This week the NERDS welcome the remarkable Karen Dudek-Brannan who helps us dive into the world of education and explore the importance of ongoing growth and learning for educators. Karen Dudek-Brannan is an experienced education professional with a diverse background in special education and speech pathology. With over 18 years of expertise, Karen has dedicated her career to helping students learn and thrive. As a passionate advocate for effective professional development, she brings a unique p...
Jul 06, 2023•34 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast This week the NERDS are aligning on the important topic of… Alignment! Get ready to dive deep into the world of alignment and discover why it's crucial for successful learning experiences. Join our lively discussion as we explore the importance of alignment in the workplace, from simple day-to-day interactions to major company goals. Our expert guest, Montgomery Brown, brings his wealth of knowledge and experience in learning and development to shed light on the significance of alignment for ind...
Jun 21, 2023•31 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast Are you tired of the same old training routines that never deliver lasting results? Well then this episode is for YOU! This week, the NERDS are tackling the infamous "six-month trap" – a vicious cycle that keeps organizations stuck in a loop of ineffective training. In this episode, Scott and Dan unveil the secrets behind this common pitfall and provide practical strategies to break free from its clutches. They're joined by the talented Zeta Gardner, who brings her unique perspective and experti...
Jun 01, 2023•35 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to the Fabulous Learning Nerds, where we're all about maximizing potential through learning and development. In this episode, we're joined by Beth Batts, an expert in instructional design and learning and development. With a lifetime of learning and a passion for empowering others through BB Consulting, Beth knows how to inspire change. Our topic of the week is all about the importance of L&D in today's market. With a focus on attracting and retaining talent, we'll explore why L&...
May 12, 2023•31 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to the Fabulous Learning Nerds! In this episode, we're joined by Christine Mendonca, the Co-founder and CEO of Learnexus, a talent marketplace for Learning & Development professionals. Christine has over 20 years of experience in the L&D industry, and she's here to share her expertise on working with staffing partners and best practices for success. Have you ever wondered about the benefits of working with a staffing partner? Christine will share how it can provide access to...
Apr 30, 2023•30 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast As L&D continues to evolve, there is a growing need for professionals to attend events to stay up to date with the latest trends and solutions. HR is also facing unprecedented challenges with remote and hybrid work arrangements, making events an even more crucial part of their development strategy. On this week's episode, the NERDS welcome the Director of Marketing for The Opal Group, and the Mayor of Learning and development Austin Stevens. Austin shares his insights on what is driving L&am...
Apr 07, 2023•34 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to the Fabulous Learning Nerds! On this week's episode, we are excited to have Richard Vass, a learning technology expert from ELB Learning, join us to discuss the topic of AI vs Adaptive Training - what we should know NOW as learning pros. Adaptive learning is a powerful approach that allows learners to guide their own learning experience based on their performance. On the other hand, AI can provide a personalized and curated learning experience based on big data and contextual inputs. ...
Mar 23, 2023•50 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast I am sure a lot of us are either working hard at getting physically fit or have at least thought about it. We all recognize it’s importance. But what about mental fitness? How many of us are working to get more mentally fit, or even have thought of such a thing? In this episode the NERDS welcome Timmy Galligher , a certified professional leadership and performance coach from the Brown University , Positive Intelligence Coach, and an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching...
Mar 09, 2023•49 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast Today the NERDS explore the importance of taking risks in both your personal and professional life. Today, we are honored to have Susan Gold , an esteemed consultant, coach, and speaker, who is most known for attaching celebrities to brands. Now Susan working with brands and individuals advocating for the power of taking calculated risks and transforming trauma into priceless gifts. In this episode, Susan shares her wealth of knowledge on managing risk versus taking risks, and how life circumsta...
Feb 24, 2023•45 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast It’s time to get together with friends of the show and talk relevant topics and learnings. This week the NERDS are joined by Joey Acklin and Reuben Corbett as they take a look back at 2022 and discuss things they have learned. You will get valuable insights on: The effectiveness of facilitator guides, overcoming the imposter syndrome, design interaction, building internal value for learning and development. They even take a few moments at the end to NERD out over generative a.i. and how to begin...
