The L&D Explorers Podcast

Bill Raymond, author, consultant, and creator of Bill Talks AI, joins Dan Gorgone to discuss how learning and development professionals can harness AI to create high-impact training faster. From building custom GPTs to automating course assets and editing, Bill shares how he cut his course development time by 70% while keeping the content authentic and learner-focused. He also explores AI trends reshaping the L&D landscape and offers practical tips to help you get started, no matter your team size or experience with AI. What you’ll learn: How AI can streamline course development and boost quality Where L&D teams often hesitate with AI — and how to overcome it What it takes to build a custom GPT tailored to your tone and style Tools for AI-powered video, audio, and content editing The biggest AI trends impacting learning professionals today Training a team? Make it easier — and smarter — with GoSkills. Check out From Prompt to Productivity with AI — Bill’s course on GoSkills. Try Genie, our AI-powered course creator Explore our LMS and course builder. Join our L&D Explorers Club, your L&D community. Follow us on socials for more L&D advice: LinkedIn YouTube Facebook Instagram X

In this episode of the L&D Explorers Podcast, we’re joined by Amanda Abraham, Senior Learning Manager at CPA Ontario, who brings years of experience in instructional design and curriculum development. Amanda shares her insights on evaluating the true impact of training, aligning L&D strategies with business goals, and the importance of tailoring learning for diverse skill levels—including the C-suite. Whether you’re an L&D professional or just starting out, this episode is packed with actionable strategies to elevate your learning programs. 🎬 The highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:42 Initial reactions vs. long-term impact of training 04:05 What matters to senior stakeholders / The metrics that matter 05:14 Bridging training with business goals 08:09 How to assess training outcomes through organizational objectives 14:14 Why initial reactions still matter 18:44 On building an L&D strategy 23:30 L&D for the C-Suite 29:45 The future of learning evaluation 33:32 Final thoughts Boost learner engagement with ⁠⁠GoSkills⁠⁠, a learner-first LMS. Connect with fellow L&D pros inside our ⁠⁠⁠⁠L&D Explorers Club⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us for more L&D advice: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter

Welcome back to the L&D Explorers podcast from GoSkills! 🎙️ In today’s episode, we speak with Alicia Hughes, founder of Sparking Up Leadership. She joins us to discuss the essential skills remote leaders need, how L&D teams can provide the right training, and the importance of building a remote culture – even if you have to schedule the fun. 🎬 The highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:39 Key skills for remote teams 5:50 Virtual workplace best practices 7:32 Building organizational culture remotely 10:09 Scheduling in fun 11:40 Seeing your team virtually and in person 16:08 Leadership training programs for remote companies 18:49 Future trends 🚀 Discover how our LMS and course builder can transform your remote team’s learning journey: ⁠https://www.goskills.com/lms⁠ 🤝 Join our L&D Explorers Club — your hub for insights, community, and growth: ⁠https://www.goskills.com/l-and-d-community-explorers⁠ About Alicia Hughes:Alicia is the founder of Sparking Up Leadership, designed to help organizations thrive in the virtual realm. She has over 20 years of experience in the world of education, including Middle & High School teaching experience, Assistant Principal & Principal roles, & time spent as the School Leader at the largest school in the state of SC. Alicia brings her enthusiasm for creating strong cultures to her work. Alicia is also a published author on leadership best practices, having just released the book Sparking up Leadership ~ Igniting your Influence with Sparkle & Shine — a book that puts emphasis on relationships, positivity, joy, and FUN at the core of leadership. Through anecdotes and insights, Alicia reveals the transformative power of treating others as you wish to be treated — a timeless truth at the heart of effective leadership. 👉 Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-victoria-hughes/ 👉 Visit her website: https://sparkingupleadership.com/ Subscribe to ⁠ @GoSkillsCourses ⁠ for the latest podcast episodes! 🔔 Follow us on social media for more L&D advice: ☑️ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/school/go-skills/ ☑️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoSkills/ ☑️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goskills/ ☑️ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/getgoskills #RemoteTeams #RemoteTraining #LeadershipDevelopment #LearningAndDevelopment #CorporateTraining #Elearning #LDExplorersPodcast #GoSkills

