Powered by Learning

Developing an organizational learning strategy before you create a learning experience can make all the difference in team motivation, engagement and retention. In this interview, Washington, D.C. Department of Health Chief Learning Officer Dr. Adaora Otiji shares the steps to take to be successful and accomplish your organizational goals.

Show notes: Adaora Otiji shared the benefits of creating an organizational learning strategy and outlines the process including these tips:

• Think of your learning strategy as a story with a beginning, middle and end. Tell your story and back it up with evidence to prove why the strategy is important. 
• By putting a learning strategy in place, it sets a mutual understanding and commitment to creating the best space and expectations for development of an organization.
• A solid learning strategy not only provides a roadmap for the training department, it helps get buy in from the C-Suite and sets expectations for learners.
• Don’t forget to identify key actions in your learning strategy as it helps establish timelines.

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Hundreds of learning leaders came together at the Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE) to discuss the latest industry trends and challenges. In this episode, several conference attendees shared how they engage learners and how they're beginning to embrace AI's potential to drive employee growth and organizational success. d'Vinci Client Solutions Consultant Angeline Evans and d'Vinci Senior Instructional Designer/Project Manager Beth Buchanan attended the conference and also share their thoughts. 

Show Notes: The learning leaders interviewed in this episode shared many challenges and opportunities including ways to navigate the use of artificial intelligence.

• L&D leaders must transition from order takers to solutions architects, defining their focus amidst competing demands.
• AI is seen as a valuable partner, helping to streamline processes, create engaging content, and improve learner experiences.
• AI enables better speech modeling for scenario-based training, particularly in customer service to handle high-tension scenarios.
• AI-driven characters and real-life simulations provide personalized learning experiences, increasing engagement and effectiveness.
• Overall, the key to success in today's rapidly changing learning landscape is to embrace flexibility, remain curious, and prioritize human connections. Despite technological advances, L&D professionals play a crucial role in guiding learners and shaping their development journey.

Special thanks to the guests who appeared in this episode.

• Robert Smith, Curriculum Designer, Discover Financial Services
• Michelle Echevarria, Director of Learning and Development, JBS International, Inc.
• Loren Sanders, Senior Manager, Enterprise Learning, CVS Health
• Amanda Himes, Senior Talent Development Program Manager, Krause Group 
• Jenessa Jacobs, Director of Learning and Development, Second Avenue
• Paul Smith, Head of Co-Worker Development, Baker Construction Enterprises
• Lydia Gil, Learning and Development Specialist, Options for All
• Yolanda Campbell, Economic Program Services Consultant, Wake County Government, Health and Human Services
• Dr. Kristal Walker, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Sweetwater Sound

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Virtual Reality (VR) will play a major role in the future of experiential learning. In part two of our conversation with Sozo Labs CEO Jason Haddock, we explore the myths of VR and learn how organizations can best put this tool into action to improve learning and retention.

Show Notes: VR expert and frontier technologist Jason Haddock shared the following about using VR in training.

• VR has the potential to be a game-changer in modern education - the first technology that has the ability to fundamentally change the way we learn. 
• VR is a proven way of addressing some of the critical obstacles to building highly skilled, confident and effective employees at scale, all without dramatically high costs.
• Technology should be a tool that allows you to do something in a more efficient and engaging way. 
• VR can revolutionize how soft skills training is delivered.

Listen to Part One of our interview with Jason Haddock, The Opportunities and Challenges of VR.

Read more about Sozo Labs
Read Jason's blog, Reality Bytes

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Learning and development professionals are leveraging the power of virtual reality to build immersive learning experiences. In part one of our interview,  Sozo Labs CEO Jason Haddock discusses the opportunities and the challenges of VR in organizational training.


Show Notes:
Our guest Jason Haddock offers great food for thought on how and when to use VR in training. His key points include the following:

• If you haven't yet experienced VR, get a headset and try it out. Then you can start to imagine the ways in which you can use VR in training.
• VR allows you to simulate the work environment and therefore can provide critical training in a safe environment before an employee gets on the job.
• VR helps learners adapt quickly since VR takes you through the learning and application processes to help you master the material. 
• Being able to do the same process over and over again with VR until you feel that you've mastered it, is an incredibly powerful way to train. 

Coming up: Join us for Part 2 of our interview with Jason Haddock where we'll discuss how to leverage VR in learning experiences.

Read more about Sozo Labs
Read Jason's blog, Reality Bytes

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Delivering a welcoming and engaging onboarding experience can positively impact your organization’s effectiveness and retention.  Wendi Walker-Schmidt, Assistant Vice President of Learning and Organizational Development at National Life Group, shares best practices that will change the way you think about new employee orientation and onboarding.
 
 
 Show Notes:
Wendi Walker-Schmidt shares advice on delivering effective orientation and onboarding programs that engage new hires and improve retention. Her key points include:

• Acknowledge that new team members may have anxiety, fear, and excitement when they start at a new company. L&D professionals can boost their chances of success with a strong and welcoming experience. 
• Don't overload new hires with too much information during orientation. Consider rolling out information over a defined period of time to make it more digestible and relevant. 
• Onboarding is not a one-time event. Think about it as creating a first-year experience that builds engagement in stages as employees performs their jobs. 

