The Speexx Exchange Podcast with Donald Taylor: Recent Episodes
The Speexx Exchange Podcast with Donald Taylor
Welcome to the Speexx Exchange podcast with Donald Taylor.
This podcast features global experts who explore topics like business communication across borders, learning technology, language skills, digital transformation, and engaging, upskilling and reskilling organizations.
This podcast is brought to you by Speexx, the first intelligent language learning platform for the digital workplace.
Want more Speexx? Check out our whitepapers, e-books and other resources here: https://www.speexx.com/speexx-resources/
Do you know your way around badges and credentials? Or, are you like most people and struggle with the terminology and what achievements they actually recognize? Listen to this episode for an entertaining deep dive into the topic of badges and, as Donald Taylor sits down with Dr. Doug Belshaw to discuss the importance, various fields of application, and actual value of badges and credentials. Some highlights include Dr. Belshaw addressing the question of credibility and verification of credentials, the difference between bases and credentials, and the motivation and value of a badge. How will hierarchy be influenced by badges and credentials in the future? Listen to hear more on this fascinating topic!
Links and resources Twitter: https://twitter.com/dajbelshaw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dajbelshaw/ Blog: https://dougbelshaw.com/blog/
Other: https://weareopen.coop/ https://openbadges.org https://www.ibm.com/skills/badges/ https://blog.weareopen.coop/badges-for-digital-transformation-7e9e1a17e714 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh1PhPWra9w https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:6831021062386458624/ https://github.com/IMSGlobal/openbadges-specification/pull/303
Learn from two highly successful experts why a real Learning and Development department is the best choice for a business. Malene Engelbrecht Schau, Head of Wind University at Siemens Gamesa, and Lisbeth Andersen, Global Head of Learning Operation at Siemens Gamesa sit down with Donald Taylor to talk about the importance of Learning and Development in general, why L&D should not be outsourced and what other businesses can learn from their experience in an environment where security is a particularly important factor for the team. Starting from inside the Sales team Malene Engelbrecht Schau and Lisbeth Andersen have created an impressive and effective L&D department that is not only appreciated by the team but also highly approved by the business leaders.
Links and resources Malene Engelbrecht Schau https://www.linkedin.com/in/malene-engelbrecht-schau-a834b97/ Lisbeth Andersen https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisbethandersen1108/
How important is accessibility to you and to your company? Probably not too much. But that is about to change. Michael Osborne, a user-experience-driven developer with a focus on accessibility who recently took on his new role at Upskill Digital as a Learning Experience Designer, sits down with Donald Taylor, the host of the Speexx Exchange podcast, to discuss the importance of accessibility in L&D. Statistics say that approximately 1 billion people have some kind of disability, which means 1 in seven people is somehow affected and thus it is most probable that among your customers or students are far more people with a disability than you might think. But that is just one reason why you should put more thought into the topic of accessibility. Find out why it is so important to make accessibility a priority instead of an add-on and why it benefits everyone. Listen in and learn from the expert!
Links and resources Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeOzzy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlosborne/
Are you focused on efficiency, or are you focused on effectiveness? Founder of the Global Curiosity Institute (and former CLO for Cognizant) Stefaan van Hooydonk, a well-known educator, strategist, innovator and consultant, sits down with Donald Taylor to discuss this, and other pertinent inquiries, for the Speexx Exchange podcast. As someone who oversaw the learning over 300,000 people at Cognizant, Stefaan shares his thoughts on learning generosity, and insights on how to best magnify the voices of every single person within an organization. Indeed, like us at Speexx, Stefaan believes so much knowledge is – as we say – “already in the room” (to be found within the organization). He and Donald also talk about how curiosity is a beautiful gift that L&D folks can give to an organization. Listen in to find out why!
Links and resources Twitter: https://twitter.com/stefaanvanhooyd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefaanvanhooydonk/
We’re in “the age of the centaur,” where the best teams (like the mythological centaur – half man, half horse) are made up of two parts: Part human, part machine. Data consultant and former Channel 4 Chief Data Scientist Greg Detre speaks with Donald about the interchange between people and machines, starting with the identification and recognition of skills. From there, they discuss how to trim these insights down to a manageable set of resources (akin to data visualization) and make teams more efficient and effective in the workplace.
