What can horses and brain damage teach us about learning? Sarah Ratcliff is an award-winning Learning Consultant, Speaker, and Ambassador for Learning, with over twenty years experience in the industry. She is currently a spokesperson for the learning provider Cegos, and a regular chair for the Learning Technologies conference. In 2020, she earned the esteemed Learning Professional of the Year award from the LPI. She talks to John about how the experiences in her life that have formed her views about learner engagement, including her love of horses and a debilitating head injury. 00:00 - Start 02:52 - How did Sarah get into learning? 09:47 - How do horses inform her view of learning? 14:48 - Her car crash and recovery 23:57 - Learner engagement 26:47 - Are marketing techniques useful for learner engagement? 36:10 - The extended L&D toolkit of today 42:59 - End Follow Sarah Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/sarahratcliff Website (company): http://www.cegos.co.uk/ Email: sarah.ratcliff@cegos.co.uk Contact John Helmer X: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

'It all started when NASA read our code ...'   Jussi Hurskainen is CEO and co-founder of Valamis, a learning systems company with offices in in the US, India, and across Europe, but headquartered in Finland. In a crowded market, Valamis distinguishes itself by the sophisticated way its platform handles data. Jussi tells John about how the product got its start when Nasa engineers read and were impressed by its code – and what it has been like over the last few years running a company whose worforce straddled the Russian border.   00:00 - Start 00:35 - Intro 03:48 - What is Valamis? 05:01 - Market condition in learning technologies 07:19 - How does Valamis differentiate in the crowded mid-market? 11:50 - How does his LXP deal with personalization? 14:33 - What part does AI play in the solution? 17:17 - How have acquisitions featured in the development of the company? 21:11 - Origins of the company 23:29 - Jussi’s learning journey 25:38 - Effects of the Ukraine invasion on Valamis 28:42 - Jussi’s influences 31:04 - End Follow Jussi Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jussihurskainen Website (company): http://www.valamis.com/ X: @jhurska Email: jussi.hurskainen@valamis.com Contact John Helmer  X: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Lauren Waldman is a learning consultant, educator, and the founder of The Learning Pirate. She is a certified training and development professional and has received qualifications in Neuroscience from Harvard and John Hopkins University, and in Medical Neuroscience from Duke. She works with organizations to create bespoke, scientifically designed learning programs using the latest cognitive and behavioural science. But with whole learning and development departments being laid off currently, she believes the profession faces an existential threat. Could embracing neuroscience help to prevent its demise?   00:00 - Start 00:35 - Intro 03:39 - The Pirate Code 11:00 - Does learning theory conflict with neuroscience 15:34 - What does neuroscience tell us about how possible (or impossible) it is to change the way we think & feel? 17:12 - Is there a serious side to the piracy stuff? 23:26 - Joining Forces With Your Brain 30:06 - Mythbusting 33:30 - How did she get into learning? 42:55 - End Follow Lauren Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-waldman-learning-pirate-4666bab Website (company): http://www.learningpirate.com/ X: @LearningPirate YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@learningpirate6046 Contact John Helmer X: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Kevin M. Yates is known in the global training, learning, and talent development community as the L&D Detective. He investigates impact and solves measurement mysteries with facts, clues, evidence, and data. His rigorous but pragmatic approach is informed by 25+ years industry experience serving in diverse roles across multiple industries and brands including Grant Thornton, Kantar, McDonald’s, and Meta (Facebook). Kevin talks to John about how he see the current state of learning evaluation in organisations – he's optimistic – and what AI holds for the future of his practice. 00:00 - Start 00:35 - Intro 03:03 - What crimes does the L&D detective detect 05:00 - How did he get his start in learning? 06:26 - Where are we with measurement in L&D? 09:50 - What can and should we measure in learning? 15:01 - Is training that can’t be measured even worth doing? 20:30 - Useful models For measuring learning 26:48 - Is measurement different in an algorithm-driven company? 32:39 - Will AI kill xAPI? 37:16 - Meals in the Meantime 39:57 - Kevin’s inspirations 42:27 - End The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development Into Business Results, By Roy Pollock Andrew Jefferson Calhoun Wick https://www.td.org/books/the-six-disciplines-of-breakthrough-learning-3rd-edition   Follow Kevin Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmyates Website (personal): http://kevinmyates.com/ Website (voluntary work) http://mealsinthemeantime.org/ Email: kevin@kevinmyates.com X (Twitter): @kevinmyates Contact John Helmer X (Twitter): @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