Feb 09, 2023•52 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast In today's fast-paced and ever-changing world, having an influence mindset is crucial for success. It allows you to create a positive impact and navigate challenges with ease. Having an influence mindset also helps you become a more effective leader. People with a high level of influence are seen as more competent and effective leaders. They are able to inspire others to take action and achieve results, and they can create a culture of trust and collaboration within an organization. This week th...
Jan 25, 2023•56 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast Self-confidence and self-esteem are critical factors in both good learning and good leadership. Are your learnings safe places where everyone can participate and grow? Do we utilize surveys to identify how your audience is feeling BEFORE the group or individual learning takes place? And as leaders are we fostering environments where our people can take risks, feel valued and truly grow themselves and the business? These are the topics we tackle this week as the NERDS welcome Jeannie Moravits Smi...
Jan 10, 2023•50 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast Our access to information is expanding exponentially, and along with it comes a very real problem. When you can get the information, you need at any time and anywhere, how does that effect our ability to think critically? Has the art of creative problem solving been replaced by a microwave learning culture? These are the questions the NERDS discuss with their guest Ezell Lundy. Ezell is a professor and mentor in higher education with more than two decades of experience with learning and developm...
Dec 21, 2022•56 min•Ep 63•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s face it, all skills aren’t made equally. Some skills are more durable than others such as communication and leadership presence. That being said, what kinds of skills are we giving to our frontline employees? All too often our workers get the task-oriented, perishable skills while the leaders get the more durable ones. As learning professionals are we unintentionally reinforcing an unequal system through the way we develop skills and deciding who gets access to what kind of skills? This we...
Dec 05, 2022•56 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast How often do we put a learning experience together, send it out and then say to ourselves, “That should take care of all our problems?” Okay, so maybe one-and-done isn’t the answer, but what is? This week the NERDS are proud to welcome Kellie Tinnin , a learning and development consultant who helps organizations make a measurable difference in performance. Kellie believes that learning is continuous and should contain ongoing measures to make impactful and long term behavior change. It’s a great...
Nov 28, 2022•48 min•Ep 61•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google? Each day millions of people are LEARNING from content on YouTube and other creative channels. And the creators in these platforms are delivering engaging content that makes a real impact. Why is this important and what can we learn from their success? This is the questions the NERDS pose this week. Their guest, Alex Valez is a content and social media expert who shares his journey through the creator economy and its im...
Nov 14, 2022•57 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast This week’s episode is incredibly unique. The NERDS got together to discuss some facilitation best practices, but after a few moments Dan and Abby felt it would be best to be human for an episode and share some of Scott’s experiences and learnings surviving Hurricane Ian. Einstein once said, in every crisis there is great opportunity, opportunity for leadership, kindness and learning. We ask that you enjoy the genuine dialogue of three people who care about each other. Please share this episode ...
Oct 17, 2022•36 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast Friend-of-the-show Paul Hart is back and this episode he shares some insights on both the challenges of teaching through the pandemic, and his take on social and emotional learning with his students. Paul takes his passions of comics and pop culture and brings them into his classroom so his students can find relevancy in his topics and dare I say be taught lessons on being better citizens and people. His work was even noticed by a popular member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but you will hav...
Oct 06, 2022•58 min•Ep 58•Transcript available on Metacast This week the NERDS are honored to be joined by Garima Gupta, founder-CEO of Artha Learning Inc. Garima and her team creates exceptional learning experiences that are both engaging, effective and a delight to their audience. Artha Learning is the eLearning provider of choice for many organizations; winner of the 2022 Canadian Small Business of the Year, 2021 Stevie International Business Award Company of the Year, and many other honorable awards for their intense focus on quality eLearning and c...
Sep 19, 2022•48 min•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast Today the nerds welcome Kally Calton, a engagement specialist with a passion for people, personal growth and business impact. She shares her thoughts on the importance of employee engagement in our new working world and what WE can do to ensure we foster an environment of success for those we serve. It’s a great show you will not want to miss. If you would like to connect with Kally you can do so here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kallycalton/ email- kallycalton@gmail.com Got ideas on engagement?...
