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We’re on a mission to create learning experiences that have a measurable impact, that resonate, motivate… and are a little bit of fun too! Join us as we chat about work which inspires us and ideas for creating better learning experiences; from tech to design, we’re always on the hunt for the best learning hooks.
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Here’s a bit of working out loud and sharing an experiment. It’s an example of an AI podcast. We’re so interested in your thoughts – especially if you’re in #L&D.
Quick background – why? Conversations ‘outside of the classroom’ are what we’re often aiming for in our learning design i.e. design the learning to drive conversations – to be the catalyst. This got us thinking to bake in conversations within elearning too – i.e. listen in to others talking – when we have no means to drive active group chats in more blended or facilitated solutions.
In short, we’ve been encouraging podcasts for a while – using podcast style interviews and chats within training to explore topics in a really human way.
It takes a fair bit of organising, editing etc. AI voices as an option came up recently. But is it too cheese? Uncanny valley? Too ‘scripted’. Just a waste of time? Or engaging? We’re not sure.
So we created the one here to play with the idea. It’s short (about 4.5mins). It’s not on a topic for training as such, just a chat about a Robert Plant gig our Creative Director wrote a blog about a few years back. We thought:
- What if we pointed generative AI at the blog (topic)?
- What if we prime two characters and got them talking about it?
- What if we said, “talk about it in a podcast format and see if you think there’s a link to the AGES learning model”.
- Would it be engaging? Helpful?
Have a listen. What are your thoughts on it. Weird? Wonderful? Could short conversations like these be useful to talk on other topics i.e. as icebreakers or segues within elearning, but where the topic is about the training etc? Anything else?
Monday Sep 16, 2019
Monday Sep 16, 2019
Neil King, the National Manager of Vision Australia’s Digital Access group and Chris Edwards, Manager of Government Relations & Advocacy for Vision Australia, join The Learning Hook Podcast to explore accessibility, especially focused on digital access for all.
These guys work in this space A LOT. They know the Australian and international landscape so well and share many tactical ways to create better access for all, taking us from standards to strategy for change. Check out the great list of websites below that can help designers, developers and managers. Thanks for so many insights Vision Australia!
This podcast may be of special interest for anyone who wants to improve access to digital media in their organisation, Learning and Development professionals, and those wanting to roll out better elearning. From the creators, engagers to the managers and strategists, there’s something in this for everyone.
Snapshot below
- Runtime: 50 minutes
- Chris and Neil’s back stories
- Accessibility is about greater access for all
- Some mind boggling statistics that give us all pause for thought
- Provide the burning case for change, to create greater access for all
- Why good accessibility = good design
- Learn the right way to say WCAG 😊 (is it ‘waycag’, W.C.A.G. or wicag?)
- Top tips to impact digital access in your organisation
- The accessibility landscape in Australia – how do we compare globally?
Links from the podcast:
Tools
- Document Accessibility Toolbar (DAT) to create and validate accessibility of MS Word documents https://www.visionaustralia.org/services/digital-access/document-accessibility-toolbar
- Web Accessibility Toolbar to assess the accessibility of your webpage (supports non-technical staff) https://www.visionaustralia.org/services/digital-access/resources/web-accessibility-toolbar-ie
- AXE website accessibility automated testing tool https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/axe/lhdoppojpmngadmnindnejefpokejbdd
- WAVE to assess the accessibility of your webpage https://wave.webaim.org/
- HTML CodeSniffer website accessibility automated testing tool https://squizlabs.github.io/HTML_CodeSniffer/
- Colour Contrast Analyser to assess the contrast of any digital resource (website, document etc) https://www.visionaustralia.org/services/digital-access/resources/colour-contrast-analyser
Disability awareness simulators
- Web Disability Simulator https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/web-disability-simulator/olioanlbgbpmdlgjnnampnnlohigkjla?hl=en
- Funkify – Disability Simulator https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/funkify-%E2%80%93-disability-simu/ojcijjdchelkddboickefhnbdpeajdjg
Toolkits and resources
- Microsoft Inclusive Design Toolkit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/design/inclusive
- SA Government Online Accessibility Toolkit https://www.accessibility.sa.gov.au/
- Guidance on Inclusive Language https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/inclusive-language-words-to-use-and-avoid-when-writing-about-disability
Connect with Neil on LinkedIn or Chris on LinkedIn.
