The Learning Hack podcast

Coming from a background of digital transformation, Matt Wilkinson has created a live elearning company that combines human-delivered and digital learning in a scalable way, stealing a bit of a march on more content-focused competitors. His company, CEyX, help teams build the technology skills and confidence necessary to positively impact their performance. Clients include Deliveroo, PA Consulting and the Department for Culture Media and Sport. John asks him what is unique about his model, and why he thinks more technology training vendors haven't, to date, adopted it. 0:00 - Intro 3:15 - What does CEyX do? 5:28 - Matt's Background 7:42 - Perception of how tech skills are taught 10:58 - How CEyX teaches this different? 14:00 - How scale-able and tangible are these results? 18:54 - How unique is this model? 27:10 - Biggest challenges in scale-up companies 30:06 - Matt's thoughts on A.I. 42:29 - Where can we follow Matt Wilkinson? Follow Matt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-wilkinson-ceyx Website (company): https://www.ceyx.uk/ Website (personal) http://www.nutcrackermtb.co.uk/ Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

This episode we're giving the channel over to one of our favourite podcasts, Video Learning Lab. The podcast is hosted by Kevin Alster, who runs an innovative video learning company called Synthesia, which uses lifelike AI-generated avatars as presenters. We're going to feature Kevin as a guest on the Learning Hack very soon, but in this podcast he interviews John. Kevin wanted to know what he'd picked up from running his two podcasts about how best to design learning. They also explore John's insights gleaned over the years from working in communications and also in the creative arts (he was in a top ten band, had a novel published and wrote and appeared in a series of comedy mini-musicals on Channel 4 in the UK). Due to a technical glitch the interview here is a bit truncated, but if you desperately need that last 5 minutes, you can listen to Kevin's channel on YouTube or Spotify – links below.   Key Takeaways: Instructional design can get in its way with an extremely narrow focus on instructional design principles. L&D has a marketing problem. We should always try to excite the desire for people to listen/complete our entire learning program. Learning can channel a marketing mindset by tapping into creativity – not only in how we structure content, but also by how we deliver it. If you're putting learning into video, that is a creative act and you should think about how you're engaging learners. Get the extended episode on Kevin's channels: YouTube: http://youtu.be/K_bCZEaQbRI Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/63vvFB7DpWr6eacW0qjR9X Follow Kevin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinalster Website (Company): https://www.synthesia.io/ Website (personal): http://kevinalster.wordpress.com/ Email: kevin.alster@gmail.com Twitter: @Kalstere Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Michelle Parry-Slater is Learning & Development Director of Kairos Modern Learning, and author of the Learning And Development Handbook. This guide for learning practitioners is realistic about the organizational context in which L&D has to operate, with its many new stresses and conflicting priorities. She encourages L&D people to think more strategically, and indicates mindsets, skillsets and toolsets for each of the major challenges L&D faces.   0:00 - Intro 2:51 - The Learning & Development Handbook 4:54 - L&D and String Theory 6:59 - The dividing line between L&D and Organisational Development 9:15 - Conversation between learning and the business 11:36 - Skillsets to think strategically 20:42 - Thoughts on A.I. Development 27:40 - Where to follow Michelle's thoughts   The Learning & Development Handbook:  https://www.koganpage.com/product/the-learning-and-development-handbook-9781789663327   Follow Michelle  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleparryslater Website (Company): http://www.kairosmodernlearning.co.uk/ Email: michelle@kairosmodernlearning.co.uk Twitter: @MiPS1608 Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Exploring the potential and efficiency of learning podcasts, the shift from casual to structured content, enhancing context understanding for optimized learning, prioritizing resources over formal courses, creating a learning podcast company, and the impact of equipment quality on podcast production.

At the Learning Technologies France show in Paris this February, John talked to two of the industry's leading commentators, who both released significant pieces of research at the show. The L&D Global Sentiment Survey, run by Donald H Taylor, takes the pulse of the L&D community world-wide. The one-minute online poll asks L&D professionals internationally what they think will be hot in the following year. The Fosway 9-Grid™ report for Learning Systems plots the relative position of solutions and providers, predominantly within the UK and European market. Different solutions can be compared based on their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectories across the market. Between them, these two surveys give a picture of where Learntech systems are in the post-pandemic world, and what is firing the expectations and imaginations of the learning community. 00:00 Intro 02:15 Don Taylor: What's changed since last year? 05:23 Is it unusual for a 'macro' issue like skills to dominate the survey? 07:21 AI 13:22 Metaverse 18:45 VR 21:07 Leading trends in the US 24:15 Is this a return to the pre-pandemic world? 26:45 David Wilson: The new 9-Grid for learning 28:05 Any surprises in the changes compared to last year? 33:43 'Ecosystemness' 42:40 Learning Systems market development Follow Donald H. Taylor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldhtaylor Website: https://donaldhtaylor.co.uk/insight/gss2023-results/ Twitter: @DonaldHTaylor Follow David Wilson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwil23 Fosway website: https://www.fosway.com/ Twitter: @dwil23 Email: david.wilson@fosway.com Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

A passion for learning brought Dinye Hernada, she says, from a muddy school field in Indonesia to the boardrooms of Germany's top companies. With a double masters in international management, she began her working life supporting digital transformation. Realizing, however, that investing in people often had a bigger and more sustainable impact, she switched to L&D. Dinye is now Senior Learning and Development Manager at HeyJobs. John talks to her about her career path to date, the challenges she has overcome, and what the future holds for her profession.   0:00 - Intro 3:21 - How Dinye got into the learning profession 5:15 - Dinye's learning career 7:11 - 30 under 30 10:08 - Progressing in business despite prejudices 13:11 - Where did the older generation of learn-tech go wrong? 21:24 - Dinye's take on the L&D profession 30:37 - AI taking over decision making 39:19 - Where to follow Dinye's future endeavours Follow Dinye LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinyehernanda Website (personal): https://www.dinyehernanda.com/ Email: dshernanda@gmail.com Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack Download the white paper from Learning Pool written by Lindsey Coode – Skills are your Organization’s Superpower https://learningpool.com/skills-are-your-organizations-superpower/

