emerald Publishing and Margaret Burnside from CAKE to talk about how you can make the most of a mentoring relationship.  If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can find us on Twitter @ross__dickie, @petercasebow and @MargaretBurnsid. You can get in touch with Jessi by contacting her on LinkedIn. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. The book Peter mentions is The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich.  The Kaizen Training blog Margaret refers to can be found here. You can listen to the 'Victorian Orchidelirium' episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class on their website.  The Yo-Yo Ma episode of Song Exploder can be found here.

As more jobs become automated and the way we work changes, there's a need to constantly adapt. So this week on The GoodPractice Podcast, we're looking at how to develop learning agility: or the ability to learn, unlearn, and re-learn. Ross G, Owen and Giorgio are joined by Learn2Learn founder Arun Pradhan to discuss. If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can find us on Twitter @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson, @CoachGiorgio and @ArunZPradhan. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. You can find out more about Arun at arunpradhan.com, or visit learn2learnapp.com. The book Arun mentioned was Atomic Habits, by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits The article Owen discussed on the productivity gap is available at: https://www.ft.com/content/017a99aa-fc72-11e8-ac00-57a2a826423e We also made reference to Mirjam Neelen's appearance on this show, way back in episode 106: http://podcast.goodpractice.com/106-evidence-based-ld

The completion rate for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is famously low, and in many cases these courses are neither 'massive' nor 'open'. But nothing attracts the GoodPractice Podcast team like the end of a long-running fad, so we're kicking off 2019 by asking how learning designers can make sure their MOOCs are relevant and engaging. Ross G and Owen are joined by Solera's Dr Hannah Gore, formerly of The Open University, to discuss. If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can find us on Twitter @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson, and @HRGore. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. China's trade success was covered by the Wall Street Journal here: https://www.wsj.com/graphics/china-emergence-of-a-trade-leviathan/ The Chinese village, where many of the residents make Christmas decorations, was covered by The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/dec/19/santas-real-workshop-the-town-in-china-that-makes-the-worlds-christmas-decorations  And the top 50 worst passwords of 2019 were revealed at: https://www.teamsid.com/100-worst-passwords-top-50/