It's been almost 12 years since Experience API (xAPI) version 1.0 was released, and it’s still experiencing some growing pains. With so much potential yet still waiting to take the world by storm (or by SCORM?), xAPI seems much like many other Tweens. The fabulous Megan Torrance joins us for this episode of IDIODC to discuss where xAPI stands in 2025 and its future as it strives toward adulthood.
The goal of any L&D department is to influence and change behavior. And guess what? That’s the same goal of the marketing department. Marketers are great at grabbing attention and convincing people to carry out an action, and many of the strategies and tools they use can also help L&D teams improve the success of training programs. Tune in for a great conversation with Bianca Baumann, VP Learning Solutions & Innovation at Ardent and co-author of the soon to be released book, 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 ...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is in the spotlight these days, and many L&D teams are exploring the role it can play in their development processes—and even in the learning content itself. The team at Welbee began incorporating AI into its dominKnow | ONE courses a year ago. Welbee provides courses and learning content focused on school staff well-being in the UK and US. Their use of AI has centered on helping learners better understand course content and serve as an overall well-being tool. Tim H...
It’s time to dust off our trusty coffee mugs and get back on the mic! Instructional Designers In Office Drinking Coffee (IDIODC) is back, and we have a lot to discuss. In our first session this year, we’ll cover the top eLearning industry challenges in 2025 – some are new and trendy, while others are legacy and persistent. How can we tackle these challenges (if at all)? What are the consequences? Could these obstacles become opportunities to make a big impact? Tune in to our session with dominKn...
We've all heard of Sales Enablement roles. But why is it that only sales teams get special attention enabling them to do their jobs better? Shouldn't we be enabling the entire organization? One might argue that traditional onboarding and training has that responsibility. But it's not quite the same. Enabling all departments to be successful and productive requires more than what traditional training departments provide. Supporting the moments of need within all departments requires knowledge man...
Have you asked yourself lately why you don't put a stronger focus on accessibility when creating eLearning content? Oh c'mon, you know you've made excuses why you "can't" do it. We all have at one time or another in our careers. I include myself in that. Here are just a few I'm sure you've used: "Yea, but nobody in our organization has a disability." "Yea, but nobody with a disability could do these particular jobs anyways." "Yea, but it costs more, and we don't have the time to spare." "Yea, bu...
Just because you have the skills to shoot and edit a video doesn't mean it's instructionally sound. This is why some videos are easier to learn from than others. And why that learning sticks. Watching video is a passive experience and therefore you might think there isn't much more to it than just making it more entertaining. Yea, you'd be wrong. Dr. Patti Shank joins us to discuss some of the mental processing models you can use to your advantage when producing videos. She's taught us all how t...
AI is the hottest topic in L&D since Learning2.0. It's even hotter than Virtual Reality. Why? Because it's something everyone can use and doesn't require additional hardware expenses. And more importantly, when used creatively, AI apps can supercharge your individual productivity. But if you're a manager/director of an L&D or Training department, you need to build your knowledge of these tools as well. They are changing how your team will work and support stakeholders. Myra Roldan, AWS Sr. Techn...
Nonprofit organizations need training too. Just like the for-profit enterprise, a nonprofit has learning needs. Some of that learning is unique to the nonprofit world. And just like SMBs and large enterprises, nonprofits come in all sizes. And as these organizations scale up, so do their training needs. If you're an L&D professional you may have considered working for, or consulting with, a nonprofit. Much of your work will remain the same, but understanding the unique nature of the nonprofit en...
Artificial Intelligence is the hottest thing since the internet. And it's the fastest growing, and fastest changing technology in human history. The businesses that survive will be those that can quickly adapt and incorporate these changes with minimal business disruption. Learning and Development will play a critical role in the future of this augmented enterprise. With AI changing the business landscape on a daily basis, and so many professionals concerned about their careers, Mike has visuali...
Oops! I tripped on a lego, and got back up as an accidental instructional designer. HA! Okay, maybe not that type of accident. But there aren't that many of us that grew up always wanting to be an ID. The reality of our workforce is that we're the island of misfit corporate professionals, and former school teachers. This is also the story of today's guest. And she also wrote the book on becoming an Accidental Instructional Designer. Cammy Bean join us to talk about her journey as she launches th...
Is your company, or department, growing and needing to upgrade the training systems you've outgrown? Or maybe you're just curious about the future of your career in L&D or corporate training? Perhaps you just like to stay informed about the training industry for other reasons. Digital technology has been changing our industry for over 50 years. Keeping up is not easy, but IDIODC is here to help. Craig Weiss joins IDIODC to talk about the changes in technology that are changing the landscape of L...
The 5 Moments of Need exist in every department of every enterprise, and requires a strong and efficient learning ecosystem. Both formal and informal learning solutions support each of the moments in different ways. When you need to learn NEW stuff or MORE stuff, those are the first 2 moments of need and probably the most obvious. But there is also APPLY, CHANGE, and SOLVE. These are moments that require learning solutions supported by solid design and development processes, and systems as well....
As your career progresses you will be asked to be a speaker, or deliver a presentation, more and more. And it doesn't matter if you enjoy it or not, your thoughts and ideas will need to be communicated to others if you expect to succeed in your career. Working from home, virtual meetings and training sessions, have become the norm. Just because you can open up the zoom app doesn't mean you're good to go. You need a plan for delivering your message in virtual rooms and spaces. You need these skil...
Learning and Development leaders and their teams support many different stakeholders. But all of these stakeholders play an important role in the success of each enterprise. If our job is to help them improve their performance than we must learn to become better advisors to those lines of business. Jess Almlie joins us to talk about becoming a trusted business advisor. For Jess, this is key in doing our best work as L&D professionals. Working as a trusted business advisor allows us to get out of...
