Designing with Love
Join award-winning instructional designer Jackie Pelegrin as she explores instructional design, e-learning, and AI integration. The podcast offers actionable tips, real-world insights, and conversations with students, alumni, and industry leaders shaping the future of learning.
Episodes
Human-Centered Learning in a Tech-Driven World
Technology can personalize learning, automate tasks, and deliver faster feedback, but it can also leave learners confused, overwhelmed, and tired. We dig into a simple question every instructional designer and educator needs to ask right now: what does the learning experience actually feel like for the learner?We build on the Future Ready Learning series with a human-centered approach to edtech, A
Ethical AI for Instructional Designers With Dr. Dwayne Wood
AI can generate course content in minutes, but it can also produce confident nonsense, biased visuals, and nonexistent citations. We close out our mini-series with Dr. Dwayne Wood by zooming out on how quickly AI has evolved from basic text chatbots to multimodal tools that draft e-learning, images, and more, and why that speed raises the stakes for educators and instructional designers.We break e
AI as Your Co-Designer: Collaboration, Not Replacement
AI can write a quiz question in seconds, but it cannot tell you what your learners truly need or what’s ethical, accessible, and aligned. That’s the tension Jackie's unpacking as we continue the series Future Ready Learning: Designing Education for What Comes Next. If generative AI feels exciting and overwhelming at the same time, you’re not alone, and you’re not doing it wrong. The goal is n
AI for Faster Learning Design With Dr. Dwayne Wood
AI can make you faster, but it can also make you lazy. That tension sits at the center of Jackie's conversation with Dr. Dwayne Wood as we bring together the big ideas from our mini-series and get practical about using generative AI for innovative instructional design.We dig into rapid prototyping as one of the clearest wins: using AI to generate multiple starting points for activities, scena
The Future of Learning Starts Now: What 2027 Demands from Designers
2027 is closer than it feels, and the future of learning is already showing up in the tools we use, the questions learners ask, and the pressure to prove real value in education and training. Jackie is kicking off a new 14-part series, Future-Ready Learning, with a practical challenge for instructional designers and educators: stop treating “the future” like a shiny tech wishlist and start designi
Designing for Adult Learners With Dr. Dwayne Wood
The fastest way to ruin an adult learning experience is to start with a shiny tool and hope an outcome appears later. Jackie sat down with Dr. Dwayne Wood to get back to the foundations that keep instructional design effective, especially in online and asynchronous learning where motivation, time pressure, and cognitive load can make or break engagement.We dig into adult learning principles throug
Myth: Instructional Design is Just Making Slides
Slides are the artifact everyone recognizes, and that’s exactly why the myth survives: if a stakeholder can only see the deck, they assume the work is decoration. Jackie closes out the Myths in Instructional Design and Education series by pushing back on “instructional design is just making slides” and naming what professional instructional designers actually do long before anyone picks a template
Multimodal Learning That Works With Dr. Dwayne Wood
If your learners are exhausted before they even reach the content, the problem might not be motivation. It might be the mode. Jackie welcomes Dr. Dwayne Wood back for part two of the mini-series to unpack multimodal learning for adult learners and what it really means to design with intention instead of stacking more media on top of a course. We dig into cognitive load theory and why the same conc
Myth: Class Size Doesn’t Affect Learning Quality
Class size is not a harmless detail; it’s a force that quietly rewrites the learning experience. When a course jumps from 15 learners to 75, the same discussion prompt can turn into noise, feedback timelines can stretch, and learners can feel invisible even when the content is strong. In this episode, Jackie is tackling a stubborn myth in instructional design and education: “Class size doesn’t aff
Generative AI and Curriculum Design With Dr. Dwayne Wood
Generative AI is moving from “helpful tool” to something that can quietly shape how people think, write, and learn, and that changes everything about curriculum design. I sit down with Dr. Dwayne Wood, an experienced educator and curriculum developer with a background in military instruction, to unpack what generative AI in education actually means when you care about real learning outcomes, not j
Myth: Interactivity Requires Fancy Tools
Interactivity is one of those words that sounds obvious until you try to design for it. If you’ve ever felt pressure to add branching scenarios, animations, or expensive eLearning interactions to prove a course is “engaging,” we’re calling that myth out directly: interactivity does not require fancy tools.In this episode, Jackie walks you through why this belief has lasted in instructional design
