Podcast
#IDIODC Instructional Designers In Offices Drinking Coffee
Hosted by Chris Van Wingerden, Paul Schneider · EN
Grab your favorite brew (ours is coffee ☕) and sit down with Paul Schneider and Chris Van Wingerden from dominKnow.
Together they unpack the real-world headaches L&D pros face — managing learning content creation, operations, and proving business value.
Expect lively chats with guest experts and practical tips you can plug straight into your learning strategies or development workflows.
Whether you’re a veteran L&D leader or a brand-new instructional designer, tune in for strategic, technology, and business insights into L&D operational excellence.
17episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
L&D Roles That Don't Exist Yet (But Absolutely Should)
6d ago00:41:56Tap to summarizeContent creation has been L&D's comfort zone for years. But the role is shifting fast. Lavinia Mehedintu joins IDIODC to share what Offbeat's research reveals about where L&D professionals go from here. From learning product management to experience design to systems thinking, she breaks down the moves that turn L&D teams into genuine strategic partners. Real scenarios, real skills, and a few things worth doing less of. ________ Lavinia Mehedintu is Co-Founder and Learning Architect at Offbeat. Over the past nine years, she has designed learning experiences and career development programs across corporate and higher education settings. She is known for her work on behavior change, social learning, and helping L&D teams shift from content creation to strategic impact. At Offbeat, she researches and writes about the future of the L&D profession, AI-native teams, and what it takes for learning professionals to stay relevant. She speaks at major industry events, including Learning Technologies, and has built one of the most active communities for L&D practitioners worldwide. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →Short Sims: The Easiest Path to Experiential Learning
3w ago00:43:56Tap to summarizeMost eLearning tells learners things. Short Sims make them do things. Clark Aldrich joins IDIODC to unpack why this distinction is costing L&D teams credibility — and budget. Clark invented Short Sims: compact, decision-driven simulations that build both competence and conviction in under 12 minutes. We dig into how Short Sims are built, how AI is now accelerating their production, and why they're one of the few formats that can prove measurable performance impact. If your content library is full of passive courses, this one's a wake-up call. ___________ Clark Aldrich has spent 30 years at the forefront of experiential learning. He founded Gartner's e-learning research practice in the late 1990s, designed over 100 educational simulations and serious games, and holds a U.S. patent for leadership simulation design. He has guest lectured at Harvard, the Army War College, and the FBI Academy at Quantico. He is the author of six books, including 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘴: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, a method for building decision-based "learning to do" simulations in under 12 minutes. Short Sims clients include the United Nations, the U.S. Department of State, KPMG, and the Center for Army Leadership. His newest work, Socratic Cards, builds on that foundation to develop leadership and heroic cultures inside organizations. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →AI, Pressure, and Purpose: The Real State of L&D
May 800:47:52Tap to summarizeWhat happens to L&D when the training models we relied on for decades start falling apart? Donald H Taylor joins IDIODC to share what 3,797 practitioners from 105 countries told him in the 2026 Global Sentiment Survey. The answers are more honest, more urgent, and more revealing than any single year before. We'll dig into what the data reveals about where the profession is heading. What are practitioners actually doing differently? Where is AI adding value, and where is it creating noise? And what does the path forward look like when there is no map? __________Donald H Taylor has worked in learning and technology since the mid-1980s, from training delivery to board chair. He has chaired the Learning Technologies Conference in London since 2000, now Europe's largest event of its kind. His annual L&D Global Sentiment Survey draws thousands of responses from practitioners across 100+ countries. He is the author of Learning Technologies in the Workplace and chairs the Workforce Development board at Emerge Education. A graduate of Oxford University, he received an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University in 2016. He has spoken in over 30 countries worldwide. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →Freelance Instructional Design: Turning Talent into Business Impact
