Learning While Working Podcast

One of the ways work is changing, is more work being done by remote teams. In this podcast Robin talks with Naomi Waldron from easyA about making remote learning design teams work. This podcast has lots of great advice and ideas and about managing and working in remote teams.This is the last podcast in the series that was recorded at iDesignX 2019. This is the last podcast in the series that was recorded at iDesignX 2019. Useful links Learn more about easyA Connect with Naomi Waldron on LinkedIn IDesignX

In this podcast, Robin is talking with James Hanson from Cardno about how their implementation of a learning management system triggered a rethinking of learning at Cardno. Useful links Cardno IDesignX

Smart speakers such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home are changing the way we interact with computers. In this podcast, Robin talks with Cath Ellis about the potential of smart speakers in learning and some of the technology that is used for design and building voice interactions. This is another interview that was recorded at iDesignX 2019. Useful links Learn more about Cath Ellis A example voice project CoAbility Support that Cath has done Learn more about Amazon Alexa Voiceflow - A platform for authoring voice applications Connect with Cath Ellis on LinkedIn IDesignX

In this interview Robin talks with Joe Millward from the TAFE NSW Digital Lab about the work Joe is doing on using virtual reality to simulated workplace experience and how they are using AI technologies to drive complex interactive design. The work the TAFE digital labs is hint what is possible with VR and the changing roles of educators and facilitators. This is another interview that was recorded at iDesignX. Useful links TAFE Digital Labs Connect with Joe Millward on LinkedIn IDesignX

The way we work and the nature of the work we are doing is changing. In this interview, Robin talks with Jonathan Nalder about the FutureWe framework. In the interview Jonathan talks about his own background, the way work is changing and how the education system is not preparing people for the future of work. The interview then moves onto talking about the FutureWe framework as a response to these changes. Useful links Find out more about FutureWe Listen to The Edunauts podcast Connect with Jonathan Nalder on LinkedIn IDesignX

In this interview, Robin talks with Nick Perch from IMC-AG about designing learning for behaviour change. Nick has some great insights on the difference between transformational learning and learning that is knowledge and education focused. For Nick one useful key to designing learning for behaviour change is getting to know your learners and using design thinking. NB: When episode 63 (previous episode) was originally released, we linked up the wrong audio. This is now fixed. Useful links IMC-AG Connect with Nick Petch on LinkedIn IDesignX

This is an interview with Jason Reed from Croomo on why storytelling is a powerful strategy to use in elearning. We explore a lot of topics related to storytelling in this podcast, including why storytelling is important, the skills needed to be a great storyteller and how the learning challenges in workplaces can be great triggers for stories. Find out more about Croomo Find out more about Jason Reed IDesignX

This podcast is the start of a series that was recorded at iDesignX 2019. They are shorter than most of the other Learning While Working podcasts. There is a bit of background noise from the conference venue. The focus of this series is on learning design. There are lots of great conversations coming up, with people you might not have heard about before. In this podcast, I’m talking to Nicole White from the ID Crowd and Rebecca Carter from CSIRO about a project in which they are using voice based digital storytelling to increase understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Culture Awareness at CSIRO. The learning experience they are talking about is not a linear eLeaning, it’s an explorative interface. This podcast is a great summary of their journey to build a really innovative project. Towards the end of the podcast, Nicole talks about one of the most powerful questions they ask to trigger different approaches to eLearning ‘What would this project be like if it wasn't was eLearning’. **Useful links ** IDe

In this podcast Robin talks with virtual classroom expert Cheryle Walker about Learning Solutions 2019. Cheryle Walker was one of the other Australians who was at Learning Solutions 2019. The conversation was reflecting on and debriefing our experiences of the event. The focus of the podcast is on the keynote sessions. The keynotes from the event were: **Baratunde Thurston talking about Digital Storytelling Doesn’t Have to Be Boring ** Find out more about Baratunde Thurston **Sarah Prevette on Design Thinking in Learning and Work ** Find out more about Future Design School **Sarah Lewis on Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery ** Find more about Sarah Lewis

Paul Healy starts this interview by introducing Learning Pool and how they came to chatbots as an approach when they started to think about what a modern learner needs. They felt a modern learner didn’t need another platform, they needed to be able to access learning as part their workflow in other platforms. Chatbots are a perfect way to place learning inside of another platforms. A chatbot means that a learner can pull in what they need just by asking the chatbot a question. Learning Pool’s chatbot, Otto, then goes out to multiple sources, including the content in your LMS and intranet, to find the answers. To go along with the podcast series we have released an eBook with all transcripts of the interviews. To go along with the podcast series on How artificial intelligence is changing the way L&D is working, we have released an eBook with all transcripts of the interviews. The eBook also gives a brief explanation of what AI is and an overview of how it is being used in L&D. [Download the eBook][1]

Emma Weber is an expert in learning transfer. This is actually the second great conversation with Emma on the Learning While Working podcast; the first conversation focused on the 70:20:10 learning model and learning transfer. This interview starts with Emma giving an overview of her approach to learning transfer. One of the key features of her approach is what she calls ‘learning breaks’, which are coaching conversations that focus on personal accountability for making changes and reflection. In the interview, Emma talks about how she struggled to find the right technology to support her approach to learning transfer. She is now using two platforms that work together: an action planning tool called Turning Learning into Action and a chatbot built with the Mobile Coach platform. The Turning Learning into Action platform is free. What she achieved is a great example of using digital technologies to automate the learning process. It might be not a perfect replacement for a personal learning transfer coach, but