Links and resources
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregdetre/ Blog: https://blog.gregdetre.co.uk Other: https://www.makingdatamistakes.com
“A really well thought-out and implemented technology solution,” is what Donald Taylor calls Mitja Kulcar’s (MOL Group’s Frontline Training & Development Lead) digital transformation and learning efforts for frontline employees. It’s hard enough to train people in an office; how do you do it with frontline staff? Believe it or not, digital learning transformation can prove successful and effective for frontline workers – in this case, using microlearning (people needed to dedicate only three to five minutes per day, maximum!) – and in this episode, Mitja Kulcar explains how he and his team pulled this off. Give it a listen to hear tips on how to best fit learning into one’s workflow, and how to get away from “nightmare” face-to-face learning.
Links and resources LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitjakulcar/
Speexx and Donald Taylor are fortunate to get a deep dive on stakeholder engagement from Banco Santander’s Elisabetta Galli, and why proper stakeholder mapping is crucial when it comes to talent management and digital transformation. Elisabetta is Group Executive Vice President and Global Head of Knowledge, Development and Talent Management at Banco Santander, where she is responsible for knowledge development and talent management across the group. She and Don discuss how to best approach change management plans and communication plans; how to set yourself up for success when it comes to digital transformation; and how HR and IT can best work together.
Links and resources Twitter: https://twitter.com/boldbubble LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabetta-galli-3a105223/?originalSubdomain=es
Donald has the fortune of speaking with Chief Learning Officer of the Year 2020, Air New Zealand’s CLO Dr. Sydney Savion. With more than 20 years of experience in learning, culture and workforce capability development, Dr. Savion offers suggestions on how to improve learning cultures. She provides input on how L&D managers can create more strategic relationships within their organizations (“find 10 new best friends”) so that L&D is able to bring the right decision-makers along on the transformation journey. Dr. Savion and Donald discuss how so often it’s not actually the board making decisions, but rather certain executives in various verticals – how do people in the HR and training industry ensure they’re aligning with the folks who are actually making things happen? Dr. Savion makes recommendations on workforce development strategies to ensure future readiness – one that yields desire business outcomes, even in this pandemic.
Links and resources Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrSydneySavion LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sydney-savion-baa4147/
What can the L&D industry learn from the railway industry? Quite a lot, apparently! In this episode of the Speexx Exchange podcast, Donald Taylor talks to Guy Wilmshurst-Smith, Head of Professional Development and Training at Network Rail. With years of valuable experience coaching leadership, educational and professional development, Guy explores how an organization can use analytics to produce provable links between training and performance.
Links and resources LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-wilmshurst-smith-50350728/
In this fascinating and cerebral Speexx Exchange podcast, Donald explores the world of cognitive neuroscience with Dr. Itiel Dror, a Senior Researcher at University College London. In his daily work, and for this podcast episode, Dr. Dror shares insights on the human brain and cognitive system and shows HR and L&D managers how to apply this knowledge to enhance learning, decision-making and human performance.
The pair share best practices for L&D managers on how to reduce a learner’s cognitive load; creating actually “brain-friendly” learning experiences; why we should be wary of any learning marketed as “brain-friendly”; and what we can borrow from lessons catered to pilots, bankers, and orthopedic and cardiothoracic surgeons – and why making a mistake is, oftentimes, the very best way to learn.
Dr. Dror on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itiel-dror-7301723/
Resources from Dr. Dror on brain-friendly learning: http://www.cci-hq.com/training.html
Speexx Exchange Podcast Episode 16: Curiosity in the Digital Age and the New Normal
On this special episode of the Speexx Exchange podcast, Donald interviews not one but three people – co-authors of the book “The Curious Advantage” (Simon Brown, Garrett Jones and Paul Ashcroft). The four of them discuss curiosity in relationship to learning; how people can be “better” at being curious; and the seven C’s of curiosity model – a useful tool for anyone wanting to lead a curious organization, or who wants to challenge him- or herself to be actively curious.