Apr 2400:47:14Tap to summarizeUnderstanding the freelance instructional design market is crucial for both independent professionals and the enterprises that hire them. In this episode, Parker Grant and Andrea Dottling of IDLance pull back the curtain on the freelance L&D industry. They explore the daily challenges, unique opportunities, and business mechanics of working as an independent eLearning designer. For L&D leaders, they provide practical advice on integrating freelance talent into corporate workflows. The conversation highlights how large organizations can build better vendor relationships, streamline project management, and achieve strong business outcomes when working with external instructional designers. __________Parker Grant spent over 21 years at a Fortune 50 company as an engineer, trainer, and training manager before going freelance. He holds a Ph.D. in Adult Learning from the University of Connecticut and co-founded IDLance with Andrea in 2020. He is also an eLearning developer, cartoonist, and someone who has genuinely thought through the business side of L&D freelancing.Andrea Dottling holds a Master's in Education and has designed learning across corporate, higher ed, K-12, and non-profit settings. She co-founded IDLance in 2020 and helped grow its freelancer community to over 1,700 members worldwide. In 2025, she keynoted the Alabama Instructional Design Network's UnConference. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →Beyond Skills: The Five Real Drivers of Workforce Performance
Apr 1000:37:41Tap to summarizeMany L&D programs build skills but fail to shift performance. Matthew Richter joins IDIODC to explore why that gap exists and what to do about it. He breaks performance down into five factors and shows exactly where L&D can and cannot influence each one. That distinction matters. It changes how you diagnose problems, how you scope solutions, and how you talk to business leaders about what learning can realistically deliver. You will leave with a sharper lens for targeting your budget, a cleaner argument for stakeholders, and a practical framework for choosing interventions that move real business outcomes. ______Matthew Richter is President of The Thiagi Group and co-founder of The Learning Development Accelerator (LDA). He has spent two decades consulting and delivering training for organizations including Microsoft, EA, Grant Thornton, and Sony. His work sits at the intersection of performance, motivation, and learning design. Matt is also a game designer, facilitator, and public speaker. He has presented at The Gates Foundation, ISPI, Training Magazine, and ASTD, among others. He co-authored LOLA: Live Online Learning Activities with Sivasailam Thiagarajan and teaches leadership at EMLyon Business School in France Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →Action-First Learning to Drive Enterprise Performance
Mar 2700:50:00Tap to summarizeIn the age of AI when content is a commodity, how do Learning and Development organizations actually make an impact? How can they build a learning function that is both efficient and effective, especially when scaling across an enterprise? Many L&D teams are caught between the demand for speed and the need for quality, often sacrificing one for the other. The secret isn't doing more, but designing smarter from the start. Dr. Karl Kapp, a leading voice in learning and technology, joins IDIODC to share a new operational mindset where "smooth is fast". We'll discuss how to embed quality and thoughtful design into your processes from the start, ensuring that your L&D initiatives are not only scalable but also accessible, performance-driven, and action-focused. Discover how strategic AI integration and an action-oriented approach can transform your team from a content factory into a critical driver of business success. _________ Dr. Karl Kapp is a pioneering voice in learning innovation. His book Action-First Learning is reshaping how organizations design training for real-world impact. As co-founder of Enterprise Game Stack and founder of the L&D Mentor Academy, he bridges academic rigor with practical business results. His work on gamification, engagement, and instructional design has influenced thousands of L&D professionals worldwide. Karl is a professor of instructional technology at Commonwealth University. He brings over two decades of research-backed expertise to enterprise learning challenges. From scaling operations to integrating AI, he helps organizations turn training into a strategic driver of business success. His books, courses, and thought leadership tackle the pressing challenges facing today's L&D leaders. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →Instructional Design Writing: When to Use AI, When to Resist
Feb 2700:45:43Tap to summarizeYour team is probably using AI to write learning content. But does it actually make it better? AI hallucinations and weird text patterns can be spotted by anyone paying attention. Connie Malamed joins IDIODC to share what she's learned from experimenting with AI writing tools. We discuss the fingerprints AI leaves in your content. Overused sentence structures. Paragraphs that sound impressive but say nothing. You'll learn about specialized AI research tools that beat ChatGPT for finding credible sources, and using NotebookLM to prepare for SMEs interviews. Connie shares when to use AI and when to fight through your own messy first draft. Because sometimes the struggle is what keeps your writing sharp and your content authentic. _____ Connie Malamed is a learning experience design consultant, author, and the creator of The eLearning Coach. She helps learning teams design evidence-informed, visually clear learning experiences that people actually understand and remember. She has written two influential books on visual design for learning and runs Mastering Instructional Design, a community for learning professionals who want to deepen their craft and stay current in a changing L&D landscape. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →From Generic to Custom: AI-Generated Images for Learning Content