Jamie Good is one of the people who have pioneered using chatbots in L&D. In this interview we explore how chat can be used in L&D. He talks about a great example of a conference chatbot that focused on helping conference attendees to collect their takeaway from sessions and making those takeaways more actionable. For Jamie, one of the most powerful applications of chatbots in L&D is in performance supports, which is something that Paul Healy from Learning Pool also talks about in a later podcast. This interview is also packed full of great advice from Jamie about getting started with chatbots in L&D. To go along with the podcast series we have released an eBook with all transcripts of the interviews. To go along with the podcast series on How artificial intelligence is changing the way L&D is working, we have released an eBook with all transcripts of the interviews. The eBook also gives a brief explanation of what AI is and an overview of how it is being used in L&D. Download the eBo

This interview with Vincent Han is the start of a section of this series that focuses on chatbots and L&D. When I started to record this podcast series I didn’t expect so many of the interviews would be focused on chatbots. Chatbots are the AI technology that is easiest for L&D application and has a high impact. Vincent is one of the leading thinkers in this area of chatbots and L&D. He is the founder of the Mobile Coach platform, which is an excellent way to get started building chatbots. While this interview with Vincent is at the start of this section in the series, it wasn’t recorded in this sequence. What happened is, as I was doing some of the other interviews in this section, with Jamie Good and Emma Webber, I discovered that they were both using Mobile Coach to build their own chatbots. As a result, I thought it would be great to talk with Vincent for this series. Vincent doesn’t come from a learning background; his background is technology, so his focus on learning as behavioural change i

The higher education sector has been using machine learning for some time, mostly to predict if students are at risk of dropping out of a program. In this series, I wanted to include an interview with someone who had been involved in this work, to see what L&D could learn from it. Mike Sharkey is one of the leaders in this area. His most recent past role was as Vice President of Analytics at Blackboard. It was great to be reminded by Mike in this interview that learning is a complex area and there are so many factors at play. Because of this it’s not a simple area for the application of machine learning. During the interview, Mike and I also briefly talk about privacy issues with analytics. As workplaces start to adopt more data-driven approaches to learning, there is a lot that we can learn about the work that has already been done in higher education, including how privacy issues can be approached. To go along with the podcast series we have released an eBook with all transcripts of the interviews. To

Ben Betts from HT2 Labs is back on the podcast in this interview. Ben is passionate about using social learning to build high-impact learning experiences. HT2 Labs are also the people behind Learning Locker, which is an open source learning record store for xAPI data. At the Learning While Working conference, Ben talked about the work that HT2 Labs have been doing on how they are measuring social learning. The recording of that conference session goes into more depth on that work than this podcast does, so if you’re interested in what Ben is doing I encourage you to watch that recording. The work HT2 Labs is doing is built around a series of machine learning methods that are called ‘natural language processing’, which I think of as a series of methods that look for patterns in language. It’s maybe the most complex area of machine learning. The podcast starts by exploring data, AI, and automation in L&D, then moves into using natural language processing and measuring social learning data. To go along with

For this interview I spoke with Marc Zao-Sanders, CEO of Filtered, a platform that makes learning recommendations. In our daily life, we see recommendation engines in action all around us, such as Spotify and Netflix. Recommendation engines and learning are a natural fit. The process of seeing patterns in what an organisation or an individual needs, and then finding the right learning experience, is a core function of L&D. This is something a recommendation engine can do. Marc uses a bit of machine learning jargon at one stage: collaborative filtering. A basic description of a collaborative filter is that it’s a series of techniques that looks at a user’s past actions and interests, and how they relate to those of other users, and makes recommendations based on user behaviour interrelationships. Filtered’s platform is actually a combination of a chat and recommendation engine. Magpie is a version of this platform that has been designed specifically for L&D people. Magpie is a great way to experience w

This interview with Christopher Brinton from Zoomi is a great way to start this series on artificial intelligence and learning and development. The work that Zoomi is doing now is leading the application of AI in L&D. Zoomi works with your existing platforms and learning data and can apply over 250 different AI and machine learning techniques to do things such as analyse learning content and make predictions and recommendations. This interview covers a lot of the key ways that AI technologies can be used to bring deep, powerful insights to your learning data and how this can then be used to drive personalisation on a whole new level. To go along with the podcast series we have released an eBook with all transcripts of the interviews. To go along with the podcast series on How artificial intelligence is changing the way L&D is working, we have released an eBook with all transcripts of the interviews. The eBook also gives a brief explanation of what AI is and an overview of how it is being used in L&am

Richard Wyles, the CEO of Totara Learn, and Robin talk about how open source learning platforms means learning platforms can be more flexible and customised to meet the needs of an evolving organisation.

Con Sotidis from Kineo and Robin talk about the state of L&D in Australia.

Peter Clowes from MAXART talks about how they have been using Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in L&D.