The Curious Advantage can be purchased on Amazon: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Paul-Ashcroft-ebook/dp/B08931WBT9
Link to the book's website: https://curiousadvantage.com/
About the authors: Simon Brown is the Chief Learning Officer at Novartis. Garrick Jones is Co-Founder and Partner at Ludic. Paul Ashcroft is Co-Founder and Partner at Ludic.
In this most recent episode of the Speexx Exchange podcast, host Donald Taylor has a conversation with Helen Smyth, Group Digital Learning and Design Manager at a leading UK retailer. She shares what she learned about learning during the COVID lockdown period. Donald is nothing short of impressed when Helen details how her organization was able to onboard 25,000 people – online! – during this time. They also trade thoughts on how the pandemic has actually instilled some good learning behavior in all of us. Finally, Helen offers some of her thoughts on what’s to come next in this “new normal” – for instance, that we’ve probably accelerated lots of things in training and development, and actually utilized items in our “L&D toolbox” that we haven’t taken advantage of before. The pair explore how learning is likely to be much more embedded within what Josh Bersin calls “the flow of work” moving forward.
In this episode, host Donald Taylor interviews analytics consultant Derek Mitchell, who has a serious passion for measuring the impact of training and development activity. They talk about learning data and analytics from the past few months, with work forces adapting to a global pandemic, and also make projections about the skills needed in a post-COVID future. Derek explains why people in the field of L&D and training are historically wary of data and demonstrates the benefits of “experimenting” with data in the field of L&D (providing his own professional experiences as examples). He and Donald urge training managers to use the data they already have in a more effective way, and insist that the data is already “in the room”; among the many valuable and unique suggestions that Derek gives listeners during this podcast is: “Have high-quality biscuits in the room.” Intrigued by this piece of advice? Then listen in (and be prepared to start craving cookies!).
Dr. Hannah Gore, Learning Experience Director at The Canonbury Consultancy Group, is an award-winning learning expert who challenges and evolves organizations’ approach to L&D and people development. This includes taking elements of traditional techniques (coaching, classroom training, instructional design), then blending them with modern approaches like digital content, virtual classroom, gamifications and more to create learning experiences that work.
She and Don discuss developing online content in this “new normal” and Hannah addresses what people are doing wrong when it comes to putting content online during these work from home, learn from home times: specifically – people putting PowerPoints onto SharePoint and calling it online learning. She claims that this is not online learning, but merely some learning that has been put online.
Hannah, who has developed and produced tons of MOOCs (indeed, she has produced, written and presented over 300 of them!) encourages L&D people to really get into the science of learning design at this time.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HRgore Blog/other sites: www.DrHannahGore.com
In this special episode, Donald and Sarah Sullivan, Speexx’ Head of Digital Content & Communications, reflect on the current state of learning, and how it’s changed - and will continue to evolve - since the emergence of COVID-19. They discuss the results from Speexx and Donald Taylor’s joint survey, which asked the following question of HR and L&D managers worldwide: What will be the three biggest challenges for corporate L&D in the new age of learning from home?
Donald and Sarah explore the ways in which L&D priorities have shifted since the pandemic’s arrival, and discuss how to best keep learners engaged in this “work from anywhere” era; how to ensure you have the best tech setup for all remote workers and learners; how to onboard a new employee when literally no one is physically in the traditional office; why soft skills remain important, even when going completely virtual; and how to most quickly and efficiently adopt F2F curricula to digital. Valuable insights and predictions from other podcast guests, like Kinga Petrovai, Bob Mosher and Hannah Gore, can be found in this episode as well.
Visit www.speexx.com for more information.
