Shows
The Learning Hack podcastLearning Technologies 2025 Special with Josh Bersin, Daniel Hulme, David Kelly, etc.AI shockwaves and human resilience in L&D At the Learning Technologies Conference 2025, John Helmer speaks with leading voices in learning and AI—including Josh Bersin, Daniel Hulme, David Kelly, Jerome Pereira, Sophie Costin, Tadelayo Sodipe, and Donald H. Taylor—about disruption, ethics, innovation, and the changing role of L&D. 00:03:08 - Intro 00:05:08 - Josh Bersin 00:41:44 - Daniel Hulme 01:01:39 - David Kelly 01:26:57 - Prof. Jerome Pereira 01:58:09 - Sophie Costin 02:12:23 - Tadelayo Sodipe 02:33:39 - Donald H. Taylor 03:01:44 - End Connect with John Helmer LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer X: @johnhelmer Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social...2025-05-123h 01
Great Minds on LearningEarly Computing with Donald Clark From Babbage to Turing: the roots of AI. In this first episode of Season 7, Donald Clark and John Helmer trace the roots of modern computing and AI through six foundational figures—Babbage, Lovelace, Hollerith, Bush, Newman & Flowers, and Turing. Exploring their machines, insights, and visionary ideas, they uncover surprising links between early data technologies and the digital learning landscape of today. Expect Steampunk vibes, deep dives, and a speculative look at how history shaped learning innovation. 00:01:54 - Intro 00:02:58 - Donald & John catch up - Donald’s new tattoo 00:05:42 - Introducing Roots of AI: Early Computing 00:13:41 - Charles...2025-05-061h 35The Learning Hack podcastOEB Show Special with Gerd Leonhard, Laura Overton, Maribel Reyes Millán & Donald H. TaylorVoices from Berlin: Learning in the Age of AI. In this episode, John Helmer reports from the Online Educa Berlin (OEB) Conference, engaging with four influential voices in learning and development: futurist Gerd Leonhard, workplace learning expert Laura Overton, digital education innovator Maribel Reyes-Millán, and L&D thought leader Donald H. Taylor. Together, they discuss the transformative power of AI, strategies for navigating disruption, and the evolving demands of learning in an uncertain world. 00:00:00 - Start 00:01:06 - Intro 00:03:08 - Gerd Leonhard 00:22:32 - Laura Overton 00:46:23 - Maribel Reyes Millán 01:00:52 - Donald H. Taylor 01:21:06 - End 2025-01-131h 21The Learning Hack podcastQuestion Time with Donald ClarkRevisiting Learning Theories: Insights and Challenges for the Future In this special live episode of Great Minds on Learning, recorded at Online Educa Berlin 2024, Donald Clark and John Helmer tackle listener questions about learning theory’s relevance, biases, and practical applications. They reflect on three years of the podcast, exploring 2,500 years of educational thought, and discuss the future of learning, including the transformative impact of AI. Engaging and insightful, this episode is a must-listen for learning professionals and enthusiasts alike. 00:00 - Start 00:59 - Introducing GMoL Question Time 08:17 - Why this podcast? 30:52 - What are the...2024-12-161h 07Great Minds on LearningQuestion Time with Donald ClarkRevisiting Learning Theories: Insights and Challenges for the Future In this special live episode of Great Minds on Learning, recorded at Online Educa Berlin 2024, Donald Clark and John Helmer tackle listener questions about learning theory’s relevance, biases, and practical applications. They reflect on three years of the podcast, exploring 2,500 years of educational thought, and discuss the future of learning, including the transformative impact of AI. Engaging and insightful, this episode is a must-listen for learning professionals and enthusiasts alike. 00:00 - Start 00:59 - Introducing GMoL Question Time 08:17 - Why this podcast? 30:52 - What are the...2024-12-161h 07The Learning Hack podcastGreat Minds on Learning – Question TimeSend in your questions for the Great Minds on Learning Q&A! Donald Clark and John Helmer will answer them at Online Educa Conference in Berlin, which will be recorded for a podcast episode to be issued before Christmas 2024. Email them in to john@learninghackpodcast.com or reach out on social media.2024-11-2100 minThe Learning Hack podcastLearning Futures 2 with Anne-Valérie Corboz, Jane Underwood & Sarah OtleyStrategic Insights on Leadership, AI, and Skills for Tomorrow John Helmer explores the future of learning with Anne-Valérie Corboz (HEC Paris), Jane Underwood (Reckitt), and Sarah Otley (Akkodis Academy). They discuss leadership evolution, generative AI’s impact, and strategies for building future-ready skills. From innovation challenges to aligning L&D with business goals, this episode offers actionable insights for learning professionals navigating rapid technological change and preparing for tomorrow’s workplace. A must-listen for those shaping the future of education and work. 00:00:00 - Start 00:01:11 - Intro 00:01:50 - Anne_Valerie Corboz 00:22:45 - Ad - iVentiv 00:23:26 - Jane...2024-11-181h 14The Learning Hack podcastLearning Futures with Charles JenningsThe Chair of iVentiv’s upcoming Learning Futures conference talks AI, performance and L&D complacency. John Helmer speaks with Charles Jennings, managing director of Duntroon Consultants and a founding partner of the 70:20:10 Institute. Charles has over 40 years of experience in corporate learning and performance improvement and is widely known for advocating the 70:20:10 framework. The conversation delves into the future of workplace learning, exploring how L&D professionals can evolve their strategies to drive organizational success in a rapidly changing environment. Charles shares his thoughts on generative AI and its potential role in reshaping learning. He...2024-09-2351 minGreat Minds on LearningContinental Theorists with Donald ClarkDeconstructing Continental Philosophy's Impact on Modern Education. At the end of the 19th Century, a split in Philosophy emerged that persists today. The Analytic tradition, led by Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein, emphasized clarity, logical rigour, and formal methods in language analysis. By contrast, Continental theorists such as Husserl and Heidegger went to a very different place. They focused on human experience and took on broader cultural and political themes, giving us terms like existentialism, structuralism, post-structuralism, and postmodernism. In this final episode of the season, we explore the impact of Continental Theorists. What influence have these radical...2024-07-151h 27Great Minds on LearningPsychoanalysts with Donald ClarkLearning in the post-Freudian age At the beginning of the 20th Century, fundamental assumptions about the nature of the mind and how it learns were completely overturned by a new set of ideas. Pre-eminent among the thinkers and practitioners who spearheaded a new field of study called psychoanalysis was the Austrian neurologist, Sigmund Freud. Following his death in 1939, Freud’s followers continued and developed his ideas, and psychoanalysis grew ever more influential, not just in the treatment of mental illness, but in government, business, philosophy and education. Though most of Freud’s theories have since been discredited, he c...2024-07-011h 15Great Minds on LearningConnectionists with Donald ClarkIs the mind flatter than we thought? This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the ‘Performance Journey Goes Dutch’ conference in Ermelo, The Netherlands, organised by Xpertise Learning. Donald and John explore a group of theorists who are giving us a new picture of how we think and learn that is distinctively different from what came before. They’re the Connectionists, and they see the brain as flatter than was previously thought, constantly trying to predict what will happen next, and to improvise a response. But what are the implications for learning of this N...2024-06-1755 minGreat Minds on LearningGMoLS6E33 Scribes 2: Literacy and Orality, with Donald Clark Second of a two-part series on the invention of writing and the impact of literacy on learning. Last time, Donald and John discussed how writing was invented in the ancient world. This time the focus moves to the 20th Century, and thinkers such as Walter Ong and Eric Havelock who revived interest in the pre-literate world of oral culture. Their work raised themes that were to become ever more resonant with the rise of the internet and AI. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:56 - Introducing Literacy & Orality 00:09:15 - Walter J. Ong (1912-2023) 00:22:44 - Eric Alfred Havelock (1903-1988) 00:33:08 - Jack...2024-05-281h 38The Learning Hack podcastSpecial: Learning Technologies Exhibition & Conference 2024Learning Technologies London is Europe's leading showcase of organisational learning and the technology used to support learning at work. John Helmer visited the show and talked to a rich mix of the most interesting people he found there: the analyst, the ingenue, the philosopher, the CLO, the keynoter, the vendor, the budget holder and the pirate (yarr!). The result is a snapshot of the industry, and a deep dive into key themes and insights shaping the future of the learning profession. 00:00:00 - Start 00:00:48 - Intro 00:03:01 - Adam Lacey 00:08:19 - Hannah Frame 00:20:12 - Julian Stodd 00:29:42 - Paul Matthews 00:37:44...2024-05-202h 34Great Minds on LearningPrivate view of Season 6 with Donald ClarkJohn and Donald preview the upcoming season of Great Mind on Learning. The sixth season of Great Minds on Learning begins on Monday 15th April 2024. Ahead of the first episode, John and Donald preview the treats in store! The Blog that started it all: https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2021/09/these-were-written-as-quick-readable.html Contact Donald X: @DonaldClark LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-clark-04553022/ Blog: http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/ Contact John Helmer X: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack/ 2024-04-1125 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Language of Learning with Peter Manniche Riber Does the way we talk about learning improve our understanding – or hold it back? The language of learning is charged with resonant abstract nouns that mobilize professionals around new ideas and concepts. But are these concepts really so new in all cases – and do they provide a focus for practical action? To what extent is the debate driven by the commercial imperatives of Learntech vendors rather than the real needs of employees and students? Peter Manniche Riber is Head of Digital Learning at Novo Nordisk, Europe's most valuable company, and a formidable critic of this 'buzzword bingo'. He ta...2024-02-121h 07The Learning Hack podcastAI: The Product and the Problem with Egle Vinauskaite What is the best approach to using AI for learning in an organisation? My guest this time on the Learning Hack thinks that it’s really important to know what problem you are trying to solve with AI in order to use it effectively for learning. The product has to come before the product. Egle Vinauskaite is the award-winning director of the learning innovation consultancy Nodes. Her expertise in learning, behavioural science, and technology has made her a sought-after edtech advisor by top startups and blue-chip companies. In this fascinating discussion, Egle describes how AI is ushering in...2024-01-1546 minGreat Minds on LearningGenerative AI with Donald Clark The theory behind generative AI as a transformational tool for learning. This episode, the last in the current season, was recorded at the Online Educa conference in Berlin and focuses on Generative AI. Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, the learning world has been mesmerized by the potential benefits and dangers of this new form of AI. Unlike other forms, it can be accessed by non-technical people, in natural language conversations. Donald and John explore its roots in neuro-biological research, as well as the learning theory underpinning Donald's belief that it is potentially the most powerful...2023-12-111h 07The Learning Hack podcastBonus: Should You Use Podcasts in Learning?BONUS EPISODE: A talk by John Helmer recorded at the New Learning Conference, Netherlands. Podcasts are everywhere, and have become recognised as a powerful information medium. But can a podcast really cut the mustard as a learning experience? This talk by John Helmer of the Learning Hack podcast, given as a 'live podcast session' at the Next Learning event, provides some answers. John looks at the learning theory around audio learning, practical considerations for using podcasts in an organisational (or institutional) context, and examples of podcasts being used to teach skills and support people in their learning.2023-11-0622 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Horses of Instruction with Sarah RatcliffWhat can horses and brain damage teach us about learning? Sarah Ratcliff is an award-winning Learning Consultant, Speaker, and Ambassador for Learning, with over twenty years experience in the industry. She is currently a spokesperson for the learning provider Cegos, and a regular chair for the Learning Technologies conference. In 2020, she earned the esteemed Learning Professional of the Year award from the LPI. She talks to John about how the experiences in her life that have formed her views about learner engagement, including her love of horses and a debilitating head injury. 00:00 - Start 02:52 - How...2023-10-1643 minThe Learning Hack podcastFinlandization with Jussi Hurskainen 'It all started when NASA read our code ...' Jussi Hurskainen is CEO and co-founder of Valamis, a learning systems company with offices in in the US, India, and across Europe, but headquartered in Finland. In a crowded market, Valamis distinguishes itself by the sophisticated way its platform handles data. Jussi tells John about how the product got its start when Nasa engineers read and were impressed by its code – and what it has been like over the last few years running a company whose worforce straddled the Russian border. 00:00 - Start 00:35 - Intro 03:48 - What is Valamis? 05:01 - Market cond...2023-10-0231 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Pirate Code with Lauren Waldman Lauren Waldman is a learning consultant, educator, and the founder of The Learning Pirate. She is a certified training and development professional and has received qualifications in Neuroscience from Harvard and John Hopkins University, and in Medical Neuroscience from Duke. She works with organizations to create bespoke, scientifically designed learning programs using the latest cognitive and behavioural science. But with whole learning and development departments being laid off currently, she believes the profession faces an existential threat. Could embracing neuroscience help to prevent its demise? 00:00 - Start 00:35 - Intro 03:39 - The Pirate Code 11:00 - Does learning theory conflict with neuroscience 15:34...2023-09-1842 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe L&D Detective with Kevin M. YatesKevin M. Yates is known in the global training, learning, and talent development community as the L&D Detective. He investigates impact and solves measurement mysteries with facts, clues, evidence, and data. His rigorous but pragmatic approach is informed by 25+ years industry experience serving in diverse roles across multiple industries and brands including Grant Thornton, Kantar, McDonald’s, and Meta (Facebook). Kevin talks to John about how he see the current state of learning evaluation in organisations – he's optimistic – and what AI holds for the future of his practice. 00:00 - Start 00:35 - Intro 03:03 - What crimes does the L&D det...2023-09-1142 minThe Learning Hack podcastHack in Ukraine - Ep3: Coming Home, feat. Yuliia Kovach With their delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine accomplished, Andy and John head back home, retracing their tracks across Northern Europe. In a harrowing interview, John talks to a Ukrainian elearning specialist now based in Germany following the sad death of her husband on the frontline in Bahmut. And in Theorists Corner we feature John Comenius and Eric Kandel. 00:00 - Start 00:44 - Intro 02:39 - TFI Friday 15:29 - Theorists Corner: John Comenius 18:36 - Interview: Yuliia Kovach 28:18 - How Yuliia met Viktor 32:45 - Russia invades 41:49 - Life after Viktor 53:56 - Theorists Corner: Eric Kandel 56:04 - Final update from Run 19 58:59 - Outro Ukraine...2023-09-041h 01The Learning Hack podcastHack in Ukraine - Ep2 Being There, feat. Vladimir Polo Arrived in Ukraine, Andy and John deliver their aid to the hospital in Lviv. With the main object of the trip accomplished, they take a walk around the city and assess the mood. John interviews Vladimir Polo, a learntech entrepreneur based in Odesa about what it has been like to run a learning company in a war zone. And, in Theorists Corner we feature Lev Vygotsky and Wilhelm Reich. 