In this episode of AI and L&D Insights, Markus Bernhardt speaks with Sarah Mercier, CEO of Build Capable, about her patented innovations in learning technology. Sarah challenges outdated LMS models, introduces her groundbreaking XCL tool for decentralized content delivery and tracking, and reveals how AI can unlock powerful insights—provided the data is meaningful. With decades of expertise and a vision for the future, Sarah’s approach is a game-changer for modern learning.

You can find more about Sarah, here:

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcmercier/ Websites – Build Capable: https://buildcapable.com Build Capable XCL: https://buildxcl.com

NOTE: This podcast was recording in November, 2024.

Today, Clark and Matt are joined once again by our dear friend, Nidhi Sachdeva.

We talk about Desirable Difficulties, originally coined by Robert Bjork and further explored with him and his wife, Elizabeth Bjork. A great overview paper can be found here: https://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/04/EBjork_RBjork_2011.pdf

Of course, we talk about the five strategies to foster desirable difficulties:

1. Spaced Learning/ Distributed Practice
2. Retrieval Practice/ The Testing Effect
3. Interleaving
4. Contextual Interference
5. Reduced Feedback

We even take a brief detour on whether note taking is effective. And of course, the answer is nuanced... see more here, from Paul Kirschner: https://3starlearningexperiences.wordpress.com/2023/05/09/longhand-notetaking-is-worth-using/

Clark references Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi's Flow... and frankly, the wiki page on it is pretty darn good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)#:~:text=Flow%20state%20theory%20suggests%20that,key%20determinant%20of%20learning%20success.

He also mentions Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development

Matt references Thiagi's jolt called THE DAYS OF THE WEEK. Here is a video of the short activity: https://ldaccelerator.com/days-of-the-week-jolt

Clark references MAKE IT STICK, by Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/B0DG1195CM, as well as their colleague, Pooja Argawal, and her book, POWER TEACHING: https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Teaching-Unleash-Science-Learning/dp/111952184X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?keywords=powerful+teaching&qid=1572929667&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sr=8-3&linkCode=sl1&tag=retrievalprac-20&linkId=a877fbf2e13704463c6402641571742c&language=en_US

We do mention the LDA Learning Science Conference 2024... and how Nidhi will be there presenting about Desirable Difficulties... However, the conference is now past. But, Nidhi will be at the upcoming LDA The Evidence-Informed Practitioner Conference in April, 2025 and repeating her work in the 2025 Learning Science Conference.

________________________________________________

Nidhi Sachdeva is an evidence-informed learning designer, post-secondary educator, researcher, and educational technology specialist. She is interested in designing and integrating evidence-informed instructional practices using various educational technology tools, including GenAI. Recently, she has been researching this through microlearning and cognitive science. Nidhi is the co-author of a newsletter called The Science of Learning, which aims to reduce gaps between educational research and instructional practice. She also chaired the ResearchEd Toronto conference 2024, ' Discovering the Science of Learning.' With almost 20 years of experience developing and facilitating learning content for both face-to-face and online courses within formal higher education, Nidhi is extremely passionate about integrating the Science of Learning into her pedagogical practice. She is currently teaching in the Teacher Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).

In this episode, Markus Bernhardt is joined by Kate Macartney, CEO of MVM Strategies, to explore how AI tools like Microsoft's Copilot are reshaping the way we work. From personal productivity hacks to organization-wide transformations, Kate shares practical insights and real-world examples of how Copilot integrates seamlessly into workflows, making everyday tasks faster and smarter.

Discover how organizations can unlock the potential of AI tools while navigating challenges like adoption, privacy, and cultural shifts. Kate also takes us behind the scenes of the Microsoft Ignite conference, revealing future trends in AI automation and business process enhancements. Whether you're just starting with AI or looking to scale its use across your organization, this episode offers a wealth of actionable advice and inspiration.

• Linkedin: Kate Macartney | LinkedIn
• Website: mvmstrategies.com

Copilot is free to try (not connected to apps, just for chat): https://copilot.microsoft.com/

In this episode, Debbie Richards and Markus dive into the cutting edge of immersive learning and the hard truths of AI policies. From navigating VR headsets to addressing the ethical challenges of AI in the workplace, Debbie shares invaluable insights for L&D professionals. Learn why a 'common sense' approach won’t cut it when managing AI, and how immersive tech is transforming the learning landscape. Tune in for practical advice on upskilling, reskilling, and making AI work for your organization—without sacrificing ethics or data security.

• Debbie Richards on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cre8iveii/
• Creative Interactive Ideas - https://cre8iveii.com/
• AR/VR article - https://www.learningguild.com/articles/immersive-frontiers-transforming-learning-with-ar--vr/
• Notebook LM from google - https://notebooklm.google/
• L&D Cares - https://www.ldcares.org/

Think AI is all about buzzwords and breakthrough moments? Think again. Markus and Chris navigate the gritty reality of AI’s ‘messy middle’—the point where big ideas meet even bigger challenges. Grab your headset and get ready for an unexpected dive into the future of tech, where innovation truly happens after the hype fades. From ethical dilemmas to economic realities, this episode will change how you see AI’s role in our world.

