The Mindtools L&D Podcast

Smart recommendation systems are commonplace across consumer sites like Amazon, Netflix and Facebook. But how do they compare with recommendations from a trusted human?

In this episode of the GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by Filtered's Marc Zao-Sanders to discuss some of the difficulties around machine recommendations and their place in learning.

If you want to share your thoughts on the show, you can tweet us @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson and @MarcZaoSanders.

To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice and @GoodPracticeAus.

The Tim Harford blog that Ross suggested (literally a list of recommendations) can be found at: http://timharford.com/2018/04/understanding-algorithms/

If you're interested in 'hardening', check out: https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/profile?PID=386

The Washington Post article Owen discussed is at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/05/04/one-space-between-each-sentence-they-said-science-just-proved-them-wrong-2

And Ross' Guardian story about Sainsbury's can be found at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/06/rotten-results-sainburys-drops-project-to-halve-food-waste

Following last week's live episode, Ross G and Owen revisit some of the topics covered with the help of our friend Anthony Williams. We discuss whether L&D professionals really reflect on their practice, how design decisions can exclude certain groups, and whether L&D has a God complex.

If you want to share your thoughts on the show, you can tweet us at @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson and @Bullsboy.

To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com or tweet us @GoodPractice and @GoodPracticeAus.

With thanks to @Jo_Coaches, @AndyLancesterUK, @PhilWillcox and @Dannyboy83 for prompting these discussions.

If you want to know what a 'God complex' is, check out Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_complex

The origin of the phrase 'the willies' is explained by How Stuff Works: https://people.howstuffworks.com/the-willies.htm

The Kineo 'Stream of Thought' podcast is available on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kineos-stream-of-thought

You can find out more about the Kernit typeface at Gizmodo: https://gizmodo.com/kernit-is-the-jim-henson-inspired-typeface-muppet-fans-1825719538

And, finally, you can find Anthony's podcast 'Reality TV Warriors' on Twitter @RTVWarriors.

In our second LIVE episode, Ross G and Owen pitched up on the first night of the CIPD Learning and Development Show to ask: What is the state of our profession in 2018?

We tackled this question in front of a live audience of L&D professionals, with special guests Andy Lancaster from CIPD; Jo Cook from Training Journal; and Phil Willcox from Emotion at Work.

If you want to share your thoughts on the show, you can tweet us at @RossGarnerGP and @OwenFerguson, or @GoodPractice and @GoodPracticeAus.

To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com.

Our guests can be found @AndyLancasterUK, @LightbulbJo and @PhilWillcox.

The CIPD 'UK Working Lives' survey for 2018 is available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/uk-working-lives

CIPD's joint research with Towards Maturity, 'Driving the New Learning Organisation', is:

Overton, L. (2017). Driving the new learning organisation. Training & Development, 44(4), 9, available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/driving-the-new-learning-organisation_2017-how-to-unlock-the-potential-of-Land-d_tcm18-21557.pdf

Jo summarised her ideas in a couple of blog posts for Training Journal. Part 1 is at: http://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/opinion/your-ld-department-business-focused-enough

Part 2 is at: https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/opinion/your-ld-department-business-focused-enough-pt2

She also referenced LinkedIn Learning's '2017 Workplace Learning Report': http://ilpworldwide.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/LLS-2017-Workplace-Learning-Report.pdf

And Leo's 'Measuring the Business Impact of Learning - 2018 Survey Results': https://leolearning.com/resources/measuring-business-impact-learning-2018-survey-results/

The papers Owen cited were:

Gal, D., & Rucker, D. (2017). The Loss of Loss Aversion: Will It Loom Larger Than Its Gain?, available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcpy.1047

Yechiam, E. (2018). Acceptable losses: the debatable origins of loss aversion. Psychological research, 1-13, available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00426-018-1013-8

Jeff Bezos' letter to shareowners is online at: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312518121161/d456916dex991.htm

Marni from Google referenced a paper on the 'hidden curriculum in digital education':

Edwards, R. (2015). Software and the hidden curriculum in digital education. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 23(2), 265-279, available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14681366.2014.977809

For years the Learning Management System (LMS) has been the foundation of corporate learning but, instead of asking one technology to do everything, why don't we pick and choose the best tools for each job?

This week on the podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by ASOS' Adam Harwood to ask whether a 'best of breed ecosystem' is a better approach to learning platforms.