00:00 - Start 01:11 - Intro 01:43 - From the border to Lviv 04:47 - Theorists Corner: Lev Vygotsky 06:34 - Fulfilling the Prime Directive 09:48 - Interview: Vladimir Polo 15:00 - Managing a dispersed business from a w...2023-08-2936 minThe Learning Hack podcastHack in Ukraine - Ep 1: Getting There Over three episodes we tell the story of what happened when John Helmer hitched a ride with Andy Wooler, chair of Ukraine Fundraiser 2022, to help deliver humanitarian aid to recently bombed Lviv. They chat about the conflict, about learning ... and about the history of the continent they are crossing from West to East. 00:00 - Start 00:44 - Intro 01:32 - JH thoughts before leaving 05:09 - The rehearsal 07:26 - Introducing Theorists Corner 07:47 - Dover 08:23 - Dunkirk 08:34 - Belgium 09:12 - Netherlands 10:07 - Theorists Corner: Huizinga 11:45 - Theorists Corner: Erasmus 14:31 - Adaptive learning & AI 21:15 - Germany 22:44 - Military training 28:07 - Theorists Corner: Ebbinghaus 29:15 - Theorists C...2023-08-1543 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Sea, The Sea with Raal Harris Oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface, and a huge workforce crews and manages the ships that sail on them. These people all have to be trained. While learntech companies now largely work across business sectors, there are those whose learning needs are so niche and specific that they call for a specialist. Maritime is such a sector. In this episode, John talks to Raal Harris, Chief Creative Officer at Ocean Technologies Group, a global learntech vendor servicing the Maritime Industry. Raal definitely IS a specialist, and knows the sector inside out. 0:00 - Intro 3:37 - How important is Maritime to glob...2023-07-1755 minThe Learning Hack podcastShell in Transition with Jaap HoogendoornShell 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 chan...2023-07-0354 minThe Learning Hack podcastJobs To Be Done with Ger Driesen 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...2023-06-1931 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Wizard of Oz with Markus Bernhardt 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, so...2023-06-0453 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Great AI Takeover with Kevin Alster This episode is part 2 of a podcast swap with the Video Learning Lab podcast run by Kevin Alster. Kevin is a Learning Strategist at Synthesia, the Denmark-based video learning company, and was previously employed as a designer of learning experiences at The New York Times and Sotheby’s. John talks to him about Synthesia's AI-generated avatars, which are rapidly gaining use in learning programmes. This wide-ranging discussion covers many of the most topical questions about use of AI in learning. And in a first for the Learning Hack podcast, the episode is introduced by AI generated avatars, replacing the usual cast...2023-05-221h 03The Learning Hack podcastThe Joy of Ceyx with Matt Wilkinson 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 ho...2023-05-0947 minThe Learning Hack podcastBONUS: Video Learning Lab turns the tables 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...2023-04-1737 minThe Learning Hack podcastPodcasts for Learning with Adam Lacey People use podcasts to gain information and knowledge, about a huge variety of things, in their downtime. Organisations and institutions have been slow to leverage this powerful source of potential to date, but things are changing fast. John talks to Adam Lacey, co-founder of Assemble You, an 'audio-first' provider of learning content. How different are learning podcasts from ordinary podcasts? And how easily – or otherwise – does audio learning sits alongside other forms of digital content within a learner journey? 0:00 - Intro 2:58 - Differences between The Learning Hack and Learning Podcasts 6:23 - How Adam got into learning podcasts 8:30 - Podcast Access 14:02 - Atten...2023-03-2041 minThe Learning Hack podcastBonus: Donald H. Taylor & David Wilson 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, Mark...2023-03-1357 minThe Learning Hack podcastUnder Thirties Assemble with Dinye Hernanda 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 - D...2023-03-0642 minGreat Minds on LearningUtilitarians/Happiness with Donald Clark This episode focuses on happiness. Utilitarianism is a strand in philosophy that says the greatest happiness of the greatest number should guide our judgment in all things – including education. But does its modern descendant, positive psychology, place too much trust in looking on the bright side? 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - Introducing Utilitarians/Happiness 5:37 - Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) 17:06 - John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) 28:51 - Martin Seligman (1942–) 37:35 - Summing Up The Blog that started it all: https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2021/09/these-were-written-as-quick-readable.html Bentham bit.ly/3okvNi2 Mill bit.ly/3CYxBRG Seligman bit.ly/2DVc3fw Contact Donald Twitter: @DonaldClark LinkedIn: https://www.link...2023-02-2751 minThe Learning Hack podcastEthical Learning with Alexander Fahie 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 th...2023-02-2042 minGreat Minds on LearningReligious Educators with Donald Clark This episode covers a sizeable sweep of history, from the perhaps misnamed Dark Ages and the Islamic Golden Age, on through the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment. As the Christian and Islamic faiths spread, learning became a powerful tool of religion – and Religious Educators, in their turn, changed the shape of learning. Introducing Religious Educators – 1:18 Augustine of Hippo (354-430) – 4:58 Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) – 10:23 Ibn Tufayl (1106-1185) – 13:18 Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) – 17:22 Martin Luther (1483-1546) – 25:06 John Calvin (1509-1564) – 32:32 Desiderius Erasmus (1466 – 1536) – 39:23 John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) – 46:25 Summing Up – 52:49 The Blog that started it all: https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2021/09/these-were-written-as-quick-readable.html St Augustine bit.ly/2Gm22q1 Al-Ghazzali bit.ly/3kN3yGI Ibn Tufayl bit...2023-02-1358 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Leading Edge with Gustaf NordbäckLeadership 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...2023-02-0649 minGreat Minds on LearningAI Learning with Donald Clark Once the stuff of science fiction, Artificial Intelligence is now a part of everyday life. But the story of how it came into being is not often told. This episode reveals its roots in neuropsychology and observations of the physical processes in the brain that lead to learning. The theorists who Donald and John discuss began their work at a time when behaviorism, which by and large disouraged attempts to look within the mind, dominated academic psychology. But despite a few 'winters', AI has developed to the point where it is now all-pervasive, and a driving force of change in l...2023-01-291h 09The Learning Hack podcastThe University in the Future, with Stephen Downes 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. B...2023-01-231h 06The Learning Hack podcastClimate: Will We Ever Learn? with Robert Nicholls '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...2022-11-2839 minThe Learning Hack podcastVR Gets Real with Lynda Joy Gerry, Sophie Costin Empathy is a big word in learning. We want to have more of it, so learning professionals are increasingly charged with helping to promote and somehow inculcate it in their learners. But the efficacy of programmes designed to do that thing has been highly questionable. In this episode we look in depth at an innovative programme designed by Make Real that has pioneered a way of increasing empathy. The programme has shown surprising results, and not just by the (often limited) standards by which training programmes are normally judged. Make Real