Links:
Speexx & Donald Taylor Remote Learning/Virtual Teams Global Sentiment Survey: https://www.speexx.com/speexx-blog/5-tips-for-adapting-digital-content-in-the-new-era-of-learning-from-home/
Donald Taylor Global Sentiment Survey: https://donaldhtaylor.co.uk/research_base/the-global-sentiment-survey-2020/
The Annual Speexx Exchange Survey: https://www.speexx.com/speexx-resources/effective-skills-development/
Kinga Petrovai is an educational specialist working at the intersection of research and practice
Twitter: https://twitter.com/p_kinga
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinga-petrovai-phd-30b7a539/
Previous podcast episode with Kinga: https://soundcloud.com/speexxexchange/ep-11-the-promise-pitfalls-of-learning-technologies
Bob Mosher is the CEO and Chief Learning Evangelist of Apply Synergies
Twitter: twitter.com/bmosh
Previous podcast episode with Bob: https://soundcloud.com/speexxexchange/ep-10-workflow-learning-solutions-five-moments-of-learning-need
Hannah Gore is a learning experience consultant who specializes in a number of different areas in L&D, including design and engagement
Twitter: twitter.com/@HRGore
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahgore/?originalSubdomain=uk
Kinga Petrovai is an educational specialist working at the intersection of research and practice. She and Don talk through practical, useful and researched-based information on how people learn, and the role of learning technologies in various strategies. Kinga points out precisely where the adoption of technology very often stumbles and warns that a lack of technical understanding, coupled with overenthusiasm, can hinder learning, as this might stall an instructor or coach’s adoption of said technology. They also discuss what “learning science” really is, and how people often mistake a platform (like TV or radio) versus actual content as that which will revolutionize learning.
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/p_kinga
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinga-petrovai-phd-30b7a539/
At the helm of Apply Synergies, CEO and Chief Learning Evangelist Bob Mosher has a wealth of experience helping learning organizations design, develop and measure effective learning and performance strategies to meet the “five moments of learning need.” Donald has Bob walk through these moments, which are: Apply, change, solve, and finally, learn new things, then learn even more new things. The pair share transformational learning best practices and suggestions on how to begin putting learning in an organization’s workflow.
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmosh
Apply Synergies: https://www.applysynergies.com
Website: https://www.5momentsofneed.com/
5 Moments Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szij1czDXMs
Bob on ‘Workflow Learning’: https://learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/2352/learning-leaders-bob-mosher-advocates-workflow-learning
Book: https://www.mhprofessional.com/9780071703116-usa-innovative-performance-support-strategies-and-practices-for-learning-in-the-workflow-group
Writer, researcher and founder of Sea Salt Learning’s Julian Stodd talks to Don about social leadership, social learning and the importance of storytelling. Julian describes older, more outdated models of learning and contrasts them with the newer concept of “social learning” – when regular people, each with their own understandings of the world, make sense of things together. After all, learning is ultimately part of – or a response to – storytelling! The pair also discuss how senior managers, in particular, need not focus so much on storytelling, but instead, zero in on story listening skills; this allows management to better enable employees to speak up and share stories of their own. Listen in to also learn about three different types of narrative, and why they’re practical tools for instructional design.
Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulianStodd Julian’s blog: https://julianstodd.wordpress.com/ Sea Salt Learning: https://seasaltlearning.com/
Founder of Owl’s Ledge Trish Uhl chats with Donald about how to apply AI, data science and advanced analytics to organizational learning to achieve significant impact and business results. She tells the story about the Mars bar “hunger algorithm,” detailing how the chocolate company used smart conversational analysis to understand human behavior, and shows how this can be replicated in the field of L&D. Trish explores “engineering” learning systems, how to connect training environments to operational environments, and demonstrates how her team is doing this through the use of chatbots. Listen in to get a sense of how chatbots provide learning insights by connecting instruction to integration to implementation. Oh, and that app kids these days are using – TikTok? Trish is convinced that this is the future of learning, and it’s changing the way that we provide learning solutions for the TikTok-consuming cohort over the next three to five years.
