Everybody in L&D knows that evaluation is important. But not enough of it gets done, and what does get done isn't always as effective as it could be. What can we as training designers do about that? In the final episode of our second season, we have practical suggestions and lots of ideas on ways to make evaluation count. 00:22  Not enough evaluation in L&D? 01:05  Why don't we do it more? 06:00  Measure learning or measure impact? 09:05  The topic makes a difference 12:05...

Design Thinking is a concept that's gained a lot of currency, but much of it outside L&D. How does it compare to design models often used in training design? What can it teach us for designing training? Why isn't it used more in L&D circles? We have answers to these questions and more, and as always, plenty of pratical tips. 00:22  Design Thinking: Science or Art? 02:49  Terry's three principles of Design Thinking 05:36  Design Thinking's relationship to process 08:12  The Design...

You've got your content together. But how do you structure it so that there's flow, and to maximise engagement and learning? It can be difficult to wrestle everything into place and decide how to cover each element. In this episode, we have a host of practical tips for you, based around Colin Rose's MASTER structure for training design. This episode was recorded before the pandemic, so some of the references (e.g. recent face to face training!) may sound strange now, but we're confident all...

Trainers and Training Designers can be forgiven for the temptation to use tried-and-trusted activities and types of activity. But if the aim is to maximise engagement and learning, and meet the learning objectives, having a variety of activities and keeping them fresh and original is vital. In this episode, we have a host of practical tips for you on how to mix up your palette of activities, and get inspiration for new ones. This episode was recorded before the pandemic, so some of the...

After our season-opening double-header on Virtual Training, we wanted to take a look at another hot topic: Online, non-live training. With less face-to-face learning, both are receiving a boost. But how do we need to design differently for recorded online training, as opposed to either virtual or face-to-face live training. As ever, we have plenty of practical tips to help you work it out. 00:22  Our Special Guest: Ginette Tessier 03:00  The difference between virtual live and online...

Actors can produce powerful learning experiences, live and virtually, and offer something very different to other training methods. But how do we design sessions that make the best possible use of actors and drama? As always, we focus on the practical questions as we have our first ever guest on the show, actor and trainer Clare Samuels of 'No I In Clare'. 00:33  Our special guest 01:27  Acting and the emotional connection 01:59  Case study: moving to a coaching culture using actors 02:49...

With worldwide events since March 2020 causing major changes in the world of L&D, virtual training is receiving a massive boost in usage. Previously face-to-face workshops and topics are being run over Zoom, Microsoft Teams and a host of other platforms. But how do we make sure the learning experiences we design are right for virtual? In part two of our first-ever two-part episode, we have plenty of practical tips for you on taking virtual training to the next level. 02:48  Using other...

With worldwide events since March 2020 causing major changes in the world of L&D, virtual training is receiving a massive boost in usage. Previously face-to-face workshops and topics are being run over Zoom, Microsoft Teams and a host of other platforms. But how do we make sure the learning experiences we design are right for virtual? In part one of our first-ever two-part episode, we have plenty of practical tips for you on creating excellent virtual training. 03:46  What do we mean by...

Humans are storytelling animals, and most learners respond better to stories than to theoretical material without a story. But how do we incorporate story in learning design, especially given how personal stories can be? In this episode we have practical tips for you on this and all things story in learning design. 01:18 Storytelling in the learning context 02:14 Spontaneous versus planned stories 04:38 The power of story for learning 06:14 How stories engage emotions 06:44 Your learners...

Designing for remote and mobile workers presents a whole new set of challenges to learning designers. In this episode we take on those challenges and come up with some practical ways to optimise learning design for them, and some questions too, for you as the audience. 01:16 Remote working on the rise 03:06 It’s not just about online learning 05:51 Designing solely for remote workers 07:17 The challenges for the whole business 08:06 Formal learning is tougher for remote workers 09:28...

Gamification is not about turning everything into a points contest, and it's not just for e-learning. So what is it for? We take a close look at some practical ways learning designers can use the principles of gamification to level up their learning design. 01:07  Exploding misconceptions about gamification 02:17 Gamification: not just for e-learning 02:45 It’s about learning from how games motivate people 04:09  Games and learning 04:44 What exactly is gamification, then? 05:34 Game...

You can make your training session as all-singing, all dancing as you like: if it doesn't result in any change back at work or in life, it's a failure. In this episode we discuss how to maximise transfer of learning as a training or learning designer, with lots of practical tips. 1:22 Why is it important? 3:56 What influence do we have as designers? 5:58 What leads to transfer of learning? 7:00 Twelve Levers of Transfer Effectiveness 8:20 The three categories that aid transfer 9:45 What...

PowerPoint. It gets a lot of hate; it gets a lot of use. In this episode, we discuss when we should stop using it or use it less, and what to replace it with, and how to get the best out of it when we do use it. As always, it's packed with practical suggestions for your training design practice. 00:54 What’s wrong with PowerPoint 01:58 Where are we going wrong? 03:09 Presentations and subject matter experts 03:50 How can we avoid ‘Death by PowerPoint’? 05:04 Start with the session...

Technology has come a long way in the last twenty years, but face-to-face training doesn't always show it. In this episode, we discuss ways of bringing technology into face to face training, and give lots of practical suggestions around how you can make technology part of your training design. 1:51 What do we mean by using technology in workshop design? 2:51 Why should we embrace technology in workshop design? 4:34 Technology is not just for blended learning 5:44 Case study: using a...

Designing learning (and especially workshops) that can be picked up and run by someone else isn't always easy. In this episode, we discuss some common mistakes and what we can do as designers to create a great session that meets the client brief, includes the facilitator and delivers a great learning experience. 00:50 Why is designing for facilitators important? 03:08 Planning versus Designing 04:28 What can go wrong when we don’t think about the facilitator 05:57 Sometimes trainers don’t...

This episode covers what curation is, why we should embrace it in our learning design and how to go about it. Here's what's covered in this episode: 01:39  What is curation? 02:15  Creation versus curation 03:20  Curation as signposting 04:25  We won’t be out of a job? 05:55  Curation as part of current trends in L&D 06:48  What should we curate? 07:50  Don’t leave people to Google’s mercy 09:58  How to stop curation eating your time 11:46  We are the filters 13:31...