collaborated with Empathy and VR researcher, Lynda Joy Gerry, to...2022-11-1440 minThe Learning Hack podcastBonus episode Jane Bozarth - repeat Learning Hack is on a mid-season break but here's another chance to hear one our most downloaded episodes. John talks to Dr. Jane Bozarth, Director of Research at The Learning Guild, about how the rise of digital technology is changing expectations about the sort of skills and qualifications a learning professional should have in the 21st Century – and about her own, long career in learning. That career includes numerous books, work as a columnist for Learning Solutions Magazine, and a long-standing position as E-Learning Co-ordinator for the US state of North Carolina. More than all that, Jane has always been a f...2022-10-3148 minGreat Minds on LearningBonus episode: What Did We Learn? with Carl Crisostomo GMoL is on a mid-season break, but in this bonus episode without Donald Clark, John discusses the series so far with Carl Chrisostomo. Under his social media alias of Carllearns, Carl has been 'learning out loud' on his journey of discovery in learning science. He reflects on the part GMoL has played as guide and wayfinder in that journey. In a sense, it's a learner takeover: both Carl and John talk about how the series has changed their understanding of learning: two minds perhaps less touched by greatness, but both animated by a deepening and widening appreciation of the ways i...2022-10-2425 minThe Learning Hack podcastWorkflow Learning: Is It Working? with David James New research says that while workflow learning is thought to be the most effective way of learning by employees, neither L&D or the learners themselves have the time to implement it. What is going on here? To find out, John talked to David James, whose company sponsored the research. David has worked in People Development for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across EMEA. He is now Chief Learning Officer for 360 Learning, working with clients to develop and implement their digital learning strategies. David also hosts the Learning & Development p...2022-10-1749 minThe Learning Hack podcastRich Talk with Rebecca Rolland Children often ask challenging questions, but according to John's guest this time, we should see these as valuable opportunities for learning. Dr Rebecca Rolland is a speech pathologist and education lecturer whose recently published book, “The Art of Talking with Children”, gives parents and educators practical strategies for holding what she calls 'rich 'conversations' which she sees as central to effective parenting and education. John discusses these strategies with Rebecca, and explores how applicable these techniques might be to older students and the field of workplace learning. 00:00 Intro 03:09 'Rich' conversation 08:34 How do you stop it feeling awkward? 11:40 What part do rich c...2022-10-0342 minGreat Minds on LearningVR & Metaverse with Donald Clark When Mark Zuckerberg announced the renaming of his company from Facebook to Meta in 2021, he provoked a surge of interest in this new thing, the Metaverse. But virtual worlds are nothing new, and people have been learning in virtual worlds for over a decade. This episode explores the thought of those who have tackled the practical and philosophical questions that learning in virtual worlds raises. And to be true to the spirit of the subject, Donald and John conducted their discussion INSIDE a virtual world. 0:00 - Intro 1:32 - Introducing VR and the Metaverse 10:08 - Jaron Zepel Lanier (1960- ) 14:30 - Guido Ma...2022-09-261h 04The Learning Hack podcastThe Adaptive Edge with Andy Wooler Adaptive learning has been bubbling under for a while in learning technologies, but it’s never quite broken through. Now that the technology to implement it, particularly AI, is maturing, and both investment and adoption are on the increase, is it finally about to go mainstream? John talks to Andy Wooler, Senior VP, Product Management at Area9 Lyceum, about about what adaptive has to offer, and also about the personal journey that has led to his current position. Andy has had a long and interesting career in elearning, on both on practitioner and vendor sides of the fence, giving him a u...2022-09-2048 minGreat Minds on LearningLearning Styles with Donald Clark This group of theorists focused on the easily observable fact that all learners are not the same, and attempted to systematise those differences according to learner preferences. With the best of intentions (in most cases) they divided learners into discrete groups (e.g Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic) and made recommendations for how educators should treat each group. This approach has since been widely attacked in multiple studies that show there is almost no scientific basis to these theories. Nevertheless they remain popular and in common use. Donald and John explore the origins of learning styles, and the reasons for its enduring p...2022-09-121h 04The Learning Hack podcastIs L&D Too Inward-Looking? with Nigel Paine Dr. Nigel Paine is co-presenter of Learning Now TV and From Scratch Podcast (with Martin Couzins) and has been involved in corporate learning for over 20 years. Among many career highlights he was head of the BBC's learning and development operation, and for 12 years Advisory Board Member for the University of Pennsylvania's CLO Doctoral Program. T his conversation explores his past career but also the insights to which that lifetime of experience has given rise. He has interesting things to say about L&D's interactions with the business, and good advice for learning professionals. 0:00 - Intro 3:27 - Nigel's beginnings in learning 13:05...2022-09-0547 minThe Learning Hack podcastBonus episode: The Curious CLO with Stefaan van Hooydonk (repeat) John talks to Stefaan van Hooydonk, Founder of the Global Curiosity Institute. Stefaan has lived, worked and studied all over the world, in a learning career spanning three decades. He has held numerous leadership roles in large companies. As Chief Learning Officer at Cognizant he was in charge of L&D for 300,000 people. This June he published The Curiosity Manifesto: How Curiosity Helps Individuals and Workplaces Thrive. Curiosity, he believes, is the key to an organization's success in the 20th Century. So what is L&D's role in making an organization, and its employees, more curious? 03:35 Being CLO to 300k Lea...2022-08-2250 minThe Learning Hack podcastBonus episode: Dyslexic Tech This time the feed is given over to an episode from one of our favourite podcasts, The Death of E-learning. In this episode, the team talk to their colleague at Learning Pool, Paul Stoner, about an article he wrote describing his struggles with Dyslexia, and how learning to code transformed a perceived 'disability' into a positive advantage at work. Paul's article: https://dev.to/learninglocker/programming-as-a-dyslexic-29mh?fbclid=IwAR1GdxAXfP2D6-QeB3aOORzDZw8UEEC7vPvxqSPOLZGVlXL1RMsSJ25MhJE Contact John Helmer Email: john@learninghackpodcast.com Twitter: @johnhelmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/ Website: https://johnhelmerconsulting.com/ Download the wh...2022-08-0253 minThe Learning Hack podcastStart Me Up with Serena Gonsalves-Fersch In a world where content about almost anything you may need to learn is readily available online, what should be the role of organisational L&D? Probably not its present one, which is all too often almost exclusively concerned with the centralized provision and curation of content for the organisation's learners – says Serena Gonsalves Fersch FLPI. Serena is Head of Talent for the SoftwareONE Academy, but also a doctoral candidate, researching the future of learning and the L&D function in technology accelerating organisations. In this final episode of the current season, she talks to John about some compelling insights her...2022-07-1842 minThe Learning Hack podcastChanging Jobs with Nick Jones With job vacancies at record levels, wages on the rise after having been stalled for many years and the so-called great resignation underway, workers face a labour market changed beyond recognition by the pandemic and other forces. The workplace learning industry in particular is a volatile place, with digital learning having taken a big step forward during the pandemic. John talks to Nick Jones, co-founder of Blue Eskimo, a specialist recruiter for the sector. The balance of power between employers and workers has definitely shifted with all these changes – but to what extent is this a temporary blip, or a more...2022-07-0539 minThe Learning Hack podcastGeorgia On My Mind with Tracy Capaldi-Drewett In this episode, John talks to Tracy Capaldi Drewett, Executive Director at International Centre for Parliamentary Studies, about a programme ICPS launched in February 2022 to train Georgian diplomats. The programme launch co-incided with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, providing another complication compounding difficulties associated with Covid. Despite it all, the programme has been a success, and John also hears how ICPS, like many other organizations, has pivoted during the pandemic towards more digital delivery. 