Heidi Kirby 0:06
Hello friends! Welcome to the BLOC, the building learning and organizational culture podcast. I’m your host, Heidi Kirby. Now, I know that you all come here for the interviews and not for the solo episodes, but I wanted to do one more solo episode in honor of National Podcast Day last week. I want to talk about some of my favorite L&D podcasts and some brand new ones that I think could add some serious value to the L&D community! I’ll include links to each podcast mentioned in the show notes for this episode so that you can go listen and subscribe. I hope you enjoy this National Podcast Day celebration episode after a brief word from our sponsor, Verasana.
Verasana Narrator 0:49
Your business needs a better way to train. The better that your team needs is training that leads to performance. Verasana is interactive and repeatable, so your employees can return to lessons as many times as they need to. And we optimize the training, so they, and you, can view their progress. The power of mobile makes it possible. Our team has decades of experience and expertise. We do it because we've been where you are. Verasana - the better way to learn.
Heidi Kirby 1:20
Everywhere you look someone is starting a podcast. There are podcasts about health and wellness, true crime, which are very popular, financial advice, celebrities, and of course L&D podcasts. In a sea of podcasts, how do you find the best ones? I decided, in honor of National Podcast Day last week, to put together a list of some of my favorite L&D podcasts, in case you haven’t had the pleasure of listening to them yet!
First, I’d like to shoutout a few podcasts that have withstood the test of time. These are podcasts that have been around for longer than two years that are still releasing episodes today.
The first is my favorite podcast, The Good Practice Podcast. A team of Good Practice regulars takes turns hosting this show, and each episode is packed with expertise from the field, resources, humor, and insightful ways to think of L&D in the context of your organization. Each episode concludes with the “what I learned this week” feature, where everyone on the episode for that week shares something they learned. I can’t choose a favorite episode, but if you’re looking for a place to start, Episode 160 – What’s in your L&D Book Bag? is a classic.
Connie Malamed’s The eLearning Coach Podcast dates back to 2013! I found this podcast because the first episode is called “Finding a Job in Instructional Design,” and that’s exactly what I was trying to do at the time. Over the years, Connie has had a WEALTH of guests who have come on the show to discuss best practices for elearning and instructional design, from voice artists, to technical experts, to industry giants like Cathy Moore, Patti Shank, and John Sweller. This show has value for transitioning, new, and expert L&D professionals alike.
In 2017, Cara North and Joseph Suarez started the Instructional Redesign Podcast and issued a challenge to L&D to do better at keeping up with the pace of technology. They talk about gamification, the culture of learning, conferences they have attended, and more, bringing on instructional design practitioners, nerds, and geniuses to share their expertise. Cara also appeared on Episode 6 of the BLOC to talk about branding yourself as an L&D professional and how a grad degree in instructional design can affect your career.
Last but certainly not least in the Classic Podcast category is the Trends & Issues in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, & Learning Sciences Podcast hosted by Abbie Brown and Tim Green. Another podcast that has been around since 2013, this one is unique. First of all, none of the episodes are more than 20 minutes, so they are perfect to listen to during a commute. The hosts collect resources on the website Flipboard and use those resources to identify the top trends in their biweekly episodes. Common trends over the years have included hardware and software, online teaching and learning, and AR and VR. This is a great podcast to find resources for your L&D Toolkit.
Heidi Kirby 4:45
The next category of podcasts are newer and all started this year, but I couldn’t be more excited that they exist!
Dr. Luke Hobson was one of the first guests on the BLOC podcast, coming in on Episode 2 to talk about what we wish we had known when we became instructional designers. He has his own podcast, started in May 2020, where he talks to guests about instructional design practices, teaching online, and completing doctoral programs. He also shares a lot about his own personal journey, from failing out of high school to becoming an instructional designer at MIT, which makes this podcast not only genuine but provides inspiration for those looking to join our field.
A BRAND new podcast that started at the end of August 2020 is called That’s Awesome ID! and is hosted by Leslie Early. In it, Leslie chats with guests about something they think is awesome in the field right now, whether that’s a tool, app, book, person, or anything else they might think is awesome. This is another podcast where the episodes are all under 20 minutes, but they give you enough information about the awesome thing to help you decide if it’s something that would be useful for your role too! So, if you want to know more about designerly thinking or the SOFLA framework and why they are awesome, check it out.
The ifyouaskbetty podcast with Betty Dannewitz started in February 2020 and talks to people about learning and development issues AND how they relate to things like fandom, comics, dungeons and dragons, and more. With a unique spin on how to combine a love for learning with the other loves of your life, even though, admittedly, I’ve only listened to one episode so far, this is the kind of podcast you binge, and I couldn’t do this episode without mentioning it!
Nyla Spooner’s I’m New Here: A Podcast for New Instructional Designers and E-learning Developers also started in May 2020. All I have to say is, where was this podcast a few years ago when I was new? This is PERFECT for the new instructional designer and provides some of the basics that I had to find out by reading through endless blogs when I was trying to transition from a college professor to an instructional designer. This podcast contains short episodes, each around 15 minutes, that speak to job responsibilities, jargon, the interview, and creating your instructional design philosophy. Nyla also talks about her own experience being laid off during the pandemic, which I can certainly relate to, and timely topics such as race and actionable allyship. The combination of topics makes it so that this is a great listen for ANY L&D professional, not just those who are new.
In my last solo podcast episode, I challenged you to add one last professional development goal to your plate this year, so if you feel inspired, please check out one of these podcasts to develop and hone your L&D skills! Also, I would love to hear of other L&D podcasts you’re listening to! Make sure to comment and share all the other great L&D podcasts when I share this episode on social media.
Heidi Kirby 8:02
Thanks again for joining me on the BLOC. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with friends and review us on your favorite podcast platform. I hope you'll tune in again soon.