Ethical Angel is a company that brings together learners in need of development opportunities with charities and good causes in need of the practical skills they are developing. John talks to the company's founder and CEO, Alexander Fahie, a young entrepreneur with a background in investment management. Alexander explains how he had the idea of bringing these two communities togther, how the collaboration works, and the results Ethical Angel is achieving for charitable causes though giving learners in organizations opportunities to try out the skills they are learning in real world situations.   0:00 - Intro 3:24 - Ethical Angel 5:54 - What do the causes get out of it? 11:40 - Cooperates and Employee's side 14:17 - The learning design 20:29 - How the solution facilitates 28:45 - Examples of working in practice 33:10 - What's an efficient business model? 39:03 - How can people get involved? Follow Alexander LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-fahie Twitter: @ethicalangels Website: https://www.ethicalangel.com/ Email: alexander@ethicalangel.com Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack Download the white paper from Learning Pool written by Lindsey Coode – Skills are your Organization’s Superpower https://learningpool.com/skills-are-your-organizations-superpower/

Leadership learning is perhaps the most prestitigious and well-funded of training staples. In a changing world, it has become democratized in recent years, and now embraces a more progressive (some would say liberal) agenda. Nevertheless it faces criticism from academics in highly respected institutions, who question its value. In this wide-ranging discussion about the current state of leadership learning, John talks to Gustaf Nordbäck, CEO of Headspring Executive Development, a joint venture between the Financial Times and IE Business School. Under Gustaf’s direction Headspring has become a top provider of leadership solutions for clients around the world. How does he answer leadership's critics – and what is the future for leadership learning, in a world where decision-making becomes increasingly delegated to AI? NB: We apologise for the crackles on John's mic during the interview, and hope these technical shortcomings do not detract too badly from your enjoyment. 0:00 - Intro 3:13 - Leading Headspring 9:16 - Vision for leadership in the 21st Century 17:27 - How diverse is Leadership Learning? 24:35 - Differences in leadership styles 28:19 - Answering critics 35:47 - Digital Technology in course delivery 40:23 - AI in Leadership Follow Gustaf: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustaf-nordback Headspring Website: https://www.headspringexecutive.com/ Email: gnordback@gmail.com Contact John Helmer: Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack Download the white paper from Learning Pool written by John Helmer – The Spacing Effect: Harnessing the Power of Spaced Practice for Learning That Sticks https://learningpool.com/spacing-effect-harnessing-power-of-spaced-practice/

Stephen Downes is a prominent speaker and writer in the field of educational technology and learning, known for his work on open educational resources, digital learning, and the development of the MOOC (massive open online course). He's currently a researcher at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Downes sees three current technologies as being critical for the development of online education; metaverse, blockchain and AI. But rather than making airy pronouncements in clickbait blog posts about this techno-troika, he has thought hard about how they operate together, creating a possible future for online education. But in this new distributed, learner-driven world, will we still need universities?   0:00 - Intro 3:53 - The MOOCs of today 8:04 - Physical state of the brain 13:28 - The Metaverse 32:32 - Blockchain 38:57 - Artificial Intelligence 56:02 - What the university looks like in the future? YouTube talks by Stephen mentioned in the discussion. https://youtu.be/iGi4DDCuzRw https://youtu.be/zCojHtC1aCw Follow Stephen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stdownes Website (Personal): https://www.downes.ca/ Blog: http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/ Website (personal): http://leftish.media/ Email: stephen@downes.ca Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack Download the white paper from Learning Pool written by John Helmer – The Spacing Effect: Harnessing the Power of Spaced Practice for Learning That Sticks https://learningpool.com/spacing-effect-harnessing-power-of-spaced-practice/

'We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator' (António Guterres, United Nations Secretary General speaking at COP 27). Successive COPs have revealed a lack of will among the world's governments to make commitments that they'll actually stick by. So increasingly, people who aren't in government feel it’s down to them to do something. Every institution and organization of any size, it seems, has an environmental policy, and it falls to HR, L&D and educators of all stripes to communicate these policies. Learning professionals are therefore heavily involved in the response to the climate emergency. In this episode, John discusses with a distinguished climate scientist exactly where we are with controlling climate change and how best learning professionals can contribute. Robert Nicholls is Professor and Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, based at the University of East Anglia. He has contributed extensively to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC). His particular focus is the implications of sea-level rise, especially on coastal areas. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and is the co-editor of six books. 0:00 - Intro 3:18 - The state of climate change 9:55 - Warming in coastal areas 14:02 - Effect of the energy crisis 23:50 - Confidence in engineering solutions 28:59 - Learning Departments' response 32:14 - Impact of grassroots activities 34:31 - What's improving? Follow Professor Robert Nicholls LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-nicholls-2a97706 Website (Personal): https://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/about/staff/rjn.page Website (Tyndall Centre): https://tyndall.ac.uk/people/robert-nicholls/ Email: robert.nicholls@uea.ac.uk Contact John Helmer Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: http://johnhelmerconsulting.com/ Download the white paper from Learning Pool written by John Helmer – The Spacing Effect: Harnessing the Power of Spaced Practice for Learning That Sticks https://learningpool.com/spacing-effect-harnessing-power-of-spaced-practice/