• Chris Pedder - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-jb-pedder/
• Obrizum - https://obrizum.com/
• Ray Kurzweil - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil
• Perplexity - https://www.perplexity.ai/
• you.com - https://you.com/
• Corey Doctorow on Enshittification - https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys
• Nick Bostrum on Paperclips - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118922590.ch23
• IBM article on AI Alignment - https://research.ibm.com/blog/what-is-alignment-ai
• Anil Seth on Consciousness and AI - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/tz6an

We take a break from our regularly featured programming. The following is the audio from a special, informal discussion about AI that LDA recently produced for our community. We thought it lent itself nicely to the podcast, as well.

In this special discussion, Lori Niles-Hofmann and Stella Lee school Matt on the basic ins and outs of AI. We talk about what AI is. We talk about the different types of AI. Matt asks whether the world of Terminator is soon coming to pass! Stella and Lori correct that notion.

We dive into the ethical issues that using AI impact both short-, and long-term. We delve into how information gets curated on different AI platforms. We explore the implications in general, as well as for L&D, when using AI. Specifically we look at the practical implications. Can we use AI to help us solve some of those wicked problems we face?

Lori and Stella share advice on how to engage with vendors pushing their AI offerings. Or, at least some questions one might ask when others are authorized to buy, but you have to use it.

Speaking of practical… and speaking of ethics… when is it ok to use AI when constructing designs, writing, or researching? What are hallucinations? When does the AI misunderstand us? How do we misunderstand what we get from it?

While many are way more educated and knowledgeable about AI than Matt. Many others are still confused about what it all means and what it does— but are frankly, slightly… mildly… embarrassed to ask.

Ok… Matt admits, he had no clue what generative AI referred to instead of “regular” AI. But he does now, as a result of Stella and Lori's educational explanations.

The bottom line is this special program provides the highlights of AI basics as it pertains to L&D. We hope you enjoy!

_____________________________________________

Lori is a senior learning strategist with over 20 years’ of L&D experience. Specializing in large-scale digital learning transformation, Lori is passionate about helping companies navigate the ambiguity of change. After leading and completing numerous EdTech implementations, Lori has developed the data-based methodologies and frameworks that empower L&D teams to move from a business support function to strategic business driver. Lori is currently based in Toronto, Canada with one foot in Europe.

With over 20 years of experience in the e-learning and edtech industry, Stella is a director at Paradox Learning, a consulting firm that provides and evaluates innovative learning solutions across multiple devices, cultures, and platforms. She work with clients from various sectors, such as government, education, non-profit, and corporate, to help them achieve their learning and development goals with data-driven and technology-enabled approaches. As a consultant, startup advisor, writer, speaker, community organizer, educator, and researcher, she is passionate about sharing her insights and expertise on e-learning, edtech, AI, learning analytics, adaptive and personalized learning, and more.

We are rejoined by Will Thalheimer to talk about one of his favorite topics, awards in the L&D industry. Should we have them? Should we give them out? How do we do it better… if at all?

We explore a pretty exhaustive list of the general issues with using and distributing awards among industry professionals by industry professional groups. Heck, we even find a few good points to support the tradition, as well.

• Are these industry awards fair?
• Are they judged effectively and fairly?
• What are, and should, be the criteria for winning an award? What rubric is used? Who designs the rubric? Are we even rewarding the “right” stuff (whatever that means)?
• What about money? Application fees? And paying for the awards? Bias? Vendor relationships?
• Heck, are these awards even manageable… doable in order to ensure claimed standards and fairness?
• ‎Is an evolving approach, perhaps to think about certification?
• Who judges the judges?

Will even hands out an award called the Neon Elephant Award, as he attempts to bypass many of the issues we discuss. You can learn more about it here: https://www.worklearning.com/2010/11/02/neon-elephant-award/. Does he succeed?

Yes— we know there are tons of awards out there, so we are speaking generically. But the questions of fairness and appropriate judgement still hold.

Matt references NASAGA. The North American Simulation and Gaming Association. We also reference ISPI, the International Society for Performance Improvement.

Any conversation about awards within the context of L&D would, and should, lead to a conversation about program and practitioner evaluation. We, of couse, talk about Will’s Learning Transfer Evaluation Model (LTEM). You can learn more about that here: https://www.worklearning.com/ltem/.

Will brings up one of his passion ideas… that within L&D, we should have independent journalists investigating and report on how we do, what we do, and what we could do better. He originally talks it about it in the LDA Podcast, Episode 4.

And what about impact? Is impact the key? Or, are we missing the boat? What about the differences between learning and impact? How do we ensure that our learning engagement was actually the cause of the identified impact.

LDA had the wonderful, Alex Edmans, from the London Business School, on our MEET THE AUTHOR Series. The video is here: https://members.ldaccelerator.com/c/meet-the-author-space/meet-the-author-alex-edmans. We reference his new book, May Contain Lies. You can find the book and learn more about Alex, here: https://alexedmans.com/books/

Will’s new book is The CEO’s Guide to Training, eLearning, and Work. You can learn more and buy it here: https://www.ceosguide.net.

You can learn more about Will here: https://www.worklearning.com/about/.