How to Design Digital Training That Changes Behavior With Erick Prospero
Shiny training is everywhere right now, and a lot of it still fails the moment learners go back to work. We sit down with e-Learning strategist and Ninja Tropic CEO Erick Prospero to get honest about what “engaging” digital learning actually means when outcomes are on the line. If your organization is adding video, animation, gamification, or AI tools and hoping that fixes attention and performanc
Myth: AI Will Replace Instructional Designers
AI can generate a course outline, a script, and a quiz in seconds, so it’s easy to wonder if instructional designers are next on the replacement list. We slow that fear down and look at what’s actually happening when AI enters the learning design workflow, and why “fast content” is not the same thing as effective instruction.We unpack the myth “AI will replace instructional designers” and name the
Game-Based Learning Can Make Security Training Stick With Lee Anderson
Your inbox is designed for speed. Attackers know it, and too many training programs pretend we’re all making perfect choices with unlimited time and zero stress. Jackie had a great conversation with Lee Anderson, a cybersecurity professional with 16+ years of experience reducing human risk, to unpack what really drives security decisions and how better learning design can change behavior. We get i
Myth: Engagement Means Entertainment
Clicking, laughing, and “having fun” can look like engagement, but it can also be a mirage. In this episode, Jackie unpacks a stubborn instructional design myth that shows up in classrooms, eLearning, and workplace training: engagement means entertainment. If you’ve ever felt pressure to add games, humor, flashy visuals, music, competition, or constant interaction to keep attention, this conversat
A Name Can Be the First Blueprint for Identity With Dr. Tamara Nall
A suffix can look like a tiny detail on paper, but it can carry an entire family story. Jackie sits down with Dr. Tamara Nall to talk about Junia, a formal naming tradition designed to give daughters the kind of visible legacy marker that “Junior” has long given sons. The conversation starts with naming, then opens into something bigger: identity, representation, and what changes in a culture when
Myth: Assessments Must Be Tests to Be Valid
A quiz can be quick, clean, and easy to score, but does it actually prove learning? We take on a stubborn myth in instructional design and education: that assessments must be tests to be valid. In this episode, Jackie explains why tests are so often treated as the gold standard, from the comfort of “objectivity” to the pressure for efficiency in schools, certification programs, and workplace train
A Master’s Program Can Reveal Your Instructional Design Path With Naomi Allen
You can feel the moment when a career finally makes sense: you read a course list, something clicks, and you realize there’s a name for the work you’ve wanted to do all along. That’s the energy behind Jackie's conversation with Naomi Allen, who recently completed her master’s in instructional design at Grand Canyon University after starting down a very different path in clinical mental health
Myth: More Content Means More Learning
More slides do not equal more learning, and if you have ever felt pressured to “add just one more resource,” you already know how quickly a course can turn into a content dump. We take on a stubborn instructional design myth: the idea that piling on readings, videos, examples, and links automatically improves understanding. It sounds responsible, but it often creates confusion, weak retention, and
Human-Governed AI for Learning Design With James Gilchrist
AI can hand you a polished outline, a full course draft, and a dozen “best practice” scenarios in seconds. The hard part is deciding whether any of it is worth a learner’s time. Jackie sat down with James Gildrist, founder of Lighthouse L&D Consulting, to talk about the real work behind AI in learning and development: protecting meaning, judgment, and instructional quality when speed is the lo
Myth: Learning Styles Should Drive Design Decisions
If you’ve ever heard someone say “I’m a visual learner,” you’ve seen how quickly learning style labels can shape training decisions. In this episode, Jackie unpacks a persistent instructional design myth: that learning styles should drive how we build courses, lessons, and eLearning. Learner preferences are real, but treating them like fixed categories can pull us away from what actually improves
Lead Without a Title With Darrell Williams
The fastest way to become a trusted leader isn’t getting promoted. It’s becoming the person people run to when something hurts, and you can help fix it.Jackie sat down with Darrell Williams, a master certified life coach and longtime military and federal leader, to translate high-pressure leadership into everyday skills for educators and instructional designers. We dig into why rank never guarante
Myth: Good Teaching Equals Good Instructional Design
Good teaching is powerful, but it can also hide a trap: when a class goes well, we assume the design must be strong. Jackie unpacks a common myth in instructional design and education that shows up everywhere from K-12 to corporate training and higher ed: good teaching equals good instructional design. They’re connected, but they’re not the same job, and confusing them can leave gaps in practice,