0:00 - Intro 3:20 -Tracy's role at his trading organisation 7:22 - The learning project in Georgia 11:53 - Who are the learners? 15:12 - What was the mix of th...2022-06-2039 minThe Learning Hack podcastCan Hybrid Work? with Laura Lee-GibbsThe return of workers to offices in the UK had stalled for the first time since restrictions were lifted at the start of the year, and may well have plateaued. Hybrid working is with us, it seems, for the foreseeable future. Laura Lee-Gibbs, Founder of Learn Fox, returns to the podcast to discuss the challenges this is throwing up for learning professionals. Having got through the upheavals of the pandemic, they now have to adjust to a world where hybrid learning is business as usual. 03:17 Challenges of the Hybrid Workflow 11:11 Hybrid affecting the technology required for...2022-06-0644 minThe Learning Hack podcastShowtime! A Report from Learning Technologies 2022 With more than 9,000 attendees from 50 different countries, 200 seminars and 200 exhibitors, Learning Technologies is Europe's leading showcase of organisational learning and the technology used to support learning at work. A major conference runs alongside the exhibition, featuring talks from more than 90 of the learning industry's foremost speakers, thinkers, visionaries, and practitioners. This special edition of the podcast was mostly recorded at the show, and features interviews with Paul Matthews of People Alchemy and Caroline Ford of Novartis, as well as 'Hot Takes' on the current state of the industry from Donald Taylor, Paul McElvaney, Mirjam Neelen, Laura Overton & Bob Mosher. 02:26 Hot Ta...2022-05-2346 minThe Learning Hack podcastRepeat Performance with Guy Wallace This episode will be highly relatable to anyone who works in L&D within organizations, but is of more general interest too. Now semi-retired, Performance Analyst and Instructional Architect Guy W. Wallace proves more than happy to spill the beans about the wiliness that is often need to keep programmes on track amidst the sturm und drang of corporate politics and misapprehensions about learning in the C-suite. Guy has been designing Enterprise Learning since 1979, has been a partner/owner at 3 consulting firms, and has served more than 80 consulting clients, primarily in the Fortune 500. In 2010 he received the Honorary Life Member Aw...2022-05-0952 minThe Learning Hack podcastAccess All Areas with Susi Miller Susi Miller is Founder and Director of eLaHub Ltd, the only provider of eLearning accessibility specialised services in the L&D industry. The company provides training, auditing services and consultancy on every aspect of eLearning accessibility for clients including Amazon, Thomson Reuters, London Stock Exchange Group, and Govt of Canada. In this episode, John talks to Susi about the prevalence of disabilities in working populations, and how to meet all access requirements in production of learning content. And will the metaverse be more or less accessible than what went before? Recent developments in online gaming may hold the answer. 0:00 - In...2022-04-1948 minGreat Minds on LearningInformal Learning with Donald Clark This episode’s thinkers were driven by a common belief that while practically all the attention and money in training and education is lavished on formal interventions, informal means of learning account for a much larger proportion of what actually happens. How should this insight change our view of learning, and what role does technology play? Donald and John discuss a movement that has come to seem more and more prescient as learning technology has developed, and whose ideas are becoming increasingly mainstream: informal learning. 1:03 - Introducing Informal Learning 3:58 - Victoria J. Marsick & Karen E Watkins 16:31 - Gloria Gery 27:39 - Jay C...2022-04-111h 03The Learning Hack podcastLearning in the Social Age with Julian Stodd John talks to Julian Stodd, Captain of Sea Salt Learning, a strategic consultancy that partners on the design and delivery of global solutions around leadership, culture, learning transformation and change. Julian has an academic background in communication theory, psychology and neurophysiology, learning design, educational psychology and philosophy. He has written 14 books, including most recently, 'The Humble Leader', released in March 2022. 00.00 Intro 02:56 'The Humble Leader' 04:34 Definition of The Social Age 07:50 Relationships between workers and their organizations 16:34 Is he an idealist? 24:31 Important areas for learning professionals 31:13 Julian's origin story 34:29 His work with organizations 43:32 Myth & storytelling 47:29 Where to follow...2022-04-0450 minThe Learning Hack podcastRising Star with Federico Presicci Federico Presicci is Head of Sales Training & Enablement at GDS group, an accredited personal coach (ACC) and a certified Meditation Teacher. He won the Gold Award in the Rising Stars category at the 2022 UK Learning Awards. Impressive achievements for any 27 year-old – but Federico came to the UK only five years ago. At the time he knew nobody here, and didn’t speak English. John, who was one of the judges of the Rising Stars award that Federico won, listens to his story, and hears his aspirations for the future. 0:00 - Intro 2:27 - Learning Awards win 5:08 - Life when arriving in the U.K...2022-03-2155 minThe Learning Hack podcastWhat's Hot? What's Not? with Donald H. Taylor John's guest this time is Donald H. Taylor, Chair of the Learning Technologies Conference, of the Learning and Skills group, of the Learning and Performance Institute, Network Chair of Emerge Education, Editor of Inside Learning Technologies Magazine and a Non Executive Director of Filtered. He's also been called the James Bond of learning. Each year since 2013, Donald has produced his L&D Global Sentiment Survey, which asks the question: ‘What will be hot in workplace L&D next year?’ John and Don discuss the results of the latest survey and what it shows about an industry transformed by the global pandem...2022-03-0741 minThe Learning Hack podcastHold Your Horses, Trish Uhl! When a car accident brought an untimely end to Trish Uhl's athletic career, equestrian sport's loss became a massive gain for IT and learning technologies. Trish is founder and CEO of Owl's Ledge LLC, a firm that helps learning professionals improve their performance, drive business results, and produce organizational outcomes. She works with Global 500 and Fortune 500 clients on four continents. Describing herself as someone who, in words often attributed to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, is always skating to where the puck is going rather than to where the puck currently is, she tells John about treating L&D like an e...2022-02-2152 minThe Learning Hack podcastWhat Rough Beast with David Lockie John talks to David Lockie, an entrepreneur and investor in leading-edge web technologies who is Co-chair of the British Interactive Media Association’s Blockchain Counsel and passionate about blockchain, open source software and crypto. Over the last two decades, the internet and the world wide web have had transformative effects on workplace learning. Now around the corner is Web 3, and everything’s about to change all over again. So what is Web 3, and will it be good news for those now forging careers in the learning profession – or bad? 0:00 - Intro 4:02 The BIMA Blockchain Council 6:56 What is Web 3.0? 