The Learning Hook Podcast

Here’s a bit of working out loud and sharing an experiment. It’s an example of an AI podcast. We’re so interested in your thoughts – especially if you’re in #L&D.   Quick background – why? Conversations ‘outside of the classroom’ are what we’re often aiming for in our learning design i.e. design the learning to drive conversations – to be the catalyst. This got us thinking to bake in conversations within elearning too – i.e. listen in to others talking – when we have no means to drive active group chats in more blended or facilitated solutions.   In short, we’ve been encouraging podcasts for a while – using podcast style interviews and chats within training to explore topics in a really human way.   It takes a fair bit of organising, editing etc. AI voices as an option came up recently. But is it too cheese? Uncanny valley? Too ‘scripted’. Just a waste of time? Or engaging? We’re not sure.   So we created the one here to play with the idea. It’s short (about 4.5mins). It’s not on a topic for training as such, just a chat about a Robert Plant gig our Creative Director wrote a blog about a few years back. We thought:   What if we pointed generative AI at the blog (topic)? What if we prime two characters and got them talking about it? What if we said, “talk about it in a podcast format and see if you think there’s a link to the AGES learning model”. Would it be engaging? Helpful?   Have a listen. What are your thoughts on it. Weird? Wonderful? Could short conversations like these be useful to talk on other topics i.e. as icebreakers or segues within elearning, but where the topic is about the training etc? Anything else?  

Neil King, the National Manager of Vision Australia’s Digital Access group and Chris Edwards, Manager of Government Relations & Advocacy for Vision Australia, join The Learning Hook Podcast to explore accessibility, especially focused on digital access for all.   These guys work in this space A LOT. They know the Australian and international landscape so well and share many tactical ways to create better access for all, taking us from standards to strategy for change. Check out the great list of websites below that can help designers, developers and managers. Thanks for so many insights Vision Australia!   This podcast may be of special interest for anyone who wants to improve access to digital media in their organisation, Learning and Development professionals, and those wanting to roll out better elearning. From the creators, engagers to the managers and strategists, there’s something in this for everyone.   Snapshot below Runtime: 50 minutes Chris and Neil’s back stories Accessibility is about greater access for all Some mind boggling statistics that give us all pause for thought Provide the burning case for change, to create greater access for all Why good accessibility = good design Learn the right way to say WCAG 😊 (is it ‘waycag’, W.C.A.G. or wicag?) Top tips to impact digital access in your organisation The accessibility landscape in Australia – how do we compare globally?   Links from the podcast: Tools Document Accessibility Toolbar (DAT) to create and validate accessibility of MS Word documents https://www.visionaustralia.org/services/digital-access/document-accessibility-toolbar Web Accessibility Toolbar to assess the accessibility of your webpage (supports non-technical staff) https://www.visionaustralia.org/services/digital-access/resources/web-accessibility-toolbar-ie AXE website accessibility automated testing tool https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/axe/lhdoppojpmngadmnindnejefpokejbdd WAVE to assess the accessibility of your webpage https://wave.webaim.org/ HTML CodeSniffer website accessibility automated testing tool https://squizlabs.github.io/HTML_CodeSniffer/ Colour Contrast Analyser to assess the contrast of any digital resource (website, document etc) https://www.visionaustralia.org/services/digital-access/resources/colour-contrast-analyser   Disability awareness simulators Web Disability Simulator https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/web-disability-simulator/olioanlbgbpmdlgjnnampnnlohigkjla?hl=en Funkify – Disability Simulator https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/funkify-%E2%80%93-disability-simu/ojcijjdchelkddboickefhnbdpeajdjg   Toolkits and resources Microsoft Inclusive Design Toolkit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/design/inclusive SA Government Online Accessibility Toolkit https://www.accessibility.sa.gov.au/ Guidance on Inclusive Language https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/inclusive-language-words-to-use-and-avoid-when-writing-about-disability   Connect with Neil on LinkedIn or Chris on LinkedIn.   In the chat: Chris Edwards and Neil King from Vision Australia Katrina Milazzo and Brenden Carter from The Learning Hook You   If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you. https://www.learninghook.com.au/