Alumni Engagement That Works With Jennifer Cunningham
Most schools and nonprofits don’t have an “engagement problem” they have a follow-up problem. If you’ve ever gone to a campus event, felt a quick burst of nostalgia, and then never heard anything meaningful again, you’ve seen the gap firsthand. I sit down with alumni engagement and nonprofit consultant Jennifer Cunningham to unpack what actually turns a one-time attendee into a connected community
Myth: Technology Automatically Improves Learning
A shiny new tool can feel like instant progress, but what if it quietly makes your course harder to learn? Jackie is tackling one of the most stubborn myths in instructional design and education: the idea that technology automatically improves learning. Whether you’re rolling out a new LMS, testing an AI content creation tool, or adding interactive features to eLearning, the real question isn’t “I
Human Connection in Teaching With Lou Hirsch
Most of us can remember a teacher who noticed us, but we struggle to remember the worksheet, the lecture slide, or the exact content on the exam. That’s where this conversation with Dr. Lou Hirsch lands: the real unit of change in higher education isn’t another tool or another “coverage” strategy, it’s the small, intentional moments of human connection that create trust and make learning stick. We
Myth: Accessibility Is Optional If Your Learners Don't Request It
The fastest way to lock learners out of your course is to wait for them to ask for access. We’re tackling a stubborn myth in instructional design and education: “Accessibility is optional if learners don’t request it.” It sounds reasonable on paper because many organizations have formal accommodation processes, but it breaks down in real life when learners don’t feel safe disclosing, don’t have do
Inside Pictory: Simple AI Workflows for Educators and Teams With Vikram Chalana
What if making great learning videos felt like finishing a slide deck—familiar, fast, and oddly satisfying? Jackie sat down with Pictory co‑founder Vikram Chalana to unpack a clear path from messy tools to simple, repeatable workflows that help educators and L&D teams publish short, accessible videos at scale. No timeline acrobatics. No blank‑screen dread. Just practical steps that turn conten
Myth: Online Learning Is Less Effective Than In-Person
The fastest way to kill a good learning goal is to blame the format instead of fixing the design. We’re kicking off a new series on myths in instructional design and education by taking on one of the biggest, most stubborn claims out there: online learning is less effective than in-person learning.We get why this belief sticks. A lot of digital learning has felt disconnected, confusing, passive, o
Accessibility as a Habit, Not a Hurdle With Maxwell Ivey
Accessibility doesn’t have to feel like a mountain you climb alone. Jackie sat down with accessibility advocate Maxwell Ivey to turn big ideas into small, repeatable steps that make your website and content welcoming to every user. Instead of chasing every rule at once, we focus on process over panic: define the user problem, choose the smallest next fix, and build momentum.We start with the highe
Your 90-Day AI-Ready Plan: Skills, Systems, and Proof
AI tools are getting faster, louder, and harder to ignore, but that doesn’t mean your growth has to feel chaotic. We wrap the AI-Ready Designer Series with a clear 90-day plan that turns experimentation into a repeatable practice you can actually defend, document, and share. If you’ve been learning a little here and there but still feel scattered, this roadmap is built to help you move with intent
Magnetic Talks That Move People With Dr. Danny Brassell
What if your best presentation didn’t just earn applause—it moved people to act? Jackie sat down with Dr. Danny Brassell to map a clearer path from inspiration to conversion, blending hard-won classroom lessons with decades on the stage to show exactly how to make talks that stick, spread, and sell without feeling salesy.We start with the only scoreboard that matters: how many listeners take the n
Measuring AI's Impact on the L&D Team
AI can make instructional design feel faster overnight, but speed is the easiest thing to celebrate and the easiest thing to misunderstand. When leaders ask whether AI is truly helping learning and development teams, “We used it a lot” is not an answer. In this episode, Jackie walks through how to prove AI impact with credibility using lightweight workflow metrics that tell the real story, includi
Writing That Sticks: Using ARCS With Ruth Douthitt
Ever watch a promising writing class lose steam by midterm? We’ve been there, and we built this conversation to flip that script using the ARCS model—Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction—as a practical blueprint for motivated, higher-quality writing across live and online courses. With award-winning author and curriculum developer Ruth A. Douthit, we unpack what actually keeps students e
Working With IT, Security, and Procurement: The New Collaboration Trio