Aug 25, 2022•48 min•Ep 56•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest was referred to us from friend of the show Cara North . A rock s tar with the Association for Talent Development, Adam White is an articulate and performance-driven professional with comprehensive experience in developing effective L&D initiatives that build a culture of excellence that contribute to a high-performing, inclusive environment. Today Adam shares with us his LND mix tape. Like most mix tapes, Adam chooses songs with deep relevance towards his personal learning jour...
Aug 05, 2022•49 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever wondered how to get into instructional design? Have you ever wondered if the opportunities you face in your space are unique? These questions and many more are answered by some friends of the show in our first Learning Roundtable. This week the NERDS are joined by John Lathbury, Joey Acklin and Lucas Berning as they discuss their own personal learning journeys and some great advice on stakeholder management. If you would like to connect with our guests, you can do so here: John Lat...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep 54•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s face it, working with stakeholders and subject matter experts is a critical component to successful instructional design. Taking a learning program from conception to completion on time, under budget and with the time to review the process for learnings, yeah that’s a challenge! Luckily the NERDS have someone who can help us out. Friend of the show Emily May works with businesses and organizations to design and develop engaging learning experiences at scale with an emphasis on consistency ...
Jul 15, 2022•48 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast As leaders we often work towards getting the best FROM our people: Setting expectations, managing deadlines, reviewing performance are all common strategies. But what if it goes far deeper than this? What if maximizing performance really meant developing our people into the BEST PEOPLE they could be, and this in turn would give us the BEST RESULTS? That’s a whole new ballgame. This week’s guest helps us understand this idea. Gregory Offner is one of the most in-demand experts on the topic of pro...
Jul 01, 2022•58 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast How do we go about getting the most not only from our teams, but from ourselves as well? This is the question the NERDS ponder with this week’s guest Bryan Gillette . Bryan is a former Silicon Valley human resource executive, founder of his own leadership consulting business, and amateur ultra-endurance athlete. Bryan knows how to connect with both the business leader or the amateur athlete to help them reach their peak and achieve the impossible. The skills and behavior are the same. So join us...
Jun 24, 2022•54 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s brave new world, the leadership competencies that got the job done in the past are proving to be inadequate. Gone are the days when get the job done by focusing on shareholder value was the measurement of leadership success. Now leaders need to consider employee growth, retention and creating a work environment that fosters learning and growth. But where do these new competencies come from, and as learning leaders how do we begin to think about them and help our leaders grow so they c...
Jun 17, 2022•53 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast It’s that ime of the year where we celebrate the accomplishments of young adults as they transition from High School to their selected adult path in life. For many of them this means going off to college and diving into the high education, But what does it take to be a successful learner in College? What are some techniques that can help you study better and how should you approach time with your professor? For many of us, we simply figured this out on our own, or we dropped out for something el...
Jun 06, 2022•57 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast The great thing about learning is that it never really ends, we all have the opportunity to learn and grow with every experience we have in life. To help us better understand this, the week the NERDs are speaking with Joe Matz, a lifelong learner and teacher. Joe shares some amazing stories of how he had to adapt to new environments and cultures while setting business ventures overseas, and how his learnings from those experiences has helped him shape business opportunities in the US. There are ...
May 20, 2022•53 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast Are you a Wild Bore, or do you happen to know or work with one? Truth is wild bores are everywhere as so many people try and give as much information as possible, in as short a time as possible and wind up putting everyone to sleep. Luckily the NERDS are joined by friend-of-the-show Leesa Wallace as she provi des simple tips to avoid the pitfalls of sharing to much and losing your audience. Leesa shows how the PARE strategy can help keep you on track, focused and how it can be used in any part o...
Apr 29, 2022•32 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast Is Instructional Design Useless? Are the conventions of what so many have been taught irrelevant or just part of some learning and development myth? These are interesting questions posed by Nick Shakelton-Jones in his article on aconventional.com and they got our attention. This week the NERDS discuss the validity, ramifications and solid thinking behind asking these questions in hopes that they challenge us to get better. This episode has some great ideas within, and an extra helping of Dan Coo...
Apr 18, 2022•52 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast 