If you want to share your thoughts on the show, you can tweet us at @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson and @AdamHarwood26. You can also tweet @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com. If you're in the mood for an egg coffee while you listen, check out BBC Good Food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/vietnamese-egg-coffee The book Owen recommended was The Secret Barrister, available online from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Barrister-Stories-Law-Broken/dp/1509841105 A good summary of Nudge, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, can be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_(book) From the archives, we heartily recommend an evening of fun with the app 'My Talking Pet': http://wobamedia.info/

We're all familiar with terms like 'return on investment', but do we really understand what they mean? Or are we the 'nerd in the schoolyard', pretending to know what the cool kids are talking about so they won't steal our lunch money?

This week on the podcast, Ross D and Owen are joined by guest Ajay Pangarkar to discuss the business impact of L&D.

If you want to share your thoughts on the show, you can tweet us at @ross__dickie, @owenferguson and @bizlearningdude. You can also tweet @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com. The free version of the VSCO app can be downloaded for IOS or Android here. The book Ajay mentions is The Fifth Discipline by Peter M Senge. Finally, for tickets to our upcoming live show, visit goodpractice.com.

What lessons can L&D practitioners learn from the world of marketing? What are the specific challenges of marketing in a learning context?

This week on the podcast, Ross D and Stef are joined by Yvonne Chen, VP of Marketing at Udemy for Business, to discuss tactics for engaging and inspiring learners.

If you want to share your thoughts on the show, you can tweet us at @ross__dickie, @Stefania_Scott and @ChenEnnovy. You can also tweet @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com.

You can take the 'Great British Creativity Test' here.

The book Yvonne mentioned is 'The 100-Year Life' by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott.

Finally, for tickets to our upcoming live show, visit goodpractice.com.

For nearly two years, we've been discussing work, performance and learning on this podcast. But we've never yet tackled 'learning design'. This week on the GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G and James are joined by ELTjam's Nick Robinson to do just that. We explore the controversial idea that you can't design 'learning', compare approaches, and ask whether compliance training can be 'delightful'. If you want to share your own thoughts or ask questions about learning design, you can tweet us at @RossGarnerGP, @JamesMcLuckie and @ELTjam. You can also tweet @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus. To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com. For more from ELTjam, visit eltjam.com or check out their Barcelona conference at ielt18.innovateevents.com. Vygotsky's 'zone of proximal development' is explained well on Wikipedia. The podcasts Ross recommended were: Song by Song and Houston, We Have a Podcast. Both are available on iTunes. Finally, for tickets to our upcoming live show, visit goodpractice.com.

Machine learning is something you probably hear a lot about these days. But what is it? And more to the point, what can it do, and what questions should L&D be asking suppliers?

GoodPractice Technical Director Jonny Anderson joins Justin and Owen on this week's show to demystify machine learning and talk through its great potential.

If you want to share your own thoughts or ask questions about machine learning, you can tweet us at @WriterJustin, @owenferguson, and @biofractal.

You can also tweet @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus.

To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com.

What is a learning culture? Why should we want one? And most importantly, how do we build one?

Michelle Ockers joins Justin and Owen this week to lay out a roadmap for creating a learning culture in any organisation.

If you want to share your own thoughts and experiences with learning cultures, you can tweet us at @WriterJustin, @owenferguson, and @MichelleOckers.

You can also tweet @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus.

To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com.

The papers about 'growth mindset' that Owen talked about are here: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797617739704?journalCode=pssa

and here: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/03/growth-mindset-replicates.html

Learning technologies are a familiar part of modern life. But how effectively are these technologies actually being used to support learning in organisations?

In this week's episode, Ross G and Owen are joined by Donald Taylor to discuss all things learning tech.

If you'd like to share your thoughts on the show, you can tweet us @RossGarnerGP, @OwenFerguson, and @DonaldHTaylor

You can also find us @GoodPractice or @GoodPracticeAus.

To find out more about GoodPractice, visit goodpractice.com.

The Fosway Group research Don references can be found on their website.

You can learn more about Ben Goldacre's work with the Evidence-Based Medicine DataLab here.

The two books Don mentioned were So You're Going to Wear the Kilt! and Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams

Want to know more about the complexity of book production? A beautiful part of this was captured in the paper I, Pencil.