Welcome to the L&D Explorers podcast from GoSkills! 🎙️ In today’s episode, we talk to Dr. Clark Quinn, founder of Quinnovation.com and a renowned expert in Learning Experience Design and Development.He joins us to discuss the importance of learner engagement, how to keep learners engaged, the role of feedback, and what we can learn from game design to inform our L&D efforts.🎬 The highlights: 00:00 Introduction 00:21 What is learner engagement? 03:54 The trilogy of mind: cognition, affect, and conation 04:30 How to make people want to learn 06:08 How to engage learners from the start 10:00 How to maintain engagement 13:09 How to avoid overwhelming learners 16:18 The role of feedback in learning 21:15 What games can teach us about learning 26:02 How to assess learning effectiveness 28:36 Conclusion 📚 Get the key takeaways from this episode here: ⁠https://www.goskills.com/Resources/learner-engagement-podcast⁠ 👨‍🏫 Simplify course creation with the GoSkills course builder, our AI-powered authoring tool. Try it for free: ⁠https://www.goskills.com/course-builder⁠ 🚀 Discover how our LMS and course builder can transform your team’s learning journey: ⁠https://www.goskills.com/lms⁠ 🤝 Join our L&D Explorers Club — your hub for insights, community, and growth: ⁠https://www.goskills.com/l-and-d-community-explorers⁠ About Dr. Clark Quinn: Clark Quinn, Ph.D., is a recognized leader in learning technology strategy, helping organizations leverage information systems to meet learning, knowledge, and performance needs. His approach, learning experience design, combines what we know about how people think and learn with an understanding of technology’s capabilities to address real needs. In addition to leading Quinnovation, he currently serves as Co-Director of the evidence-based L&D society The Learning Development Accelerator and as Science Advisor to the learning-extending platform Elevator 9. 👉 Visit his website: https://quinnovation.com/ 👉 Visit his accelerator: https://ldaccelerator.com/ 👉 Visit Elevator 9: https://www.elevator9.com/ Subscribe to ⁠ @GoSkillsCourses ⁠ for the latest podcast episodes! 🔔 Follow us on social media for more L&D advice: ☑️ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/school/go-skills/ ☑️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoSkills/ ☑️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goskills/ ☑️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/getgoskills #LearnerEngagement #InstructionalDesign #InstructionalDesigner #LearningAndDevelopment #CorporateTraining #LearningDesign #Elearning #LDExplorersPodcast #GoSkills

Welcome to another episode of the L&D Explorers Podcast! 🎙️ In this episode, we’re joined by Connie Malamed, the founder and Chief Mentor at Mastering Instructional Design, for a masterclass in visual design for elearning. Connie shares the importance of visual design in all it's different forms, actionable ways to hone your visual design skills, and why feedback holds can hold the secret to improving knowledge transfer. 👨‍🏫 Simplify course creation with the GoSkills course builder, our AI-powered authoring tool. Try it for free: https://www.goskills.com/course-builder 🚀 Discover how our LMS and course builder can transform your team’s learning journey: https://www.goskills.com/lms 🤝 Join our L&D Explorers Club — your hub for insights, community, and growth: https://www.goskills.com/l-and-d-community-explorers About Connie Malamed: Connie Malamed helps people learn and build instructional design skills at Mastering Instructional Design. She is a consultant, author and international speaker in the fields of online learning and visual communication. Connie is the author of Visual Design Solutions and Visual Language for Designers. She also publishes The eLearning Coach website and podcast. She was honored with the Guild Master award in 2018 for contributions to the learning technologies industry. 👉 Visit her Instructional Design community: https://masteringid.com 👉 Visit her website: https://conniemalamed.com/ 👉 Read her blog: https://theelearningcoach.com/ 👉 Listen to her podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-elearning-coach-podcast/id592110281 👉 Connect with Connie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conniemalamed/ Subscribe to @GoSkillsCourses for the latest podcast episodes! 🔔 Follow us on social media for more L&D advice: ☑️ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/school/go-skills/ ☑️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoSkills/ ☑️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goskills/ ☑️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/getgoskills #InstructionalDesign #InstructionalDesigner #VisualDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #CorporateTraining #LearningDesign #Elearning #LDExplorersPodcast #GoSkills

Welcome to another episode of the L&D Explorers Podcast! 🎙️ In this episode, we’re joined by the inspiring Holly Owens to dive into the exciting—and sometimes challenging—world of instructional design. Holly shares her journey into ID roles, the challenges she overcame, the skills that helped her thrive, and the essential tools and communities that can help new instructional designers succeed.

Welcome to Season 2 of the L&D Explorers Podcast! 🎙️ In this episode, we’re joined by the brilliant ‪Andrew Barry‬, founder of Curious Lion and host of The Learning Culture Podcast. Andrew unpacks the essentials of building a thriving learning culture in your organization. From practical strategies to the transformative role of AI in shaping the future of work, Andrew shares actionable insights that will inspire you to rethink how your organization learns and grows.

We're thrilled to chat with Dr. Robin Sargent, founder of @idolcourses, about social learning. We'll be diving into its four key elements, how it operates within organizations, and practical ways L&D teams can integrate it into formal training. Plus, we'll discuss the impact of social learning on workplace culture and the vital role of learning artifacts.

In today's episode, we're thrilled to chat with Dr. Stella Lee, founder of Paradox Learning and a leading expert in digital learning and AI strategy. We're diving into AI literacy and data ethics. 🌐 Join us as we explore how L&D teams can better understand AI, recommend steps for adoption and communication, and discuss the importance of data ethics in building a culture of responsible AI use.

Welcome to another episode of our L&D Explorers podcast! 👋 Today, we're talking with Marina Arshavskiy, an award-winning instructional design and e-learning expert, about how to design a successful e-learning course. We'll discuss each step in the course-building process, from needs assessment to creating learning objectives, understanding your audience, and ensuring the content of your course resonates with your learners.