Feb 1300:51:20Tap to summarizeChristy Tucker joins IDIODC to share her journey into AI image generation for learning. With over 1,500 images created and extensive tool experimentation, she reveals why she moved beyond stock photos. We'll discuss what works, what doesn't, and how to navigate the learning curve of prompting AI tools like Midjourney, ChatGPT, and Gemini (Nano Banana).Discover practical workflows for creating consistent character images for scenarios. Christy explains how to reduce bias through diverse representation and make abstract concepts tangible with custom icons. This conversation previews strategic approaches you'll want to explore before her upcoming hands-on webinar. Get ready to elevate your learning visuals from generic to genuinely tailored._______Christy Tucker is an instructional designer and consultant specializing in scenario-based learning and AI-generated visuals. She's created thousands AI images while developing practical workflows for learning professionals. Her blog, Experiencing Elearning, features 70+ posts on storytelling and scenarios. She earned the eLearning Learning MVP Award in the Engaging Learners category.Christy speaks regularly at conferences including DevLearn and Training Magazine events. She's known for making complex techniques accessible through hands-on workshops and detailed guides. When she's not generating AI images or designing branching scenarios, she's probably experimenting with yet another image tool. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →The Conversation L&D Teams Should Be Having About AI
Jan 3000:46:33Tap to summarizeDoes your organization’s AI adoption feel scattered? All too often, teams are treating a strategic transformation like just another software rollout. Megan Torrance joins IDIODC with a better framework — one grounded in systems thinking. She maps the three zones where AI impacts learning organizations and the nature of training work itself, and the 14 conversations that organizations need to be having as we further our implementations of new tools and processes.Drawing from her forthcoming book, Megan shares the planning dimensions most learning teams overlook. From workforce impact to governance to change management, she reveals why cross-functional collaboration matters just as much as technical prowess. This conversation previews strategic concepts your team should explore now. Her upcoming webinar dives deep into the AI Implementation Canvas framework with actionable strategies._______Megan Torrance is the CEO and Founder of TorranceLearning, where she partners with organizations to create transformational learning experiences. A recognized thought leader in learning innovation, she created the LLAMA® methodology for instructional design and pioneered xAPI and learning analytics for L&D.Her upcoming book, The AI Implementation Guide for L&D (June 2026), introduces the AI Implementation Canvas, a strategic framework for AI adoption. Megan developed the W.I.S.E. A.T. A.I. framework for responsible AI use and founded the LIT community. As a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, she brings systems thinking to help L&D professionals design for change. She co-hosts the Tangents with TorranceLearning podcast and offers the AI Driver's Permit course. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
Transcribe →From Overwhelm to Order: Managing L&D People and Processes
Jan 1600:44:03Tap to summarizeManaging learning at scale requires mastering both psychology and process. Guieswende Rouamba joins IDIODC to reveal why projects succeed or fail — rarely because of content, but because of broken human dynamics. Using Transactional Analysis, he'll explain how to move stakeholders from resistance to genuine collaboration, transforming "order taker" teams into strategic partners.But psychology needs operational discipline to scale. Guieswende will unpack how rigorous scoping prevents "dead projects" (built but never launched), protects teams from burnout, and keeps budgets intact against scope creep. As AI accelerates production timelines, this operational spine becomes even more critical. Learn how to build repeatable processes that scale from one course to fifty — and prepare your team for an AI-enabled future where instructional designers manage portfolios, not individual courses._____Dr. Guieswende Rouamba is an instructional designer, author, and advocate for bringing project management discipline to the learning design profession. With a PhD in Instructional Design and Technology and over a decade of experience managing large-scale course development, he has seen firsthand how poor scoping and misaligned stakeholders derail even the best-designed content.His book, The Instructional Designer's Guide to Project Management, bridges the gap between learning theory and operational reality, emphasizing the "human side" of project success through frameworks like Transactional Analysis and the SCARF model. Currently at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, Guieswende leads teams developing high-enrollment courses (500-1000 students) while championing the idea that instructional designers need to master both psychology and process to thrive in today's fast-paced L&D environments. Brought to you by the dominKnow | ONE Platform - develop, manage, and distribute impactful L&D content – efficiently, at scale.
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