18:11 - Implications for Lear...2022-02-0747 minThe Learning Hack podcastThe Curious CLO with Stefaan van Hooydonk John talks to Stefaan van Hooydonk, Founder of the Global Curiosity Institute. Stefaan has lived, worked and studied all over the world, in a learning career spanning three decades. He has held numerous leadership roles in large companies. As Chief Learning Officer at Cognizant he was in charge of L&D for 300,000 people. Last June he published The Curiosity Manifesto: How Curiosity Helps Individuals and Workplaces Thrive. Curiosity, he believes, is the key to an organization's success in the 20th Century. So what is L&D's role in making an organization, and its employees, more curious? Timestamps 03:35 Being CLO to 300k Le...2022-01-2451 minGreat Minds on LearningThe Enlightenment with Donald Clark The Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its thinkers believed in individual liberty, religious tolerance, opposition to absolute monarchy and the dogmas of the Church, and an emphasis on the scientific method and the primacy of reason. The Enlightenment overturned many then traditional ideas about politics, science, arts, law, economics and many other fields – but at the centre of their project was a slew of revolutionary ideas about learning. Donald pinpoints a group of enlightenment thinkers who had particularly interesting things to say about how we...2021-12-061h 15The Learning Hack podcastHere Comes Summer with Summer Salomonsen Josh Bersin describes Cornerstone's new platform, Xplor, as a ‘skills-based, AI-powered platform designed as an LXP, talent mobility, career, and skills platform, [with] the potential to change the L&D landscape.' In this episode, last of the present season, John talks to Summer Rivers Salomonsen, VP Content Product at Cornerstone. Is this type of huge, all-inclusive system that brings together LXP, talent management system and skills really what organizations and learners need right now? 0:00 – Intro 3:41 – Summer’s role at Cornerstone 6:18 – What does Xplor do? 12:55 – The learning business and the talent business 17:19 – Is this the right direction for the business? 22:48 – The state of mic...2021-11-2944 minGreat Minds on LearningOnline Educators with Donald Clark From blackboards to interactive whiteboards, learning has always made use of technology. But with the advent of computers and then the internet, learning theory entered a new phase from the late 20th Century onwards – as thinkers grappled with the challenges of designing systems and content that could help people learn online. How could making programmable robots stimulate children to learn? What was the best way to combine media for learning – and how could you teach online without distracting or overloading learners? What were the rules for creating optimal learner experiences? These were the questions our online educators asked themselves. ---------- 0:00 - Intr...2021-11-221h 07The Learning Hack podcastAin't Nothing But an xAPI Party with Megan Torrance John is joined by Megan Torrance, Chief Energy Officer of Torrance Learning, a custom development company based in Michigan USA. With an MBA from Cornell and a consultancy background, Megan has a firm grasp of the business value of learning initiatives. But her two decades of experience in learning technologies also includes a strong bent towards using data for learning. She is strong advocate for xAPI, and organizes the 'xAPI Party'. How does she feel about the slow rate of adoption of xAPI among learning departments? 0:00 – Intro 2:09 – How she leads Torrance Learning 6:03 – Normalising Data in L&D 10:42 – Current state of xAPI 15:17...2021-11-1543 minGreat Minds on LearningMoralists with Donald ClarkLearning has always had a moral dimension. In pre-enlightenment times religion played a big role in deciding what and how people should learn, but by the 20th Century much of that influence had waned, and thinkers began to explore the ethical bases of learning in different ways. This episode covers a group of thinkers who explored the moral dimension of learning within different cultural contexts, and the increasing role of communications technology in those debates. 00:58 - Introducing the Moralists 6:52 - Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970) 16:54 - Lawrence Kohlberg (1927 - 1987) 27:51 - Mamie and Kenneth Clark (1917...2021-11-081h 09The Learning Hack podcastAsk the Analyst with Craig Weiss John Helmer talks to Craig Weiss, the straight-talking learntech analyst and consultant. Craig is CEO and Lead Analyst for The Craig Weiss Group, and the founder of FindAnLMS, a learning system search engine. With the so-called 'Great Resignation' underway, skills issues are uppermost in many business leaders' minds: do learning systems have a part to play in helping organizations deal with the fallout? Craig has a view – and as with the other topics that John has crowdsourced from the community for him, he gives his answer with characteristic frankness. 02:47 Can vendor systems solve post-Covid skills issues? 12:25 The current state of buyer...2021-11-0154 minThe Learning Hack podcastIntelligence, Autonomy & Morality with Ezri Carlebach How is digital technology impacting the way people work, learn and think – and what upcoming technology trends should we look out for? In this episode, John talks to Ezri Carlebach, writer, lecturer, communications expert and imagineer, who has worked extensively in educational and workplace learning contexts. Why is imagination so important to learning – and in what ways has the pandemic changed the way we relate to technology? 2:31 - What is 'imagineering'? 5:54 - Ezri's career journey 13:22 - Digital anthropology 20:40 - Are we worrying about the right things? 25:12 - Imagination as a focus 42:35 - How covid has affected human/machine interaction 46:35 - Views...2021-10-1850 minGreat Minds on LearningPragmatism & Practice with Donald Clark 'We're now beginning to unpack what is really good for learners and teaching' says Donald Clark, 'and it's not what we thought it was.' Learning Theory over the ages has concentrated largely on the 'front end' of the process: learning as an event and an experience. Less attention has been given to the back end, how one makes it stick. This episode concentrates on the people who explored these questions of practice and transfer, from William James to the present day. What they discovered was a quite startling, counter-intuitive truth – one which has largely ignored by the educational establishment to d...2021-10-1159 minThe Learning Hack podcastAn Audience With the Drama Lama with Tom Hickmore John talks to Tom Hickmore, award-winning Creative Director of video learning company Nice Media, about his newly released book Watch & Learn. The book aims to help learning professionals in designing, commissioning and producing effective video drama for learning. Tom has also produced a popular series of videos drawing particular lessons from hit movies and TV series such as Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and the Bond franchise. But can video dramas for learning paid for by organizations ever aspire to comparable levels emotional intensity? ---------- 03:14 Who is Watch & Learn written for? 06:15 How can a learning video emulate movies & TV? 13:38 How adv...2021-10-0446 minGreat Minds on LearningInstructionalists with Donald Clark In this episode, Donald and John discuss a group of theorists who mostly focused directly on instructional design, and who between them created a body of work which is canonical to the practice of learning design. Although their most famous maxims feature prominently on PowerPoints and blogs about learning design to this day, their ideas are often cherry-picked and misrepresented – as in the strange case of Benjamin Bloom and his eponymous Taxonomy. Donald calls for a revaluation, arguing passionately for their continued relevance and far-sightedness. 00:56 Introducing the Instructionalists 06:52 Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) 12:51 Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999) 26:29 Robert M. Gagné (1916-2002) 38:43 Robert F. Ma...2021-09-271h 08The Learning Hack podcastMoving the Needle with Laura Overton This time John is talking to Laura Overton, an award-winning international speaker, author and facilitator, with multiple institutional fellowships. Laura is probably best known for helming Towards Maturity, the research and benchmarking organization, from its inception as a Government initiative, through independence and commercial success before it was bought out by Emerald Group in 2017. Does she think during her time there she really managed to bring about change in the practice of learning? ---------- 2:54 - What is ‘Emerging Stronger’? 