The Learning Hack podcast

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

Adaptive learning systems were among the first to use artificial intelligence, creating a subcategory in learntech that has been on a slow burn since the 2010s. With the meteoric rise to prominence this year of AI in the headlines, thanks to ChatGPT and other publicly accessible generative AI tools, does the future now look bright for adaptive learning – or does it risk being swept away in the tsunami of over-hyped hopes and fears that this phenomenon has generated? John talks to Markus Bernhardt, Chief Evangelist of adaptive vendor Obrizum about this and other current topics concerning AI. Markus brings hope, some reassurance, but also further causes for concern about the use of AI in corporates that haven't so far registered in the public debate. 0:00 - Intro 4:51 - Origin of OBRIZUM 5:47 - How AI is used to adapt their learning courses 16:41 - Markus's background 20:05 - Should we rule out ChatGTP for its lack of imagery? 26:47 - What role do human trainers play? 36:28 - Future of corporate learning 41:52 - Risks of AI within corporate learning 48:21 - Where to follow Markus - and who Markus follows Follow Markus: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-bernhardt Website (company): http://obrizumgroup.com/ Contact John Helmer: Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack

Kevin Alster, Learning Strategist at Synthesia, talks about AI-generated avatars in learning, including technology behind them, impact on elearning, success stories, risks, and challenges. Discussion covers inclusivity, evolution of L&D with AI, and addressing ethical concerns. Episode also introduces AI avatars, replacing human hosts.

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/