Leading Learning Podcast

With an unmatched passion, knowledge, and optimism related to advances in learntech, Donald Clark has over three decades of experience at the intersection of technology and learning. He is CEO of WildFire, an AI content creation company, and a professor, researcher, speaker, and learntech blogger (he's written a series of posts on 100 learning theorists who have shaped the world of learning). He’s also author of the book Artificial Intelligence for Learning. (Listen to the audio at the end of the episode for a special discount offer on the book for Leading Learning Podcast listeners.) In episode two of our seven-part series exploring the frontiers of learning technology, Celisa talks with Donald about the important role of artificial intelligence and data in shaping the learntech landscape. They also discuss related trends, what’s on the horizon, and key ideas learning businesses and society need to consider to ensure effective and positive applications of learntech, now and in the future. Full show notes and transcript available at leadinglearning.com/episode266. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, BenchPrep. ** BenchPrep is a pioneer in the modern learning space, digitally transforming professional learning for corporations, credentialing bodies, associations, and training companies for over a decade. With an award-winning, learner-centric, cloud-based platform, BenchPrep enables learning organizations to deliver the best digital experience to drive learning outcomes and increase revenue.  The platform’s omni channel delivery incorporates personalized learning pathways, robust instructional design principles, gamification, and near real-time analytics that allow organizations across all industries to achieve their goals. More than 6 million learners have used BenchPrep’s platform to attain academic and professional success. BenchPrep publishes regular content sharing the latest in e-learning trends.  To download BenchPrep’s latest e-books, case studies, white papers, and more go to benchprep.com/resources.

Learning technology is on the cusp of a renaissance. It’s poised to explode, proving to be essential to the smooth functioning of society and the daily life of billions of people worldwide. So it just made sense to choose it as the focus of our next seven-part series. In this first episode exploring the frontiers of learntech, we discuss what the topic means to us, key reasons that learning technology has seen such tremendous growth, and important related concepts including artificial intelligence, data, extended reality, personalization, and more. We also preview the thought leaders and practitioners that will be featured in the series and how we hope each of their perspectives will add to our understanding and prepare for what lies ahead.  Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode265. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, BenchPrep. ** BenchPrep is a pioneer in the modern learning space, digitally transforming professional learning for corporations, credentialing bodies, associations, and training companies for over a decade. With an award-winning, learner-centric, cloud-based platform, BenchPrep enables learning organizations to deliver the best digital experience to drive learning outcomes and increase revenue.  The platform’s omni channel delivery incorporates personalized learning pathways, robust instructional design principles, gamification, and near real-time analytics that allow organizations across all industries to achieve their goals. More than 6 million learners have used BenchPrep’s platform to attain academic and professional success. BenchPrep publishes regular content sharing the latest in e-learning trends.  To download BenchPrep’s latest e-books, case studies, white papers, and more go to www.benchprep.com/resources.

We’ve reached the final installment in our seven-part series on the third sector of education—the sector serving the millions of adults who continue to learn and grow in the decades following their secondary and post-secondary education—so we’re breaking down what we’ve learned along the way, and most importantly, what it all means for your learning business.   In this final episode, we reflect on our recent discussions with L&D expert Nigel Paine and LaTrease Garrison, executive vice president of the education division at the American Chemical Society. We discuss how their insights add to our understanding of the third sector and build on our conversations earlier in the series. We also examine the implications for the sector’s growth and begin to unpack what a fuller awareness of the sector might mean for your learning business’s strategy. Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode264. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Blue Sky eLearn. ** For nearly 20 years, Blue Sky eLearn has been transforming the way organizations deliver virtual events and educational content. Blue Sky’s customized, cutting-edge solutions connect hundreds of organizations to millions of learners worldwide. These include their award-winning learning management system, Path LMS, Webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences, and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy-to-manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content.

LaTrease Garrison is executive vice president of the education division at the American Chemical Society (ACS), which serves learners in the chemical education space, spanning K-8 all the way through retirement. With over 28 years at ACS, she has a seasoned perspective and solid grasp on what it takes to succeed as a provider in the growing third sector of education. In this sixth episode in our seven-part series, Jeff talks with return guest LaTrease about how ACS is meeting the diverse and evolving needs of their learners, including their recent initiative to provide competency-based learning. They also discuss the potential threats and opportunities facing providers in the third sector and the critical role they play in preparing the workforce of the future. Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode263. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Blue Sky eLearn. ** For nearly 20 years, Blue Sky eLearn has been transforming the way organizations deliver virtual events and educational content. Blue Sky’s customized, cutting-edge solutions connect hundreds of organizations to millions of learners worldwide. These include their award-winning learning management system, Path LMS, Webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences, and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy-to-manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content.

With over 25 years of experience in corporate learning, London-based Nigel Paine has spent the entirety of his career intersecting with the third sector of education becoming an internationally recognized expert and speaker on the topics of leadership, development, and technology. He’s written three books in the last five years, including Workplace Learning: How to Build a Culture of Continuous Employee Development, and teaches in the Penn Chief Learning Officer program at the University of Pennsylvania. He also co-hosts the From Scratch podcast, which features short episodes on workplace issues, and he’s a presenter for Learning Now TV, a live-streamed Internet TV channel focused on corporate learning and performance. In this fifth installment in our seven-part series on the surge of the third sector of education, Celisa gets Nigel’s global perspective about the sector including what he sees as its major opportunities and threats. They also discuss how learning technologies are shaping the third sector and the crucial role of data in demonstrating impact and increasing the effectiveness of learning experiences.  Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode262. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Blue Sky eLearn. ** For nearly 20 years, Blue Sky eLearn has been transforming the way organizations deliver virtual events and educational content. Blue Sky’s customized cutting-edge solutions connect hundreds of organizations to millions of learners worldwide. These include their award-winning learning management system, Path LMS, Webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences, and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy-to-manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content.

This marks the midpoint in our seven-part series on the surge of the third sector of education—the now essential sector serving the continuing education needs of millions of adults in the decades following their secondary and post-secondary education.  In this fourth episode of the series, we reflect on what we’ve learned so far from our conversations with Michelle Weise, author of Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don’t Even Exist Yet, and Casandra Blassingame, CEO of the International Accreditors for Continuing Education & Training. We also pull in some additional perspectives about the growth of the third sector, including that of Dr. Anthony “Tony” Carnevale, research Professor and Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.  As an internationally recognized economist, Tony explains how economic change has led to the growing demand for providers in the third sector to effectively demonstrate outcomes and results. He also discusses the challenges of a credential-driven society and the related inequalities that exist.  Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode261. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Blue Sky eLearn: ** For nearly 20 years, Blue Sky eLearn has been transforming the way organizations deliver virtual events and educational content. Blue Sky’s customized cutting-edge solutions connect hundreds of organizations to millions of learners worldwide. These include their award-winning learning management system Path LMS, webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy to manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content. These include their award-winning learning management system Path LMS, webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences, and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy to manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content.

With over 20 years of experience in higher education, particularly in continuing and professional studies, Casandra Blassingame has dedicated her career to meeting the needs of adult learners. And as the current CEO of the International Accreditors for Continuing Education & Training (IACET), she is also a doctoral candidate in the adult education program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. In this third episode of our seven-part series about the surge of the third sector of education, Jeff talks with Casandra about her role at IACET, how they’ve successfully adapted in times of change, and why accreditation is becoming increasingly more valuable. They also discuss reasons for the growth of the third sector and the related opportunities for those serving in it. Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode260. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Blue Sky eLearn: ** For nearly 20 years, Blue Sky eLearn has been transforming the way organizations deliver virtual events and educational content. Blue Sky’s customized cutting-edge solutions connect hundreds of organizations to millions of learners worldwide. These include their award-winning learning management system Path LMS, webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy to manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content. These include their award-winning learning management system Path LMS, webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences, and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy to manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content.

As a leading expert and true innovator related to the future of learning and work, Dr. Michelle Weise has had the unique opportunity to engage with a multitude of stakeholder viewpoints surrounding the third sector of education. She is currently the entrepreneur-in-residence and a senior advisor at Imaginable Futures and author of several books, including her most recent, Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don’t Even Exist Yet. In this second episode in our series on the surge of the third sector, Celisa talks with return-guest Michelle about the tremendous challenges and opportunities that exist surrounding the third sector of education. They also discuss the importance of breaking down silos, the need for a robust data infrastructure, and why the third sector needs to pay more attention to the non-consumers of higher education.  Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode259. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Blue Sky eLearn: ** For nearly 20 years, Blue Sky eLearn has been transforming the way organizations deliver virtual events and educational content. Blue Sky’s customized cutting-edge solutions connect hundreds of organizations to millions of learners worldwide. These include their award-winning learning management system Path LMS, webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy to manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content. These include their award-winning learning management system Path LMS, webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences, and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy to manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content.

It’s a new year and we’re kicking it off with another seven-episode series of the podcast. Our previous series focused on the learning business in disruptive times, but this time we’ll be exploring the surge of the third sector of education—particularly the related implications this has on learning businesses. In this episode, we delve into some background behind the third sector of education including what it is, factors that have led to its tremendous growth, and why it is so important. We also preview the four interviewees we’ll be talking with later in the series and the unique perspective they each bring to the topic. Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode258. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Blue Sky eLearn: ** Blue Sky eLearn is a company committed to learning businesses and has a long history working to help providers in the third sector. For nearly 20 years, Blue Sky eLearn has been transforming the way organizations deliver virtual events and educational content. Blue Sky’s customized cutting edge solutions connect hundreds of organizations to millions of learners worldwide. These include their award-winning learning management system Path LMS, webinar and live streaming services for short events to multi-day virtual conferences, and learning strategy and development solutions. These robust, easy to manage solutions allow organizations to easily organize, track, and monetize educational content.  

As we wrap up our series on the learning business in disruptive times, it’s important to reflect on what we’ve learned and consider where we go next in these complex times of uncertainty You may remember back in episode 254, that we broke down and reflected on our first two interviews—one with Seth Kahan, founder of Visionary Leadership, and the other with Shilpa Alimchandani, a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategist. Since then, we've had the chance to also speak with Tracey Steiner, senior vice president for education and training at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and Shawn Boynes, executive director of the American Association for Anatomy. In this final installment of our seven-part series, we delve into the highlights and key takeaways of those recent conversations. We also offer some final points of reflection to consider related to the possibilities and complexities of the learning business in disruptive times and the places where you might need to “begin again”. Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode257.