Read Wendi Walker-Schmidt's article: Onboarding Effects on Employee Engagement and Retention.

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Storytelling can help learning and development professionals create and deliver more engaging and effective training.  Robyn Shumer, a global lead with Johnson & Johnson’s Mental Health Diplomats Employee Resource Group, shares how telling a personal story can inspire and educate learners.

Show Notes:

Here are some of Robyn Shumer's key takeaways.

• If you're a training or a workshop facilitator, you can connect with learners when you have an emotional story to tell.
• Information wrapped in an emotional story is more likely to be remembered.
• An organization's stories, such as the story of its founding, can help instill culture and help engage team members in the organization's values and mission. 

Watch Robyn Shumer's Ted Talk, "What's Your Story?"
Learn more about Robyn on her website.

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Most L&D professionals measure training after it’s over but what if you could predict the success of a learning program in advance? Author Ken Phillips, CEO of The Phillips Group, shares how predictive learning analytics can change the learner’s experience and the outcomes for an organization.

SHOW NOTES:

Ken Phillips shared many actionable items in his interview including the following:

• Predictive learning analytics can help tell you which learners are most likely to apply what they’ve learned in a training program and which ones weren’t. It also helps predict which managers are most likely to support the training.
• Predictive learning analytics can significantly reduce the amount of scrap training, or training that’s delivered but not applied directly back to the job. 
• Traditional measurement and evaluation typically is backwards-looking and it is most focused on training programs. Predictive learning analytics is forward-looking and examines what’s likely to happen after the training concludes. 

Learn more about Ken Phillip's book, Evaluate Learning With Predictive Learning Analytics on TD.org.

Read about Ken's talk at the #ATD23 Conference in San Diego.

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Mandated reporters are people required by law to report suspected instances of child abuse. To know how to do this, they need training. 

Creating a successful mandated reporter learning experience is an ever-evolving process when you use research to improve its effectiveness. Our guest, Dr. Benjamin Levi, is the founder of iLook Out for Child Abuse and shares how his passion for continuous learning helps make effective training that keeps kids safe.

Show Notes:

Dr. Benjamin Levi blends his experience as a practicing physician with his quest to keep children safe from child abuse. He does this by leading a team to build research-based training that is getting results across the country. He shared these key points and others during this interview.

• Gamification can add a level of interactivity and engagement with learners by releasing dopamine.
• Microlearning is a great approach in mandated reporter training because accessibility and feasibility are key to education.
• One of the most powerful things educators can do is to tailor training to the individual so you’re delivering training that provides relevant information based on the learner’s needs. 

Connect with Dr. Benjamin Levi 

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Today’s instructional designers come from a variety of professional backgrounds and those past experiences can be a strength in how they approach L&D. In this episode, Authors Megan Kohler and Chris Gamrat share lessons from stories in their new book, The Multidisciplinary Instructional Designer: Integrating Specialized Skills into Design Toolkits.

SHOW NOTES:

Authors Megan Kohler and Chris Gamrat encourage L&D professionals to identify the skills and talents they bring to the job from past experiences and for teams to look at the collective value of diverse experiences. They shared many takeaways including:

• Despite their shared academic preparation and theoretical foundations, many instructional designers come to the profession with knowledge from a diverse range of other subject areas, career tracks, creative practices, or intellectual pursuits.
• Some of this misunderstanding of instructional design is due to a limited understanding of learning, what it is, when and how it can occur, and people’s roles both in formal and informal learning. 
• Instructional designers can apply key concepts, strategies, and lessons learned from a variety of disciplines from the social sciences, arts and humanities, and STEM – to their practice.
• By looking for inspiration across disciplines and from the world at large, instructional designers will emerge with robust and revitalized toolkits, ready to enrich their approach to teaching and learning.

For more information about the book, please visit the publisher's website.

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Learner engagement is more than a learner’s interactions during the training. It begins before the learning experience and continues after it's over.  Training and Learning Manager Tiffany McLean, from law firm Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, shares some ways to increase learner engagement to improve training results.

Show Notes: 

• Listen to your learners. Ask questions and think of new, creative ways to engage them.
• Build learner personas of people in your organization to keep the learners top of mind when creating learning programs. 
• Use recognition during and after learning to reward good thinking and accomplishments. 
• Consider the user experience when creating eLearning and make sure your instructional design is clean and interactive. 

Listen to Tiffany's Powered by Learning interview on Developing Training with Diversity and Inclusion in Mind.

About Warner Norcross + Judd:
Warner Norcross + Judd is a corporate law firm with more than 230 attorneys practicing in nine offices throughout Michigan.

Powered by Learning earned an Award of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio category from The Communicator Awards and a Silver Davey Award for Educational Podcast. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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