TLDCast Podcast

When you think about comics, more than likely some of the first things that come to mind are superheroes like Spiderman or Batman in full-color comic books you might find in bookstores or comic book shops. Or maybe you think about “funny pages”, the once popular color inserts in Sunday newspapers with comic “strips” like Peanuts and Garfield. Well, comics have evolved in many ways. From graphic novels with adult themes to what this TLDCast is about: Instructional Comics. And our guest for this episode is one of the globe’s leading instructional designers producing instructional comics, Kevin Thorn. Check out this TLDCast and listen to host Kristen Hayden Safdie as she talks to Kevin about one of his most current instructional comic projects. They talk about the project dynamics, how Kevin produced it, what he ended up with, and how it was received. You’ll also get some great conversation on the evolution of how he started producing instructional comics and why.

Zsolt Olah has read a lot of books. AND he’s read a lot of L&D books. In fact, over a twelve-week period he read over 100 books in preparation for writing his own book, Engage the WORL&D!: A whimsical, brain-picking “meme-oir” from a creative digital learning strategist. So it comes as no surprise that Zsolt published a popular article about L&D Book Recommendations on eLearningIndustry.com. So this is why Zsolt was a perfect guest for our Community Discussion on “What Are Your Favorite L&D Books?”. As a quick summary, here are the distilled recommendations Zsolt has for reading. Consider it “highlights” from his original article. Be sure to listen to the podcast or view the TLDCast episode for more detail about why he recommends each of these books. Learning (And Doing Business) The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age Bean, Cammie Make It Stick Brown, Peter C. How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens Carey, Benedict Design for How People Learn (Voices That Matter) Dirksen, Julie Map it! The Hand-on Guide to Strategic Training Design Moore, Cathy Disruptive Learning: Discover Your Inner Learning Rebel Tipton, Shannon Show Your Work Bozarth, Jane Designing Ebook: Design Thinking (Innovation Trends Series) BBVA Innovation Center Designing for Behavior Change: Applying Psychology and Behavioral Economics Wendel, Stephen Thinking Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life Paul, Richard Thinking, Fast and Slow Kahneman, Daniel Playing Play to Learn: Everything You Need to Know About Designing Effective Learning Games Boller, Sharon, and Kapp, Karl Game Thinking: Innovate smarter & drive deep engagement with design techniques from hit games Amy Jo Kim Futuring The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies Brynjolfsson, Erik Learning in the Age of Immediacy: 5 Factors for How We Connect, Communicate, and Get Work Done Carson, Brandon Misc Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences Gardner, Howard The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It McGonigal Ph.D., Kelly

You wouldn’t call Dr Robin Sargent one of the most traditional Instructional Designers out there --- her journey to ID certainly is not! Starting with a BA and MA in Biblical Studies and Theology, to waiting tables, to being a University Librarian, Robin has taken an unconventional route to corporate training. If not for a chance conversation with the university Dean at a nearby copy machine, she wouldn’t be where she is today. That conversation? “Do you know anybody with a Master’s Degree that wants to be an academic advisor?” After offering herself for the position, she moved up to Assistant Dean, and eventually became in charge of the institution’s new online program. And after handling all of the technology and course development for this program, she concurrently completed her MBA, and shortly thereafter, left to seek her fortune in the corporate space. Learn more about Dr Robin Sargent by listening to this episode. You can also find Dr Robin Sargent's website at www.IDOLCourses.com.

"We have a two day instructor led training course we'd like you to convert into a one hour elearning course". That's how this project between Andrew Hughes of Designing Digitally and Leslie Lloyd of Federal Student Ai started. And as they proceeded to explore what was sounded like an impossible request, they were able to set these core parameters: It needs to work in our learning management system, it needs to be 508 compliant, and it also needs to work both on the computer and on the mobile platform, so that people can access this wherever they need to. So from Leslie starting from a needs analysis exploration of the project to Andrew and his Designing Digitally team going from Captivate authored training, to HTML5 and javascript, this course had a very interesting journey from discovery to completion. Take a listen to the audio recording for the details!

"Task analysis for instructional design is a process of analyzing and articulating the kind of learning that you expect the learners to know how to perform" (Jonassen, Tessmer, & Hannum, 1999, p.3). And in this TLDCast, we had two task analysis experts discussing real application. Hosted by Cara North, our guest was Roberta Dombrowski, an award-winning learning designer with over ten years of experience designing and delivering user-centered digital learning experiences. Roberta is currently a Product Manager for Role IQ at Pluralsight, where she brings her expertise in workplace assessments to empower learner’s technology skill development through the measurement and skilling up within a role. Roberta holds a MS in Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning with Boise State University and was a 30 under 30 award recipient at Elliott Masie’s Learning 2018 conference. Task analysis is the process of learning about ordinary users by observing them in action to understand in detail how they perform their tasks and achieve their intended goals. According to the Instructional Design Knowledge Base, Instructional designers perform a task analysis in order to: determine the instructional goals and objectives; define and describe in detail the tasks and sub-tasks that the student will perform; specify the knowledge type (declarative, structural, and procedural knowledge) that characterize a job or task; select learning outcomes that are appropriate for instructional development; prioritize and sequence tasks; determine instructional activities and strategies that foster learning; select appropriate media and learning environments; construct performance assessments and evaluation (Jonassen et al., 1999). So in this episode, Roberta takes us through a task analysis scenario she constructed for the Idaho Humane Society. She also discusses: Being on Eliott Masie's 30 under 30 group that Learning leadership can happen at any age Her very positive experiences at Boise State University The "New School" of task analysis (via an actual project from the Idaho Humane Society) Building a mobile app for performance support The overlap of UX, product, and learning and lots more! Check out the recording below to learn more!