Trish can be found via:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/trishuhl
Links:
Snickers campaign: https://www.adweek.com/creativity/media-plan-of-the-year-best-in-show/
Book: Transfer of Training by Mary Broad and John Newstrom, 1992: https://www.amazon.com/Transfer-Training-Action-packed-Strategies-Investment/dp/0201192748
Coach M: https://transferoflearning.com/services/chatbot/
Coaching bot developed by Emma Weber: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaweber/
TorranceLearning CEO Megan Torrance explains how she helps create custom online, live and blended learning solutions to quickly and cost-effectively meet needs. She shares her expertise on xAPI, a data specification for how we talk about learning and performance experiences, and describes how it does much more than SCORM. Listen in to get up to speed on xAPI to better track the learning that happens outside of your company’s e-learning and learning management systems – quickly, before xAPI replaces SCORM!
Megan can be found via:
Twitter https://twitter.com/MMTorrance
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/megantorrance/
Website https://www.torrancelearning.com/
Links:
xAPI Cohort sign up: www.xapicohort.com
eLearning Guild research report (free to Guild members, which is free): https://www.elearningguild.com/insights/242/2019-the-state-of-xapi-adoption/
xAPI Party program & recordings (as of Dec 2 this has last spring’s Party info but by time the podcast goes live it will have the new one): http://torrancelearning.com/conference/schedule/index.html?event=xapi
Mirjam Neelen, Learning Experience Design Lead at Accenture, talks with Donald Taylor about what it really means to “design” learning, as well as how she defines the “learning experience.” Mirjam also explores what she calls “complex skills,” and how to design learning experiences specifically for these types of skills – which, according to Mirjam, consist of many elements that interact with one another. Throughout her career, she’s used scientific research to make informed decisions in everything she does – including designing learning at Accenture. She and Donald also discuss how learning experience designers, like cooks, need a “kit” which consist of three things: Tools, techniques and ingredients. Only then can we create the best dish – or the best learning experience.
Miriam can be found via: Twitter https://twitter.com/MirjamN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirjamneelen/ Blog https://3starlearningexperiences.wordpress.com/
Links:
Mirjam’s book: https://www.koganpage.com/author/mirjam-neelen (Written with Paul A. Kirschner)
Dr Will Thalheimer does an excellent job ‘translating’ scientific research into practical insight for learning and development professionals. https://www.worklearning.com/
Julie Dirksen is the author of the excellent Design for How People Learn, and blogs at http://usablelearning.com/
Clark Quinn is the author of several books and is always worth reading. He blogs at https://blog.learnlets.com/
Patti Shank’s most recent book is Manage Memory for Deeper Learning. Her blog is https://www.pattishank.com/
Jane Bozarth blogs at http://bozarthzone.blogspot.com/ and the author of Show your Work (https://www.amazon.com/Show-Your-Work-Jane-Bozarth/dp/1118863623) definitely work reading.
Mirjam mentioned Ten Steps to Complex Learning (Kirschner and van Merriënboer) as one of the key influencers on her work. Read an excellent article from MIT (http://web.mit.edu/xtalks/TenStepsToComplexLearning-Kirschner-VanMerrienboer.pdf) or check out the website, where you can buy the book itself (http://www.tensteps.info/)
Bartlomiej Polakowski, CEE Learning Technologies Leader at PwC, talks to Don about the most cutting-edge technologies in the learning and development industry – including VR, 360 video and haptics. They also discuss the differences between an LMS and LXP, how to ensure employee buy-in and why learning innovations are so trendy in Poland right now. Bartlomiej also shares advice on how to experiment and prototype new things you’re implementing in your organization.
Upskilling comes with a lot of pressure; there’s ample stress surrounding the quest to remain relevant, or risk being rendered redundant. Lori Niles Hoffman, Digital Learning and Transformation Strategist at NilesNolan.com, sits down with Donald to discuss upskilling and reskilling, and points out one-third of skills will not be viable in three to five years. The two also unpack what digital transformation really is – how digital and technology can enhance what you’re trying to achieve, and how to achieve those outcomes on a faster basis. She proclaims that “IT is the best friend that L&D could ever have,” and urges HR and L&D specialists to also look at other departments within their organizations to learn how to undergo digital and learning transformations more smoothly.