AI tools can make learning design faster and more creative, but the moment a tool touches prompts, uploads, learner responses, employee information, or system integrations, approvals can feel like a hard stop. We talk through the real shift many instructional designers are living right now: AI tool selection is no longer only a learning design decision. It’s also a technology decision, a security
Accessibility Is a Competitive Edge With Maxwell Ivey
Accessibility isn’t a box to tick at launch; it’s the backbone of products people actually trust. Jackie sat down with Maxwell “The Blind Blogger” Ivey—founder of The Accessibility Advantage and longtime advocate for inclusive digital experiences—to unpack how small, thoughtful changes can eliminate friction, reduce support costs, and open doors to more learners and customers.Max shares four moves
AI Tutors, Coaches, and Practice Bots: When They Help and When They Don't
A bot can sound warm, responsive, and confident, and still teach the wrong thing. That’s the tension we dig into as we explore AI tutors, AI coaches, and practice bots through the lens that matters most to instructional designers: practice design that improves real performance, not just chat transcripts.Jackie walks through why AI can absolutely help us scale practice, create interactions faster,
Designing Learning That Actually Changes Behavior With Dr. Steven Linley
Training that doesn’t change behavior is just content, and content alone won’t move a business metric. Jackie sat down with Dr. Steven Linley, a learning strategist and adult learning expert, to unpack how to turn “we need training” into performance that lasts. From the first stakeholder request to the final coaching touchpoint, Steven shows how to investigate like a detective, separate red herrin
From Content Creator to Learning Architect: The AI-Era Shift
AI can generate outlines, scripts, quizzes, scenarios, and slide drafts in minutes. That sounds like freedom, until you realize the real danger is volume: more content, more assets, more “resources” that don’t actually change what learners do. We’re making the case for a different kind of value in the AI era of instructional design and learning experience design: becoming the learning architect wh
Assess What Matters In An AI World With Hamza Sami
What if assessment made thinking visible and turned AI into a learning partner instead of a shortcut? Jackie sat down with Hamza Sami to close our series by unpacking practical ways to design for real understanding—where reasoning, judgment, and context take center stage.We start by reframing purpose: assessment is for learning, not just measurement. That lens leads to formative moves that build t
Your ID Knowledge Vault: How to Stay Consistent When AI Is Fast
AI can help you generate course content in minutes, but if you’ve ever looked at the output and thought, “This doesn’t sound like me,” you already know the hidden cost: inconsistency. When tone changes, terminology drifts, and structure varies across modules, your work stops feeling recognizable and trustworthy even if the content is technically correct.We walk through a simple fix that doesn’t re
Navigating the Journey: Caroline Amberson's Transformation Through Instructional Design
Curiosity turns into clarity when a seasoned teacher names the practices that work. Jackie sits down with Caroline Amberson, a K–12 demonstration teacher who completed her M.S. in Instructional Design at Grand Canyon University, to unpack how research transformed instinct into intention. She walks us through the moment Mayer’s multimedia principles gave her a common language, how UDL and cognitive
Prompting as a Design Skill: From “Try This” to Repeatable Patterns
AI output isn’t mysterious; it’s measurable. When we prompt like we’re chatting, we get content that feels generic and unpredictable. When we prompt like instructional designers, with audience, outcomes, constraints, and a definition of “good,” the same AI tool starts producing drafts you can actually reuse.In this episode, Jackie walks through a simple mindset shift that changes everything: a pro
Design for People, Not Just Features With Charly Leetham
Ever feel like your tools change faster than your lesson plans? Jackie sat down with tech translator and founder Charly Leetham to unpack a calmer, smarter way to work with technology—one that starts with first principles, respects human limits, and favors preparation over firefighting. From story-rich field experience to practical classroom routines, this conversation is a guide to making tech se
AI Quality Assurance: Catching Hallucinations, Bias, and Brand Drift
AI can write training content that looks flawless, sounds professional, and still quietly mislead your learners. That’s the problem we tackle today, along with a practical fix you can use immediately: a fast QA scan that keeps AI speed while protecting trust, accuracy, and credibility.In this episode, Jackie walks through three failure modes that show up again and again in AI-generated eLearning a
Claim Your Calling With Daniel Bernabe