In the chat:
- Chris Edwards and Neil King from Vision Australia
- Katrina Milazzo and Brenden Carter from The Learning Hook
- You
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
Saturday Aug 17, 2019
Saturday Aug 17, 2019
James Bevelander, Group Digital Learning Manager for the Cotton On Group, joins The Learning Hook Podcast for a chat on a wide range of topics. This episode’s highly relevant for retail learning and development professionals, learning designers creating video (from scripts to shoots), L&D for large global organisations, and of course general elearning aficionados wherever you may be 😊.
Snapshot below
- James’s story: From Flash Developer to Group Digital Learning Manager for the Cotton On Group
- Hear about a different take on compliance (imagine it being driven by team leads/store managers and delivered ‘just in time’)
- Tone of voice, style and engagement for global audiences
- Getting our engagement on: the Rule of Threes for generating new ideas
- What should never be filmed from the boot of a car…
- Data collection and insights outside of the LMS – beyond traditional elearning approaches
- The jingle method (yes, this is a teaser, but an interesting anecdote worth listening out for)
- Solutions for the ‘white-noise’ of over used (abused?) animation techniques (you know that famous hand that draws so many crappy animations?)
Links from the podcast
Connect with James on LinkedIn. Or join him at the upcoming FuturistiX / LearnX Conference (Oct 15-16th where he’ll be speaking along with this podcast’s host, Brenden Carter).
In the chat:
- James Bevelander, Group Digital Learning Manager for the Cotton On Group
- Brenden Carter, Creative Director and Founder of The Learning Hook
- Justin Cruickshank, Design & Production Manager at The Learning Hook
- You
- Ray Parker Jr (not really, but we talk about him)
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Wednesday May 01, 2019
Graeme Cowan on creating more mentally healthy and caring cultures
Graeme Cowan, Leadership & Team Resilience Speaker, Bestselling Author, Board Director R U OK? and Co-Founder of FactorC, joins Brenden Carter from The Learning Hook for a chat on the role of training to support more mentally healthy workplaces (aka caring cultures).
Snapshot below
- Runtime: 37 minutes
- Graeme’s personal story and battles with depression which led to his best selling book, 'Back from the Brink' and his involvement with R U OK? since its launch
- Lessons learnt from R U OK? Day’s rise as a movement and the campaign approach
- The power of focus in learning campaigns
- What’s holding work culture back from change?
- Mental health week and R U OK? Day – it’s that time of year again… but how we can make it 24/7 x 365?
- FactorC: The Care Equation, and how through caring leadership, we all grow
- The prize – which only caring cultures can ‘win’
Links from podcast
Connect with Graeme on LinkedIn. Or join him at the upcoming R U OK event, ‘Conversational Leadership’, where leaders from Metro Rail, Woolworths, and Connor Menswear, will share how they’re creating more caring and supportive cultures (16th May - Melbourne!).
Contact us to learn more about FactorC and how we’re supporting the growth of caring cultures through eLearning, learning campaigns, apps and portals, events and more: https://learninghook.com.au/factorc/ or here https://factorc.com.au/:
In the chat:
Graeme Cowan, Leadership & Team Resilience Speaker, Bestselling Author, Board Director R U OK? and Co-Founder of FactorC
Brenden Carter, Founder of The Learning Hook and Co-Founder of FactorC
(and You!)
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
Sunday Sep 30, 2018
Sunday Sep 30, 2018
Clint Clarkson, Cartoonist and Learning Design thought leader, joins Damala Scales Ghosh and Brenden Carter from The Learning Hook.