11:30 - ‘Changemakers’ newsletter 16:43 - How did she get into learning? 24:28 - Towards Maturity: the legacy 31:02 - L&D skills and mindset 35:52 – Data in L&D 4...2021-09-2044 minGreat Minds on LearningThe Behaviourists with Donald Clark In this first episode of the first season of Great Minds on Learning, Donald Clark discusses the Behaviorists, a group of theorists who, starting with Pavlov in the early part of the 20th Century, did much to put psychology and the psychology of learning on an experimental, empirical basis. He argues that the Behaviorists have been much misunderstood. In particular, the myths surrounding B.F. Skinner, which have turned him into something of a hate-figure, have helped to spread the notion that behaviorist ideas were wrong-headed and have been superseded by cognitive psychology. In fact, their ideas, though still controversial, ar...2021-09-131h 00The Learning Hack podcastThe Learning Skillset with Jane Bozarth John talks to Dr. Jane Bozarth, Director of Research at The Learning Guild, about how the rise of digital technology is changing expectations about the sort of skills and qualifications a learning professional should have in the 21st Century – and about her own, long career in learning. That career includes numerous books, work as a columnist for Learning Solutions Magazine, and a long-standing position as E-Learning Co-ordinator for the US state of North Carolina. More than all that, Jane has always been a fount of no-nonsense, practical advice for learning professionals, and there's plenty to be found in this interview. ...2021-09-0650 minGreat Minds on LearningGreat Mind on Learning: The Cognitivists (repeat) Another chance to hear the inaugural episode of Great Minds on Learning, which was originally aired back in March 2021 to considerable acclaim. In this series, Donald Clark – the internationally famous author, blogger and entrepreneur, joins John Helmer to discuss the history of thought and theorising about learning. This particular episode is about The Cognitivists, a group of theorists who made a vital contribution to what we now know about the mechanics of memory and learning. ---------- 00:47 Why is memory such an important focus for the cognitivists? 02:27 Introducing the Cognitivists 04:07 Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) 13:49 George A. MIller (1920-2012) 19:25 Richard C. Atkinson (1929- ) & Richar...2021-08-3052 minThe Learning Hack podcastGreat Mind on Learning: The Cognitivists (repeat) Another chance to hear the inaugural episode of Great Minds on Learning, which was originally aired back in March 2021 to considerable acclaim. In this series, Donald Clark – the internationally famous author, blogger and entrepreneur, joins John Helmer to discuss the history of thought and theorising about learning. This particular episode is about The Cognitivists, a group of theorists who made a vital contribution to what we now know about the mechanics of memory and learning. ---------- 00:47 Why is memory such an important focus for the cognitivists? 02:27 Introducing the Cognitivists 04:07 Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) 13:49 George A. MIller (1920-2012) 19:25 Richard C. Atki...2021-08-3052 minThe Learning Hack podcastTeaching Machines with Audrey Watters Audrey Watters' new book, Teaching Machines, tells the story of how two academics, Sidney Pressey in the 1920s and B.F. Skinner in the 1950s, attempted to develop and market mechanical devices for learning. John talks to Audrey about the book and explores the reasons why both of these pioneers of pre-computer learning technology, ultimately, failed. In the book Audrey Watters, who describes herself as 'an education writer, an independent scholar, a serial dropout, a rabble-rouser, and ed-tech's Cassandra', also draws comparisons with today's technologists, and sees the pervasive influence of B.F. Skinner at work in their attempts to us...2021-07-1944 minThe Learning Hack podcastMagic Moments with Bob Mosher John talks to Bob Mosher, champion of workflow learning and the Five Moments of L&D Need. Bob has been an active and influential leader in the learning and training industry for over 30 years and is renowned worldwide for his pioneering role in new approaches to learning. Based in South Carolina, he is CEO and Chief Learning Evangelist at Apply Synergies. Previously he was with Microsoft, as Director of Learning Strategy. Bob is also a Maisie Fellow. 00:00 - Intro 02:40 - What are the 5 moments of L&D need? 09:22 - What progress has he seen in the 20 years since the 5 moments we...2021-07-0538 minThe Learning Hack podcastLearning on the Jab with Reda Sadki & Marc Howells This special edition of the podcast features interviews with two people who have each in their different ways played important roles in the effort to vaccinate the world and free us all from the menace of Covid-19. Marc Howells is VP & Head of Global Talent & Learning at AstraZeneca, developers of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222, one of the leading weapons in the fightback against global pandemic. Reda Sadki, President of The Geneva Learning Foundation, is an old friend of the podcast. He leads a Swiss non-profit that connects learning leaders to research, invent, and trial breakthrough approaches for new lea...2021-06-2149 minThe Learning Hack podcastWhy Does It Have To Be So Difficult? with Stella Collins Cognitive load theory tells us that we have to do our best to make things easier for learners. But Bjork says that 'necessary' (or 'desirable') difficulties are an essential part of the process. Should learning be easy or difficult? Is there a simple way to resolve this apparent contradiction – or is it a matter of trade-offs? John talks to Stella Collins, one of the 'Brain Ladies' and also Co-founder and Chief Learning Officer of Stellar Labs, based in Belgium. With degrees in Psychology and Human Communication, she is an enthusiast for our growing knowledge of how the brain works. Starting with...2021-06-0744 minThe Learning Hack podcastEvidently Mirjam with Mirjam Neelen John talks to Mirjam Neelen, Head of Global Learning Design & Learning Sciences at Novartis, and a well-known blogger and speaker. She recently co-authored a book, Evidence-Informed Learning Design, with Paul Kirschner that has been extremely influential in learning and development. The book has plentiful tips, tools and examples to help L&D and training professionals avoid the myths and hype and design effective learning based on solid research. The conversation also covers two controversial and much-vaunted areas for future development in learning: neuroscience and AI. Are they really as useful for learning as some believe? 02:55 - How does she balance pra...2021-05-2443 minThe Learning Hack podcastEither/Or with Lior Locher John talks to Lior (Christine) Locher, a learning consultant, coach, author, and a director of the elearning network. Lior's experience spans journalism, practitioner L&D roles for companies such as McKinsey, Deloitte and the Boston Consulting Group as well as creative work and beer blogging. She has lived and worked on 4 continents. She knows 22 languages and speaks seven to intermediate level. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Learning and Performance Institute. They discuss the dangers of binary thinking and techniques Lior has developed to overcome it. Lior identifies as gender non-binary, and the theme h...2021-05-1042 minThe Learning Hack podcastGreat Minds on Learning: The Cognitivists with Donald Clark This time we're featuring the pilot episode of a brand new podcast from the Learning Hack team, Great Minds on Learning. In this series, Donald Clark, the internationally famous author, blogger and entrepreneur, joins John Helmer to discuss the history of thought and theorising about learning. It’s all here: the inspired, the enduring, the wacked-out weird and the just plain wrong in 2,500 years of learning theory from Aristotle to the present day. This inaugural episode is about the Cognitivists, a group of psychologists who probed the limits and the limitations of human memory, an area of focus that Donald Clark...2021-04-2653 minThe Learning Hack podcastE=MC5 with Gregg Collins John talks to Dr. Gregg Collins, Chief Learning Scientist at NIIT. A Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from Yale University, Dr. Collins played a key role in the seminal research carried out at the Institute for the Learning Sciences (ILS) at Northwestern University in Chicago. He was a co-founder of Cognitive Arts Corporation, which was incorporated in 1995 to commercialize ILS and has been consistently recognized as a pioneer and leader in the effective use of instructional design and technology to support pedagogy. This wide-ranging discussion covers the culture in L&D, boring learning and how to avoid it, what LDs c...2021-03-2949 minThe Learning Hack podcastGot Any Other Numbers, Charles? with Charles Jennings John Talks to Charles Jennings, who is Partner, Strategy and Performance of Tulser / 70:20:10 Institute. Recognised as one of the world's leading experts on building and implementing learning and organisational performance strategies, Charles has led projects for multinational corporations, government agencies, not-for-profits, and other organisations for more than 40 years. He has also held several academic posts. They discuss the influence of knowledge management, the conspiracy of convenience that hampers learning evaluation – and the 6-digit number that has played a significant role in his career, 70:20:10. 02:45 What was his reaction to the success of 70:20:10? 11:17 How has 70:20:10 changed workplace learning? 15:41 How did he come to b...2021-03-1543 minThe Learning Hack podcastA Brief History of Learning Systems with Donald Clark 'People imagine that technology's a recent thing in learning, [but] it's always been there.' From its earliest beginnings in cave paintings to today's AI-driven learning systems with interfaces influenced by consumer technology, Donald Clark tells the colourful story of learning technologies in conversation with John Helmer. Donald has been an important part of that history himself. Growing up in the housing schemes of Livingston, Scotland, Donald studied Philosophy at Edinburgh University and Dartmouth College USA, where he first encountered artificial intelligence. Co-founder and CEO of Epic Group plc, which established itself as the leading elearning company in the UK, so...2021-03-0150 minThe Learning Hack podcastLearning Systems with Page Chen John talks to Page Chen, CEO of Remote Learner; a learntech business leader with a strong academic background. How does she characterise the development of learning systems in the first two decades of the 21st Century, a period during which there was a good deal of pushback from 'guru' figures and practitioners alike against the admin-focused model promulgated by the industry? Have we reached a place now where the design of learning systems is better informed by learning science? 02:58 How did she get into learning technologies? 07:43 How well do the academic and corporate views of learntech align? 10:26 Development of the l...2021-02-1546 minThe Learning Hack podcastBehaviour Points with Julie Dirksen John talks to Julie Dirksen, a leading expert in instructional design, digital learning and behaviour change. Is it a problem for learning professionals that even when they have supported learners in gaining the knowledge and skills they need to do things right, and to do the right thing, once back in the workplace they so often do the exact opposite? This conversation dives deep into the mechanics of behaviour change, addressing the 'elephant and rider' problem in human psychology, and confronts the tricky ethical questions that effective use of behaviour change techniques inevitably brings up. 03:37 What does the ‘elephant and rider...2021-02-0148 minThe Learning Hack podcastBeyond Learning with Harold Jarche John talks to Harold Jarche, blogger, speaker and consultant in the closely adjacent but oddly separate worlds of learning and knowledge management. People at work need more than skills training and compliance learning. They have to navigate the complex knowledge environment that technology has given us, using concepts and tools that are part of an emerging field described by figures such as George Siemens, Dave Snowden, and Harold himself. Harold talks about Personal Knowledge Mastery (PKM), his own take on this, in a wide-ranging discussion that ranges over sensemaking, wayfinding, the influence of military training and the current state of s...2021-01-1848 minThe Learning Hack podcastWhat Are We Talking About? Looking back over a year and a half of podcast episodes, John Helmer summarizes the main themes that have emerged from these these fascinating discussions and attempts to draw insights by taking a helicopter view. Where do people agree, and where do they clash? Includes contributions from George Siemens, Nick Shackleton-Jones, Donald Clark, Connie Malamed, Gianni Giacomelli, Laura Lee-Gibbs, Andrea Miles, Sharon Claffey Kaliouby, Jane Hart, Matthew Confer, Paul Matthews, David Wilson, Julliette Denny, Steve Dineen, Dani Johnson, Henri Palmer, Paul McElvaney, Leonard Houx, Myles Runham, Victoria Marsick, Reda Sadki, Caroline Ford and David Perring. 01:23 Learning Hack Facts & Figures 04:04 5. The Lear...2020-12-1641 minThe Learning Hack podcastFantastic Mrs Fox with Laura Lee-Gibbs John talks to Laura Lee-Gibbs, Digital Learning Consultant & Director of Learn Fox. In her 14 years in the industry she has worked both vendor-side and client-side, across a broad range of sectors including legal, healthcare, retail, automotive, hospitality, financial, charities, professional associations, public sector and government agencies. Her practice focuses on digital transformation, and one of the things she does a lot for clients is to guide them through the difficult decisions involved in choosing a learning system. She has a three-step process for doing this which she talks through in this interview. The discussion also covers the importance of...2020-11-3040 minThe Learning Hack podcastBeing B.A.D. with Andrea Miles John talks to Andrea Miles, CEO of BestAtDigital, about her plans for the new company she is helming, spun out of Cornerstone, and her journey to get to this point. Andrea’s career spans over 20 years in learning, mostly in leadership roles. Since 2004 she has formed and managed to keep together a core team that has seen nine M&A transactions. What it it like to lead through such a time of upheaval, weathering the market consolidations of the last few years? And yet, during this time, Andrea has not only survived, but has consistently innovated. The discussion covers the agi...2020-11-1637 minThe Learning Hack podcastLearning's New Recession with Sharon Claffey Kaliouby John talks to Sharon Claffey Kaliouby, VP, North America for Learning Pool, an award-winning professional and co-founder of the #women in learning group with Kate Graham. Sharon has held several high profile executive roles in Learning & Development with the likes of Thomson Reuters and Enterprise Ireland. Prior to Learning Pool, she was a Learning Fellow & Advisor for Elliott Masie Productions and previously Head of Global Learning & Development for State Street Global Advisors in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also a keen sportsperson – surfing, golf, fencing and basketball are among the sports that get a mention. But the conversation is mainly about the...2020-10-1939 minThe Learning Hack podcastDecisions, Decisions with Matthew Confer John Helmer talks to Matthew Confer, VP, Strategy & Business Development at Abilitie, an expert in leadership and decision-making. How do leaders make tough decisions in tight situations? How do they deal with the law of unintended consequences, which can bedevil so many in positions of authority? Matthew, who has run many simulation training events with leaders in large companies around the world, gives a three-step framework for tough decisions in tight spots, and discusses how leaders are coping with the tough decisions confronting them in the global pandemic. 03:26 A three-step decision-making framework 07:00 Tips for fast decision-making 10:48 Premortems and snakes 12:58 Decision-making an...2020-10-0527 min