What if the clearest path to your calling is simpler than you think? Host Jackie Pelegrin sits down with artist, pastor, author, and motivator Daniel Bernabe for a candid look at how grief, faith, and relentless practice can turn raw potential into enduring impact. From a teenage moment of loss to the steady drumbeat of “seek first,” Daniel charts the habits and heart postures that helped him beco
Human-in-the-Loop: The Review Workflow That Prevents Rework
AI can crank out a draft in minutes, but if the audience is wrong, the tone is off, or the facts don’t match policy, you’ll lose every “saved” hour in rework. In this episode, Jackie breaks down the shift she keeps seeing in instructional design teams: the new bottleneck isn’t creating content, it’s creating trusted content. That’s why human-in-the-loop review isn’t an extra process. It’s the diff
Practical AI Strategies for K-12 and Higher Ed With John Williamson
What if AI became your most thoughtful co-teacher instead of a shortcut students hide behind? Jackie had an engaging and insightful conversation with John Williamson, lead curriculum developer at Grand Canyon University and founder of Olive and Rose Education, to map out how generative AI can boost creativity, deepen learning, and give teachers precious time back—without losing professional judgme
Data Literacy for IDs: The Basics You Need to Work Smarter With AI
Training can look successful on paper and still fail where it counts: on the job. We’re digging into the data literacy instructional designers and educators actually need right now, especially as AI tools speed up decisions and raise new privacy questions. If you’ve ever stared at completions, seat time, or quiz scores and wondered, “So what do I do with this information?”, this conversation is bu
Creativity Over Compliance With Michaell Magrutsche
Creativity isn’t extra; it’s how we unlock potential. That’s the heartbeat of this conversation with Austrian‑Californian multimedia artist and creativity awareness educator Michaell Magrusche, whose neurodiversity shaped a human‑centered approach to learning, design, and life. We talk candidly about why people must come before systems, how to balance money, meaning, and voice in design, and the s
AI Guardrails 101: Policies and Permissions
AI isn’t just a time-saver anymore, it’s a trusted choice. When instructional designers paste the wrong thing into the wrong tool, the risk isn’t abstract: it can touch learner privacy, employee data, internal documents, proprietary processes, and even regulated content. In this episode, Jackie shares a simple way to stop guessing and start using AI with calm, clear guardrails you can actually fol
From Classroom to Corporate Learning With Jessica Smith
Ever wondered how a teacher’s instincts translate into real business value? We sit down with Jessica Smith, a former secondary Spanish teacher turned corporate instructional designer at ADP, to unpack the exact moves that make the leap from education to L&D not just possible, but powerful. From scoping with SMEs to beating scope creep, Jessica shows how to define clear performance outcomes, au
The New Instructional Designer: What AI Changes and What It Doesn’t
AI can generate outlines, quizzes, and scripts in minutes, but that doesn’t mean your learners will do the right thing on Monday. We zoom out to see what AI is really changing in instructional design and what remains stubbornly, beautifully human: context, empathy, trust, and accountability for results.I walk through the pressure many of us are feeling as stakeholders start to assume “content equa
Autonomy That Actually Works With Hamza Sami
Autonomy isn’t about handing learners the wheel and hoping for the best. We explore how freedom becomes fuel—when it’s matched to the stakes, the setting, and the supports. With guest Hamza Sami, we compare college courses where risk is a learning tool and corporate training where performance boundaries are real, then show how to design autonomy that fits both worlds.We dig into the practical diff
How to Navigate ID Careers Across Industries
Switching industries shouldn’t feel like starting over. We walk through a Career GPS for instructional designers that turns uncertainty into a plan: define your core strengths, translate your experience into the right industry dialect, pick an environment that fits your energy, and build a bridge portfolio that proves transfer without rebuilding from scratch. Along the way, we unpack the language
Ethical AI, Authentic Voice, and the Joy of Progress With Jade Arthur
What if job hunting could feel more like leveling up than burning out? Jackie sits down with language and mindset coach Jade Arthur to explore how AI and game design thinking can transform ESL learning, portfolios, and interview prep, especially for creatives entering the gaming industry. Jade walks us through a clear, repeatable workflow: define your outcomes, prompt ChatGPT for layered outputs,
Freelance or Full-Time: Choose Your Best Fit
Choosing between freelancing and a full-time role can feel like a high-stakes fork in the road. We take the pressure off with a five–mile marker roadmap that helps you define what matters most right now and match the path to your life, not your LinkedIn headline. Instead of arguing labels, we ask better questions: Do you need stability or flexibility? Variety or consistency? Specialist depth or br
Measure What Matters, Then Make It Human With David Sanchez