In his own words, Clint’s been tricking adults into enjoying learning since 2001 and is the founder of eLearning Alchemy.
You might also know Clint from his hugely popular cartoon series, ‘The L&D Scene’, depicting those challenges we all too often face in Learning and Development, and especially as designers of learning and performance solutions. We highly recommend connecting with Clint or looking up the cartoon series.
Connect with Clint on LinkedIn and Twitter.
We had a free flowing chat with Clint, covering:
- His road from darts champion to learning design
- The Trojan Horse analogy for the use of humour in learning design
- How synthesising ideas into a comic strip can start conversations and get deep – fast
- The over saturation of trends and their relationship to ‘Something About Mary’ 😊 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2di69FmhE
- Which character he is in the cartoons, and where the stories come from
- The future of The L&D Scene (look out for a book in the near future – yeeha!)
- We explore two key cartoons, which you can view below in conjunction to listening (recommended!)
- We wrapped it up by brainstorming a new cartoon with Clint – this was a live action go at it – see what you think!
We also suggested a LinkedIn challenge – map out your own cartoon (stick figures are fine) and Clint might just make it a reality!
- Share it with us, and/or hash tag it #lndscenechallenge - #lndscene and share with Clint on LinkedIn or Twitter.
In the chat we discuss the following comics from Clint’s work. We recommend viewing them as we chat.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ld-scene-41-elearning-trends-2018-clint-clarkson-ctdp-ctt/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ld-scene-37-train-them-like-goldfish-clint-clarkson-ctdp-ctt/
In the chat:
Clint Clarkson, Founder of eLearning Alchemy
Damala Scales Ghosh, Lead Learning Designer at The Learning Hook
Brenden Carter, Creative Director and Founder of The Learning Hook
(and You!)
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
Thursday Aug 16, 2018
Thursday Aug 16, 2018
Julie Gibson CEO and Co-Founder of Hitnet joins Justin Cruickshank and Damala Scales Ghosh from The Learning Hook.
Surprisingly, the digital divide (internet access and affordability) is a real issue in Australia. We spoke to Julie about how Hitnet work to bridge this gap with custom technology and content designed specifically for remote and marginalised communities.
Join us for a conversation about design, technology and the digital economy, including:
- Digitally excluded communities – who are they and what do they need?
- Co-design as fundamental to creating culturally relevant and useful technology and content
- Mobile Max – who ‘he’ is and how he's used
- What the digital hub data reveals (spoiler: stories are the stickiest content)
- How locally produced media is making a difference
Join us for 40 minutes on these topics and more.
To find out more about Hitnet, check out how a Community Hub works or to get in touch with Julie, visit https://www.hitnet.com.au/
In the chat:
Julie Gibson, CEO and Co-Founder of Hitnet
Damala Scales Ghosh, Lead Learning Designer at The Learning Hook
Justin Cruickshank, Design and Production Manager at The Learning Hook
(and You!)
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
Friday May 04, 2018
Friday May 04, 2018
Cathy Moore, training designer, presenter and creator of the Action Mapping model speaks with Brenden Carter and Damala Scales Ghosh from The Learning Hook.
Join our action mapping 10-year anniversary mini-celebration as Cathy shares stories and deeper insights into her workplace performance analysis and design model, and discusses the use of rich scenarios for authentic practice.
Some of the key elements of the conversation:
- None of us enjoy a ‘dud’ scenario and how to avoid writing one!
- The purpose of the Action Mapping model and how to get the most out of using it
- How the model evolved over the last 10 years to include one more critical question
- Differences between mini and branching scenarios, and when we might use each type in training design
- How well constructed scenarios support people to discover the consequences of their decisions, rather than being spoon fed information
- The processes, tools and essential steps in designing a successful scenario, and the importance of early testing
Join us for approx. 40 minutes on these topics and more.