Twitter https://twitter.com/loriniles LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorinileshofmann/ Blog http://www.loriniles.com/
Links to interesting things mentioned in this episode:
· ‘Least assistance principle’ (https://blog.learnlets.com/2009/02/the-least-assistance-principle/) from the ever thoughtful and excellent Clark Quinn
· Write and organize for deeper learning (https://www.amazon.com/Write-Organize-Deeper-Learning-apply/dp/1545162409) by Patti Shank. It’s also worth reading Patti’s blog (https://www.pattishank.com/)
· ‘Digital body language’ is a term coined by Steven Woods in his book of the same title (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Body-Language-Steven-Woods/dp/0979988551)
· ‘The shadow org chart’ is an article blog by Henry Ward (https://medium.com/@henrysward/the-shadow-org-chart-cfcdd644575f) that explores how network analysis reveals how some people have more connections and influence than others in an organisation.
In this podcast, Donald chats with Steve Wheeler, learning innovations consultant and former associate professor of learning technologies at Plymouth University. The pair discuss the concept of “connected pedagogy” – how both technology allows us to learn on-the-go, at their own pace, while satisfying our human cravings for social contact – as well as crowd-sourced learning and “digital tribes” (an anthropological explanation about how we group together, in the digital world). Steve argues that being connected is less about the wisdom of the crowd but rather the ability to rapidly share high-quality information.
Twitter https://twitter.com/timbuckteeth LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevewheeler1/ His blog http://www.steve-wheeler.co.uk/
To see a recording of Steve’s presentation on Connected Pedagogy, delivered in Bruges in June 2019, please go to:
http://www.steve-wheeler.co.uk/2019/06/communities-and-connection.html
Links to interesting things mentioned in this episode:
Lev Vygotsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
Everett Rogers Diffusion of Innovation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations
The wisdom of crowds (and James Surowiecki’s 5 criteria for effective crowd wisdom) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds
How can you go from feeling like your L&D program is a tedious “course factory” to effectively meeting your organization’s learning objectives? Donald Taylor speaks with IKEA’s Learning Designer at Inter IKEA Systems, Jeff Kortenbosch, who walks us through 20 questions to ask yourself before determining learning objectives. Jeff’s questions help us to focus on the areas within our organizations where we’ll have impact and prevent us from producing content or programs that don’t effectively help meet business goals.
To learn more about Jeff’s 20 Questions to ask before talking learning objectives, go to: http://www.seriouslearning.nl/20-questions-to-ask-before-talking-about-learning-objectives/
Twitter https://twitter.com/jeffkortenbosch LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kortenbosch/ His blog http://www.seriouslearning.nl/
Links to interesting things mentioned in this episode: · 70:20:10 – see Charles Jennings (http://www.duntroon.com/ ) and the 70:20:10 Institute (https://702010institute.com/) · The 5 Moments of Learning Need (https://www.5momentsofneed.com/) from Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredson · The expression of performance as a function of Ability, Motivation and Opportunity: p=f(A,M,O) – see Peter Boxall and John Purcell Strategy and Human Resource Management (2003), reviewed here by Juan A. Marin-Garcia and Juan Martinez Tomas http://www.intangiblecapital.org/index.php/ic/article/view/838/574 · Nigel Harrison’s work on Performance Consulting (https://performconsult.co.uk/)
Welcome to the Speexx Exchange podcast! Your host, Donald Taylor, Chairman of the Learning and Performance Institute – and renowned L&D expert – interviews learning technologies specialist Laura Overton (also former CEO and founder of Towards Maturity). In this inaugural episode, the two discuss evidence-based learning, the dangers of “analysis paralysis,” AI’s role in the learning industry and the upcoming Speexx Exchange conference in Berlin on November 27. We also get a peek at what’s next for Laura now that she’s left Towards Maturity.