A frontline nurse turned founder changes how we think about “marketing” by treating it like care extended. David Sanchez, RN, shares how clinical empathy, clear language, and the right tools help healthcare organizations and educators reach the people who need them most. We unpack the journey from ER shifts to launching a recovery program and a patient-first agency, then translate that experience
Networking Tips That Advance Your ID Career
What if networking could feel calm, kind, and effective—without the awkward pitch? We walk through five connection moves that help instructional designers and educators build real relationships: a mindset reframe, tiny weekly actions, breadcrumb visibility, simple follow-ups, and a growth circle powered by mentors and peers. The result is a practical, repeatable system that turns small moments int
Teaching and Curriculum Design in the Age of AI With Hamza Sami
Want a smarter way to work with AI in the classroom without losing what makes learning human? Jackie had an engaging and insightful conversation with academic manager and curriculum designer Hamza Sami to unpack practical ways educators can harness generative AI as a learning partner while strengthening integrity, critical thinking, and authentic assessment.We start by reframing generative AI with
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your ID Portfolio
Hiring managers don’t want a gallery of artifacts; they want proof you can solve real performance problems. We walk through a clear, house-style blueprint for building an instructional design portfolio that highlights your judgment, shows measurable impact, and makes it effortless to find your best work.To help your work get found, we align language across your site, resume, and LinkedIn, weave in
Choose Love Over Fear to Guide Learning With Tommy Kilpatrick
What if the key to tomorrow’s lesson lives in what lit you up at age seven? We bring back Tommy Kilpatrick to turn that early spark into practical, compassionate teaching—linking identity, choice, and classroom design. Together, we unpack a simple ten-minute exercise to replay your earliest memories and name the gift you were eager to share. That clarity becomes a compass for lesson tweaks you can
Virtual Playgrounds: Bringing Learning to Life
What if your course felt less like a checklist and more like a world your learners return to, level up in, and prove real growth? We walk through a practical framework for building a virtual playground that mirrors the work, builds measurable skills, and motivates through clarity rather than gimmicks. 🔗 Resources and Related Episodes:If you would like to explore today’s topic further, here are a f
Why Starting With Where Changes Everything With Tommy Kilpatrick
What if the fastest route to clarity is the one we usually skip—where are you, when is it, and who are you—before asking what to do next? In this episode, Jackie sat down with Tommy Kilpatrick to explore his book, Human Occidental Owner’s Manual, and translate big human questions into practical habits for teachers, creators, and lifelong learners. Using a crisp computer setup analogy, we reset our
Personalization Unleashed: Adaptive Learning in Action
Ready to move beyond one-size-fits-all courses? We explore a practical path to adaptive learning that uses the content and tools you already have—no massive rebuilds, no mystery AI required. By focusing on three simple levers—sequence, pacing, and practice—we demonstrate how to direct learners to the right support at the right time and convert feedback into fuel for mastery.The goal is simple: des
AI Made Practical for Teachers and Designers With Sairam Sundaresan
Think AI can do everything? We put that assumption under the microscope with AI engineering leader and author Sairam Sundaresan, and walk away with a playbook that’s practical, ethical, and built for real classrooms and design teams. We break down why narrow, well-scoped tasks are where AI shines, how to turn prompting into a repeatable workflow, and what it looks like to treat a model like a new
Guiding the Classroom with AI Copilots
AI can feel like a runaway train in classrooms and training programs—powerful, fast, and a little scary. We take the controls and show how to turn generative tools into true co-pilots: clear roles, simple guardrails, and small pilots that free us to focus on coaching, feedback, and real human connection.You’ll hear role-based examples across K-12, higher education, and corporate learning: differen
Paragraphs, Not Panic: Dyslexia-Smart Strategies With Russell Van Brocklen
What if a fifth grader could turn a pile of ideas into a clear, grounded paragraph—every time—without leaning on AI? We bring back dyslexia researcher Russell Van Brocklen for part three of our series to show exactly how: start with a hero, a universal theme, and a villain; distill three good reasons into one-word themes; and anchor everything to a real quote. The result is a body paragraph that’s
Navigating the New Realities: Unpacking VR, AR, and MR for Lasting Impact
Forget the headset hype: real learning impact starts with a clear problem, a focused outcome, and a modality that actually fits the job. We dig into how to choose between VR for safe practice, AR for in-the-flow guidance, and MR for complex 3D collaboration—then show exactly how to design the actions, decisions, and feedback loops that change behavior on the job. No fluff, no jargon, just a practi