Industry research is an important part of advancing our profession. Did you know that, sometimes, researchers discover interesting trends that don't make the final edit of a report? Obviously, if it was industry changing findings it wouldn't hit the cutting room floor. But even the stuff you never read about can very interesting and helpful in your career growth. We've been looking forward to having Dr. Bozarth on IDIODC for a long time and are thrilled to have her join us. Be sure to tune in fo...
Data literacy is not something traditionally taught to training teams, but leveraging data for decision-making is critical in today's workplace. But just counting butts-in-seats doesn't cut it. It's necessary to interpret the business data you are expecting to impact with your training solutions. But that's often easier said than done. Especially if you're new to the world of training and development. Zsolt Oláh joins us to discuss the data analytics of training and development. We'll discuss wh...
When you hear about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, how often do you associate them with accessibility? Probably not immediately, right? But when you see it, your brain says "of course"! Accessibility conversations are often discussed as a separate initiative, when in reality, creating accessible learning content is exactly what DEI programs are all about. Perhaps we should add another letter, and begin calling these programs Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility? For ent...
Are you tired of hearing the term "gamification"? Do you even hear it that much any more? Was it just a trend that has finally passed? These are all questions for the master of games for learning, Karl Kapp. He's a regular contributor to IDIODC and we want to know what happened... and what's next. Dr. Kapp is well a well-known professor at Bloomsburg University. Many of his students have become names you recognize online and at L&D events. He's written books and is a popular LinkedIn learning in...
Facilitation is about mastering how to deliver an engaging learning experience, all in the effort of improving workplace performance. Instructional designers work hard to do the same. But often times lack facilitation skills or the nuanced understanding of facilitating a learning experience. Let's connect these valuable skillsets and improve training experiences for everyone. In our current digital world it might be easy to believe the art of facilitation is a lost and unnecessary craft. But fac...
Telling stories is a tried and true method for helping people learn. You've probably studied the traditional story arc, and the hero's journey, but have you ever tried the Sabido Method? Have you heard about it? Yea, I haven't either. The Sabido Method has a few steps in the process: Formative Research Policy Framework The Values Grid Writing and Production Monitoring Audience Feedback Impact Evaluation Jim Piechocki joins us to discuss how the Sabido Method has been successfully applied and res...
Colors, fonts, images, shapes, white space, and so much more. Our work as instructional designers requires a significant understanding of digital visual design. Even if you're "just an instructional designer" and hand your work over to a "developer", there are still many basics of digital design that make us all better at the work we do. As we've learned from past episodes on topics such as translations and accessibility, how you design the instruction impacts how you will design the visual elem...
Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic for 2023. Useful applications seem to be popping up daily, and existing platforms, like Canva and Microsoft, are creating new "magic" features within their existing apps. Do these news apps and new feature sets make our jobs easier? Some might argue they will someday make our jobs obsolete. The only thing we know for certain is that AI is here to stay, and getting better every day, whether we like it or not. Like all new shiny tech objects that we chase i...
Before technology we had 1 method of instruction: Classroom based learning with student/teacher guides. But as technology and the internet began to grow the world gained many new options. Sadly, this initially led to thoughts of learning solutions that would replace the classroom and the instructor. Today, we've all, finally, accepted the fact that learning is a long term process. One training event cannot truly be the only event required for the realization of business impact. We now mix and ma...
In today's global economy instructional designers are increasingly needing to create learning solutions that meet the needs of many cultures communicating in different languages. For decades the answer was simply mandated within large companies requiring all employees anywhere in the world to understand English. Problem solved? Not so much. Thankfully, modern technology solves the problem of multiple languages. And while we don't have any direct links to research, my guess is that most people le...
Who remembers seeing their first CommonCraft video? I remember seeing RSS in Plain English back in the day and thinking, "Wow, this guy if FANTASTIC!" That particular video is now considered a classic, and low budget, compared to today's Explainer Videos. But the cool thing is that it STILL works. It takes a relatively complex topic and explains it "in plain english". If you've always felt like you could never "do video", then this is a must attend event for you. Lee and his wife taught themselv...
Do you know if your eLearning is accessible? If no, why not? As an instructional designer it's your responsibility to make sure your eLearning projects are accessible for all possible learners. And hey, you eLearning developers! This is your responsibility as well. Even if it is not mandated within your industry, it's the right thing to do. Jenny Wincek joins us from Interactive Advantage to talk about the Trusted Tester program. We will cover some of the basics of 508 and WCAG compliance as wel...
Allison Rossett's web site has a great quote, "She works on Learning and Technology in a way that is creative, concrete, and quirky." But what it should say is The Greatest of All Time! And her credits and accolades prove it. Not to mention being a genuinely wonderful human being. She is a legend in L&D, but specifically making her mark in the realm of Performance Support. She was promoting Performance Analysis and Support before most practitioners had even thought about what instruction might l...
Sure you can find a lot of different free images on the internet, but there's always a project, or 2, that need that extra special custom graphic element. You could pay a graphic designer to create something, but that also comes with some headaches. Why not just learn to create it yourself? I think you'll be surprised as how easy it really is. And don't tell us that you aren't creative, or don't know how to draw. Kevin Thorn, from NuggetHead Studioz, regularly joins us to help you learn that, in...
In the past we've covered 15-20 items in one IDIODC episode. And as much as I feel that I'm connected to all things tech, he always surprises me with something I haven't discovered yet. Everything from media creation apps to microphones lighting kits and fancy desks. We all use technology for the work we do and while you might not think you need new gadgets, you just might discover one that makes your life a LOT easier. Join us for this special episode and share your own cool apps, gadgets, and ...