With their delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine accomplished, Andy and John head back home, retracing their tracks across Northern Europe. In a harrowing interview, John talks to a Ukrainian elearning specialist now based in Germany following the sad death of her husband on the frontline in Bahmut. And in Theorists Corner we feature John Comenius and Eric Kandel. 00:00 - Start 00:44 - Intro 02:39 - TFI Friday 15:29 - Theorists Corner: John Comenius 18:36 - Interview: Yuliia Kovach 28:18 - How Yuliia met Viktor 32:45 - Russia invades 41:49 - Life after Viktor 53:56 - Theorists Corner: Eric Kandel 56:04 - Final update from Run 19 58:59 - Outro Ukraine Fundraiser 2022 More information: http://www.ukrainefundraiser.co.uk Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ukrainefundraiser2022  Contact John Helmer X(Twitter): @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Arrived in Ukraine, Andy and John deliver their aid to the hospital in Lviv. With the main object of the trip accomplished, they take a walk around the city and assess the mood. John interviews Vladimir Polo, a learntech entrepreneur based in Odesa about what it has been like to run a learning company in a war zone. And, in Theorists Corner we feature Lev Vygotsky and Wilhelm Reich. 00:00 - Start 01:11 - Intro 01:43 - From the border to Lviv 04:47 - Theorists Corner: Lev Vygotsky 06:34 - Fulfilling the Prime Directive 09:48 - Interview: Vladimir Polo 15:00 - Managing a dispersed business from a war zone 21:25 - The invasion and its impact on the company 30:29 - Lviv vibes 32:21 - Theorists Corner: Wilhelm Reich 34:16 - Outro Ukraine Fundraiser 2022 More information: http://www.ukrainefundraiser.co.uk Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ukrainefundraiser2022  Contact John Helmer X(Twitter): @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Over three episodes we tell the story of what happened when John Helmer hitched a ride with Andy Wooler, chair of Ukraine Fundraiser 2022, to help deliver humanitarian aid to recently bombed Lviv. They chat about the conflict, about learning ... and about the history of the continent they are crossing from West to East. 00:00 - Start 00:44 - Intro 01:32 - JH thoughts before leaving 05:09 - The rehearsal 07:26 - Introducing Theorists Corner  07:47 - Dover 08:23 - Dunkirk 08:34 - Belgium 09:12 - Netherlands 10:07 - Theorists Corner: Huizinga 11:45 - Theorists Corner: Erasmus 14:31 - Adaptive learning & AI 21:15 - Germany 22:44 - Military training 28:07 - Theorists Corner: Ebbinghaus 29:15 - Theorists Corner: Luther 31:25 - Poland 40:30 - Outro   Ukraine Fundraiser 2022 More information: http://www.ukrainefundraiser.co.uk Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ukrainefundraiser2022 Contact John Helmer X (Twitter): @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Podcasts: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface, and a huge workforce crews and manages the ships that sail on them. These people all have to be trained. While learntech companies now largely work across business sectors, there are those whose learning needs are so niche and specific that they call for a specialist. Maritime is such a sector. In this episode, John talks to Raal Harris, Chief Creative Officer at Ocean Technologies Group, a global learntech vendor servicing the Maritime Industry. Raal definitely IS a specialist, and knows the sector inside out.   0:00 - Intro 3:37 - How important is Maritime to global business? 5:37 - How Raal got into the sector 8:38 - Uniqueness in the sector's training 16:52 - Importance of Language Learning 22:48 - Decarbonising Shipping 31:49 - How Ocean came together 38:14 - Differences between learning sectors 51:18 - Where Raal gets his knowledge in learning development Follow Raal Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raal-harris-05827710 Website (company): https://oceantg.com/ Email: raal.harris@oceantg.com Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Shell is an organisation in transition. It’s moving from a federated model of training to something more centralized. At the same time it’s bringing together L&D with organizational development, and knowledge management is moving closer to learning as well. And all this is happening against a background of a huge shift in skills needed within the organization as it moves into more sustainable forms of energy alongside its traditional businesses. In this episode, John talks to Jaap Hoogendoorn, VP Learning Solutions at Shell. Jaap leads a large, globally dispersed team of learning professionals in delivering these changes. He talks about the challenges, the progress made, and the effects of the Green Transition on Shell's learning function. 0:00 - Intro 3:51 - Shell and the Green Transition 6:56 - Jaap's background and career journey 10:13 - From federated to centralised learning 20:16 - Has tech helped the change? 24:16 - Uniting L&D and OD 37:56 - Innovative approaches to reskilling 45:32 - Results of the change so far? 50:38 - Where does he draw inspiration from?   Follow Jaap  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaap-hoogendoorn-10942a1 Website (company): https://www.shell.com/ Email: jaap.hoogendoorn@me.com     Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/

The 'Jobs To Be Done' approach (or framework) encourages a focus on what your end-user is trying to achieve when they access a product, service or experience. As professor Theodore Levitt puts it: 'People don't want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole'. John talks to Ger Driesen, Learning Innovation Leader at the learning system provider aNewSpring, about how it can be applied to learning. Could this make for a more learner-centred approach to learning design, or might it raise conflicts with the priorities of organizational development? And what is the role of AI under this framework? 0:00 - Intro 3:24 - Ger's journey in learning 6:36 - The jobs-to-be-done framework 8:57 - How it will affect learning 12:14 - Examples of how the framework specifics work 20:41 - How the framework plays in an organisation 22:29 - The impact on L&D professionals 24:03 - Does AI have a role in this? 26:27 - Where to follow Ger Links An overview blog for JTBD for learning design: https://www.anewspring.com/the-jobs-to-be-done-approach/ A 'why JTBD' blog: https://www.anewspring.com/improve-learning-design-jobs-to-be-done/ Follow Ger Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerdriesen/ Twitter: @GerDriesen Ger's learning notes: https://www.anewspring.com/gers-learning-notes/ Website (company): https://www.anewspring.com/ Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack