
Leading Learning Podcast
The market for continuing education, professional development, and lifelong learning is large and evolving rapidly. Competition is growing and learners have more options than ever. The Leading Learning Podcast is for learning business professionals who want to thrive in this new landscape. In each episode, co-hosts Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele provide actionable insights based on their own deep experience and expertise or invite in experts and practitioners to share their perspectives.
Latest episodes

Jul 31, 2018 • 42min
145: Education as Platform and Community with Ken Parker and Jae Strickland
Working at the intersection of learning and community, NextThought leaders Ken Parker and Jae Strickland are helping to change the way people experience education. NextThought, a premium online learning solutions company, focuses on building collaborative and engaging experiences that increase learning potential, participant satisfaction and member retention. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff talks with Ken and Jae about the important role of community in learning, the data we can use to measure the impact of both community and learning, as well as the concept of "education as platform" and why that is so critical in today’s learning landscape. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode145. Thank you to NextThought, the sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the third quarter of 2018. NextThought is your partner in learning management system technology, creating engaging experiences, increasing learning potential, participant satisfaction, and member retention. Empowering learning businesses like yours with the perfect combination of art, science, and technology of online learning, Next Thought helps you achieve your education goals. They go above and beyond the standard learning management system by offering comprehensive solutions, including a modern, elegant technology platform, an evidence-based learning design methodology, and professional video production services. Contact Kevin.Stewart@NextThought.com or visit http://www.NextThought.com to learn more.

Jul 24, 2018 • 27min
144: The 4-Part Formula for Selling Education
Are your efforts to promote and sell education having the results and impact that you’re hoping for? If not, we’re here to help! In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff and Celisa discuss a 4-part formula for selling your educational offerings and give you the opportunity to apply the framework through the evaluation of a recent promotional effort by your organization. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode144. Many thanks to NextThought, our sponsor for the third quarter of 2018. Brought to you by NextThought, AssociationsNext.com is your opportunity to learn from some leading thinkers in eLearning and membership organizations, as well as giving you the chance to test-drive the NextThought LMS platform. In this educational series, you’ll uncover new knowledge about instructional design, digital strategy, and staying true to your organization’s long-term goals in the face of rapid change. KiKi L’Italien, Tracy King, and Lowell Aplebaum lead the first three modules, and more courses will be added on a monthly basis. Visit AssociationsNext.com to enroll and experience the revolutionary NextThought LMS for yourself.

Jul 17, 2018 • 26min
143: Tapping Into Educational Data Mining and Learning Analytics with Ryan Baker
Across the broader business of learning and education, if there’s an area that hasn’t been tapped to it’s full potential – or even to it’s partial potential – it’s educational data mining and learning analytics. Dr. Ryan Baker, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Penn Center for Learning Analytics, is known for his role in establishing the educational data mining scientific community and also founded the world's first Masters program in learning analytics. His work focuses on finding student data related to learning, engagement, or emotion that can be used today as well as to predict – and hopefully improve – future student outcomes. He’s published a wide range of academic papers and articles and has also taught the popular MOOC, Big Data and Education multiple times. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa Steele talks with Ryan about his work in the areas of educational data mining and learning analytics, the importance of understanding student engagement and disengagement, as well as intelligent tutoring systems and their impact on lifelong learning. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode143. Thank you to NextThought, the sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the third quarter of 2018. NextThought is your partner in learning management system technology, creating engaging experiences, increasing learning potential, participant satisfaction, and member retention. Empowering learning businesses like yours with the perfect combination of art, science, and technology of online learning, Next Thought helps you achieve your education goals. They go above and beyond the standard learning management system by offering comprehensive solutions, including a modern, elegant technology platform, an evidence-based learning design methodology, and professional video production services. Contact Kevin.Stewart@NextThought.com or visit http://www.NextThought.com to learn more.

Jul 10, 2018 • 44min
142: Personalized Lifelong Learning for All with Lauren Della Bella and Dick Thomas
Personalized lifelong learning for all. That’s the driving force behind the 9 Billion Schools movement, which was conceived with the recognition that every individual is uniquely different in their ability, interests, hopes and dreams. And all human beings on Earth – there’s projected to be about nine billion of us by 2050, in case you’re wondering what the significance of that number is – will flourish if they have access to lifelong learning opportunities that meet these diverse and ever-changing needs. Lauren Della Bella and Dick Thomas are passionate leaders behind the 9 Billion Schools movement and co-authors of, 9 Billion Schools: Why the World Needs Personalized, Lifelong Learning for All. They are also both leaders at SHP, a nationally recognized architecture firm focused on learning spaces of all kinds. Lauren serves as the organization’s president, and Dick as the vice president of architecture. Together they are reimagining the global approach towards education and learning while inspiring discussion, innovation and action around this critical issue. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff talks with Lauren and Dick about the key concepts behind the 9 Billion Schools movement as well as how space and technology are impacting the learning landscape. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode142. Highlighted Resource – a downloadable preview of the book, 9 Billion Schools: Why the World Needs Personalized, Lifelong Learning for All. Thank you to NextThought, the sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the third quarter of 2018. NextThought is your partner in learning management system technology, creating engaging experiences, increasing learning potential, participant satisfaction, and member retention. Empowering learning businesses like yours with the perfect combination of art, science, and technology of online learning, Next Thought helps you achieve your education goals. They go above and beyond the standard learning management system by offering comprehensive solutions, including a modern, elegant technology platform, an evidence-based learning design methodology, and professional video production services. Contact Kevin.Stewart@NextThought.com or visit http://www.NextThought.com to learn more.

Jul 3, 2018 • 23min
141: The 5th C of the Learning Business Landscape
We recently told you about the major areas that all learning businesses should be thinking about as they consider how best to grow and improve their offerings – what we coined the 4 “Cs” of the current learning landscape. And that included concision, context, competency, and community. But we quickly realized there was another area of equal importance that wasn’t originally included so we are unveiling a fifth "C" to add to this important list of trends impacting the learning business landscape – competition. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff discuss ways to help you get a handle on the competition in your market using Michael Porter’s Five Forces model as a framework for discussion. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode141. Highlighted Resource – Our previous podcast episode, The 4 Cs of the Learning Landscape. Thank you to NextThought, the sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the third quarter of 2018. NextThought is your partner in learning management system technology, creating engaging experiences, increasing learning potential, partici pant satisfaction, and member retention. Empowering learning businesses like yours with the perfect combination of art, science, and techno logy of online learning, Next Thought helps you achieve your education goals. They go above and beyond the standard learning management system by off

Jun 26, 2018 • 49min
140: Getting Conscious About Bias with Howard Ross and Shilpa Alimchandani
Whether or not we are aware of it, each and everyone one of us is biased. It’s actually not always a bad thing and, in fact, it’s a natural function of the human mind. But as learning leaders, if we aren’t in tune with the fact that we are constantly forming biases – and the ways in which they are shaping our thoughts and actions – it’s impossible to ever overcome them. Howard Ross, founding partner of Cook Ross, is considered one of the world’s leading thinkers on identifying and addressing unconscious bias. He’s also author of Everyday Bias: Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives and Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection is Tearing Our Culture Apart. And as a learning and development professional with over 17 years of experience in diversity, inclusion, and intercultural learning, Shilpa Alimchandani is the Director of Learning and Innovation at Cook Ross. In her role, she leads the firm’s efforts to co-create learning solutions with its clients. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff talks with Howard and Shilpa about the concept of unconscious bias including why it’s important, the benefits of bringing awareness to it, and ways to disrupt bias both personally and as facilitators of learning. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode140. Highlighted Resource – a collection of Thought Papers that Cook Ross makes available on its Web site (completely free and don’t require an e-mail address) - they cover a range of topics related to diversity and bias. Among the resources there you will find Howard Ross’ white paper ”Everyday Bias: Further Explorations into How the Unconscious Mind Shapes Our World at Work,” which is a great introduction to the issues he explores in more depth in his book Everyday Bias. Note also that Jeff wrote a blog post that looks at how the bias patterns that Howard identifies in his book can impact learning. Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access reviews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 120 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the details

Jun 19, 2018 • 29min
Technology, Meetings, and Learning with Corbin Ball
With over two decades of experience running international technology meetings, Corbin Ball is a highly acclaimed speaker, consultant, and writer who helps clients use technology to increase their efficiency and productivity. Because his work focuses primarily at the intersection of technology and meetings – rather than solely on learning – he offers a slightly different perspective to those of us in the business of lifelong learning. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with Corbin about what’s going on in the world of meetings and technology, including virtual conferences and virtual and augmented reality, as well as their impact on learning and the potential benefits and limitations associated with each. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/epsiode139. Highlighted Resource – The Tagoras virtual events report, Association Virtual Conferences: State of the Sector - We’re currently in the process of running a new survey and we’ll be issuing a new edition of the report in the fall of 2018, but for now you can access the previous report, which is chockfull of data about how organizations are—and aren’t—using virtual conferences. Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access reviews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 100 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the details.

Jun 12, 2018 • 23min
The 4 Cs of the Current Learning Landscape
For anyone in the learning business who is looking at how to effectively grow and improve their offerings, it’s important to be tuned into the trends that are currently impacting the market. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff discuss four major themes, or what they refer to as the 4 “Cs,” of the current learning landscape: concision, context, competency, and community. Full show notes at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode138. Highlighted Resource of the Week – the recording of our 2017 Learning Trends, 2018 Learning Forecast Webinar (and slides to go with it).This is the most recent of our annual trends and predictions Webinars, and the trends and predictions highlighted are definitely still relevant and even still unfolding. Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access reviews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 100 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the details.

Jun 5, 2018 • 43min
Exploring the Future of Education with Bernard Bull
As Vice Provost of Curriculum and Academic Innovation, Chief Innovation Officer, and Associate Professor of Education at Concordia University, Dr. Bernard Bull is a true thought leader when it comes to education and learning. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with Bernard about some of the biggest issues affecting education including the future of credentials, the impact of artificial intelligence, and the potential benefits and drawbacks of data analytics. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode137. Highlighted Resource – How to Predict Educational Trends: It Doesn’t Happen Overnight, by Bernard Bull - a brief look at fifteen factors that are valuable when you are studying trends likely to shape and change education over time. Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access reviews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 100 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the details. 7dzrrwew

May 29, 2018 • 47min
Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective e-Learning with Michael Allen
There’s no reason that learning can’t be fun and effective at the same time. But when it comes to designing instruction, all too often one of these areas is missing from the equation. With a mission of saving people from bad learning experiences, Michael Allen, founder & CEO of Allen Interactions, has been a pioneer in the e-learning industry since 1975. With nearly five decades of professional, academic, and corporate experience in teaching, developing, and marketing interactive learning and performance support systems, he is the author of nine books, including the widely read Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning: Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company. In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff talks with Michael about how e-learning has changed over the years as well as the benefits and key components of designing an effective learning experience. Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode136. Highlighted Resource – The eBooks download page of the Allen Interactions Web site. Here you will find a wealth of free eBooks covering titles ranging from A Bite-Sized Guide to Microlearning to 6 Rules to Designing eLearning for Maximum Motivation to Three Essential Design Elements for Creating Engaging ELearning Games, and more. These are really practical guides that will help you with you with both your e-learning and your broader learning initiatives. Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access reviews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 100 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the details.