Designing Learning, Not Just E‑Learning With Connie Malamed
Want to design learning that actually sticks—and gets you hired? Jackie sits down with Connie Malamed, publisher of The eLearning Coach website and podcast, author of Visual Design Solutions and Visual Language for Designers, to unpack how newcomers can skip the noise, master the essentials, and build a portfolio that proves real instructional design skill. We dive into the mindset shift from “mak
From SME Pathways to Stakeholder Highways
Projects stall when one expert carries the content, decisions, and approvals. We flip that script with a clear, usable playbook for building a stakeholder highway—bringing sponsors, learners, frontline leaders, operations, tech, and compliance into the right moments so training actually lands in the real world. You’ll hear why SME-only pathways create bottlenecks and blind spots, how to map the ro
From Haiti to Edge AI: Building Privacy-First Learning Tools With Sebastien Fenelon
What if your classroom could adapt to each learner without handing their data to the cloud? That’s the promise we dig into with technologist and founder Sebastien Fenelon, whose journey from scarce resources in Haiti to building privacy-first, edge AI tools reframes what “future-ready” really means for educators and instructional designers.We start with the power of resilience—how self-taught codi
Beyond The Basics: A Practical Blueprint for Microlearning
Short doesn’t automatically mean effective. We dig into the craft of microlearning that actually changes behavior on the job, moving past buzzwords to a clear blueprint you can use this week. You’ll hear the green‑yellow‑red fit test, a tight scoping method, and five delivery patterns that make small learning moments do real work without bloating your course catalog.Ready to ship something meaning
Alpha Minds, Real Tools With Queen Michele
Thunder cracked over San Cristóbal as Queen Michele told us how a retired teacher, armed with a suitcase and a stubborn sense of purpose, found her soul in Mexico and a mission for the most connected generation on earth. What followed is a story of reinvention, caregiving, and building a mindfulness curriculum that teaches middle schoolers to center before they swipe.We unpack Generation Alpha—kid
Gamification Strategies to Improve Learner Engagement
Want learners to finish training, remember it, and use it on the job? We walk through a no-fluff approach to gamification that starts with clear outcomes and ends with measurable behavior change. Instead of throwing points at problems, we show how to pair decision-based practice, tight feedback, and meaningful rewards to build real skill.The heart of the episode is a practical toolkit: five common
People First, Tools Second With James Gilchrist
Most training fails not because the storyboard is weak, but because the learning lands in an environment full of competing priorities and fuzzy signals. That’s the tough-love truth James Gilchrist brings to our mic as we unpack how people-first design—and authentic leadership—turns content into real performance. James’s winding path from actor and musician to L&D leader sharpened skills we oft
Mobile Learning Design: How to Create Courses for Any Device
Ever try to squeeze a desktop course onto a phone and wonder why learners bounce? We reframe the challenge and share five essentials that make mobile learning fast, clear, and genuinely useful in the moments people actually have. From finding mobile moments to building microlearning mile markers, we walk through patterns that turn scattered minutes into meaningful progress and show why one crisp o
Rediscovering Creativity: A Conversation With Patrick Williams
What if your greatest creative potential isn't something you need to find, but something you simply need to remember? As a creativity expert, Patrick Williams joined me to reveal how we've all been born with incredible creative abilities that often get suppressed as we grow older.The conversation offers surprisingly simple yet powerful practices anyone can implement: connecting with natu
Stay Ahead: The Learning Designer’s Playbook
Want a smarter way to stay current without spinning your wheels? In this episode, Jackie walks through a practical playbook that helps instructional designers and learning leaders filter hype, design for real performance, and ship small wins that scale. It’s a clear path from “interesting idea” to measurable impact, built around five practice trends, a lean trend filter, and a two-week micropilot
The Unstoppable Leader: Victoria Pelletier's Journey Through Corporate Transformation
Victoria Pelletier never planned to become a C-suite executive. With childhood dreams of practicing law, her path took an unexpected turn when a temporary banking job led to rapid promotions and a cross-country relocation. That detour became a 30-year journey through corporate leadership, culminating in her current role at the intersection of business transformation and technology at Kindrel.What
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