James Bevelander, Group Digital Learning Manager for the Cotton On Group, joins The Learning Hook Podcast for a chat on a wide range of topics. This episode’s highly relevant for retail learning and development professionals, learning designers creating video (from scripts to shoots), L&D for large global organisations, and of course general elearning aficionados wherever you may be 😊.   Snapshot below James’s story: From Flash Developer to Group Digital Learning Manager for the Cotton On Group Hear about a different take on compliance (imagine it being driven by team leads/store managers and delivered ‘just in time’) Tone of voice, style and engagement for global audiences Getting our engagement on: the Rule of Threes for generating new ideas What should never be filmed from the boot of a car… Data collection and insights outside of the LMS – beyond traditional elearning approaches The jingle method (yes, this is a teaser, but an interesting anecdote worth listening out for) Solutions for the ‘white-noise’ of over used (abused?) animation techniques (you know that famous hand that draws so many crappy animations?)   Links from the podcast Connect with James on LinkedIn. Or join him at the upcoming FuturistiX / LearnX Conference (Oct 15-16th where he’ll be speaking along with this podcast’s host, Brenden Carter).   In the chat: James Bevelander, Group Digital Learning Manager for the Cotton On Group Brenden Carter, Creative Director and Founder of The Learning Hook Justin Cruickshank, Design & Production Manager at The Learning Hook You Ray Parker Jr (not really, but we talk about him)   If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you. www.learninghook.com.au

Graeme Cowan on creating more mentally healthy and caring cultures Graeme Cowan, Leadership & Team Resilience Speaker, Bestselling Author, Board Director R U OK? and Co-Founder of FactorC, joins Brenden Carter from The Learning Hook for a chat on the role of training to support more mentally healthy workplaces (aka caring cultures).   Snapshot below Runtime: 37 minutes Graeme’s personal story and battles with depression which led to his best selling book, 'Back from the Brink' and his involvement with R U OK? since its launch Lessons learnt from R U OK? Day’s rise as a movement and the campaign approach The power of focus in learning campaigns What’s holding work culture back from change? Mental health week and R U OK? Day – it’s that time of year again… but how we can make it 24/7 x 365? FactorC: The Care Equation, and how through caring leadership, we all grow The prize – which only caring cultures can ‘win’   Links from podcast Connect with Graeme on LinkedIn. Or join him at the upcoming R U OK event, ‘Conversational Leadership’, where leaders from Metro Rail, Woolworths, and Connor Menswear, will share how they’re creating more caring and supportive cultures (16th May - Melbourne!).   Contact us to learn more about FactorC and how we’re supporting the growth of caring cultures through eLearning, learning campaigns, apps and portals, events and more: https://learninghook.com.au/factorc/ or here https://factorc.com.au/:   In the chat: Graeme Cowan, Leadership & Team Resilience Speaker, Bestselling Author, Board Director R U OK? and Co-Founder of FactorC Brenden Carter, Founder of The Learning Hook and Co-Founder of FactorC (and You!)   If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you. www.learninghook.com.au

Clint Clarkson, Cartoonist and Learning Design thought leader, joins Damala Scales Ghosh and Brenden Carter from The Learning Hook. In his own words, Clint’s been tricking adults into enjoying learning since 2001 and is the founder of eLearning Alchemy. You might also know Clint from his hugely popular cartoon series, ‘The L&D Scene’, depicting those challenges we all too often face in Learning and Development, and especially as designers of learning and performance solutions. We highly recommend connecting with Clint or looking up the cartoon series. Connect with Clint on LinkedIn and Twitter. We had a free flowing chat with Clint, covering: His road from darts champion to learning design The Trojan Horse analogy for the use of humour in learning design How synthesising ideas into a comic strip can start conversations and get deep – fast The over saturation of trends and their relationship to ‘Something About Mary’ 😊 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2di69FmhE Which character he is in the cartoons, and where the stories come from The future of The L&D Scene (look out for a book in the near future – yeeha!) We explore two key cartoons, which you can view below in conjunction to listening (recommended!) We wrapped it up by brainstorming a new cartoon with Clint – this was a live action go at it – see what you think! We also suggested a LinkedIn challenge – map out your own cartoon (stick figures are fine) and Clint might just make it a reality! Share it with us, and/or hash tag it #lndscenechallenge - #lndscene and share with Clint on LinkedIn or Twitter. In the chat we discuss the following comics from Clint’s work. We recommend viewing them as we chat. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ld-scene-41-elearning-trends-2018-clint-clarkson-ctdp-ctt/   https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ld-scene-37-train-them-like-goldfish-clint-clarkson-ctdp-ctt/ In the chat: Clint Clarkson, Founder of eLearning Alchemy Damala Scales Ghosh, Lead Learning Designer at The Learning Hook Brenden Carter, Creative Director and Founder of The Learning Hook (and You!)   If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you. www.learninghook.com.au