There's probably no one better than professional learners to talk about WOL - Working Out Loud. Why is that? And what is Working Out Loud? From Working Out Loud author John Stepper's website, it's "a way to build relationships that can help you in some way, like achieving a goal, developing a skill, or exploring a new topic. Instead of networking to get something, you invest in relationships by making contributions over time, including your work and experiences that you make visible." It's connecting, it's sharing, it's getting better at something you want to get better at. All while connecting with others, building relationships, collaborating, and creating a sense of connectedness that can carry over into other goals, skills, or topics you'd like to explore or achieve. So in this Community Discussion, we had Cara North, Jonathan Rock, Alan Natachu, Jonathan Hill, and Simon Fogg discussing Working Out Loud, and much more. This was a very busy episode with some amazing commentary and insights that we're sure you'll enjoy.

Want to know how some of your fellow L&D Professionals use social media for work and professional development? We had a GREAT Community Discussion episode discussing just that! Cara North, Rubina Halwani, and Alan Natachu answered these questions: Are there any platforms you avoid on social media? Why or why not? How do you manage your social media connections? Burner accounts: Do you have one? Do you keep your personal and professional accounts separate? How do you evaluate your posts from a professional level? Best social network for finding a job? What is your overall preferred platform? Do you regularly use social media at work? How often do you post? And do you maintain a schedule? Check out this discussion and don’t miss the audience chat — it doubles the value of the conversation! And as a special bonus, check out and add to this document Alan created — which is a quick listing of people to follow, generated by the crew in TLDChat. Fill out the information and put your own info in! http://bit.ly/TLDChat-Social

This TLDCast episode features guest Lisa Crockett and Host Kristin Hayden Safdie discussing a case study based on a project Lisa took on. This project required building customer service training for a health insurance company. That training was multi-faceted; there were several departments involved, all of which needed their own customized version of the training based on what that department's role in the organization was. What makes this case study particularly intriguing is that Lisa's varied background as a multimedia specialist, HR professional, instructional designer, and more, were integral in building a solution. To get more details about this episode, please go to www.TLDC.us.

This TLDCast episode features Designing Digitally President and CEO, Andrew Hughes, discussing an eLearning Case Study with Julie Dietrich of Wyndham Destinations. They talk about their partnership and how they worked together to create something a little different - a fun, engaging, compliance training program. Listen to the recording and learn more about: The eLearning course (3 modules, Level 3) The purpose of the training and who it was designed for The previous method of delivery The major drawbacks were with the previous training The goals to accomplish with the new training How often the training is delivered Why eLearning was the right solution for the learning objectives The challenges creating the training Managing translations and more! You can find a link to the video recording and more here: https://tldc.us/2019/06/29/andrew-hughes-and-julie-dietrich-of-wyndham-destinations-a-fun-engaging-compliance-training-program/

Experience or Education – what gets you the job? And what if you have the education but not the experience? Listen to this Friday Community Discussion with Rubina Halwani where she discusses years of experience (YOE) & how to set yourself up for success. The Years of Experience Conundrum You go to apply for an instructional design position. The job announcement states the candidate must have x amount of years of experience. This can feel frustrating when you are fresh out of college without a ton of experience. What do you do if you don’t have enough YOE? What counts for YOE? If you still fall short, how can you still sell yourself? What do you do if you don’t have enough YOE? Mention exactly how many years you DO have. Every candidate has a different number of years, skills, salary requirements, etc. Always apply and try. For example: Instructional Designer with 2 years of experience, seeking…. If you did just graduate from college, and have been applying around, not hearing back for a while, go back to your college for feedback, advice, contacts, an internship, anything. Especially if you graduated in ISD. Many college campuses have career centers. Go. Hound them. Apprentice. Find an ID in the field and ask to apprentice. Ask for old project samples, instructions, shadowing opportunities, mentorship, etc. This is an investment of time that will accumulate and work to your advantage. What counts for YOE? Add projects from college/training into your YOE, IF they relate. If you took coursework in ID and have pieces in your portfolio, then add that to your timeline. You invested in learning and applying theory, methods, processes, and have a final product. That took time. Include it. Many people segue into ID from other fields. If you have ISD knowledge + experience, it counts! For example, Professional Development: 2 months of training in Adobe Captivate; 2 months of Vyond animation development. If you still fall short, how can you still sell yourself? Offset YOE with your mad skills. You know authoring tools so well you draw icons in your sleep. You have a certificate in Captivate, and portfolio pieces galore. Instead of placing skills on the bottom of your resume, elevate that section above work experience so employers scan this first. They’re more apt to call you if they know you are ready to apply newly learned skills. If you don’t have enough YOE, especially, then learning the latest tech tools can up your chances for hire. Catch the full recording here: https://tldc.us/2019/06/21/community-discussion-experience-or-education-what-is-your-yoe/