Visit Cathy’s blog for articles and downloadable resources, and to find out more about her online scenario design courses and new book Map It. If you’re in New Zealand, you can see Cathy speak at the NZATD Conference 2018.
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
In the chat:
Cathy Moore, Training Designer, Presenter and Writer at blog.cathy-moore.com
Damala Scales Ghosh, Lead Learning Designer at The Learning Hook
Brenden Carter, Creative Director and Founder of The Learning Hook
(and You!)
Monday Mar 19, 2018
Monday Mar 19, 2018
Tracey Ezard chats with Brenden Carter and Rhiana Power from The Learning Hook team for our latest podcast.
Tracey is an author, educator, facilitator and leading speaker on creating 21st century tribes that thrive. During our chat we found Tracey to have an absolute 'laser focus' on helping business leaders shake the status quo to reach extraordinary outcomes. She's also the author of 'The Buzz, Creating Thriving and Collaborative Learning Cultures' and 'Glue, the stuff that binds us together'.
Some of the key elements of the conversation:
- Tracey shares a great story of an organisation's transition from the ordinary to extraordinary through learning to learn together
- The impact leaders as learners can make
- The key attributes of creating learning teams
- We explore if the old 'storming, norming and performing' cycle has changed
- Tracey shares some hot tips on processes to put in place to better equip our teams for peformance (learning underpinning all this)
Join us for 45 off minutes on these topics and more.
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
In the chat:
Tracey Ezard, Professional Triber (visit Tracey here - we highly recommend her blog if you enjoy the podcast: www.traceyezard.com)
Brenden Carter, Creative Director at The Learning Hook
Rhiana Power, Instructional designer / Project Manager at The Learning Hook
(and You!)
Wednesday Feb 14, 2018
Wednesday Feb 14, 2018
Arun Pradhan, Learning Performance Strategist at Deakin Co, Learning Agility Design Thinking Geek (this is ‘so’ his own description – and very well said!), and creator of the wonderful app, Learn2Learn, joins Rhiana Power and Brenden Carter for The Learning Hook’s first podcast in 2018.
Arun shares with us the interesting road he’s travelled to be doing what he does. Join us to hear so much more on the Learn2Learn app (if you follow Arun on LinkedIn etc you will know a little about this app, and if you have downloaded it, even better!).
Our conversation:
- Explores some key themes in content for 2018 (not the usual focus we think)
- Discusses Arun’s app journey – what worked and what didn’t while developing and launching the Learn2Learn app
- Discovers that vulnerability underpins innovation, and your speed of learning is your current and future competitive edge
- Introduces the Mystic Myrtle Technique (recommended for all)
- Provides an update on the Learn2Learn for Business app Arun will release in April (yes, your business will soon be able to access the learning / performance enabler too! Time to organise a business case I think)
- Confirms the power of experiential learning – yes, we all know it, but so good to talk about it some more 😊.
Join us for 35 minutes on these topics and more.
The bonus is that it also represents the longest introduction we have ever made in a podcast 😊.
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
In the chat:
Arun Pradhan, Learning Performance Strategist at Deakin Co
Rhiana Power, Instructional Designer / Project Manager at The Learning Hook
Brenden Carter, Creative Director and Founder of The Learning Hook
(and You!)
Tuesday Dec 19, 2017
Tuesday Dec 19, 2017
Kara MacLeod, Head of Risk Skills at National Australia Bank, chats with Brenden Carter, The Learning Hook’s founder and Creative Director.
Kara recounts her journey of delivering a learning portal within one of Australia’s largest enterprises. She covers much detail, powerful insights and practical points of reflection for anyone considering doing the same.
Some of the key elements of the conversation:
- Challenges within Risk: It’s a highly regulated and complex area of business, yet still in the state of VUCA! Business wants people trained… fast. They need them ‘doing’ and not training. How do we balance this with the complexity of content and speed of change?
- The learning portal story – getting buy in, taking risks (ironically within the bank’s Risk Skills team), saving money!, and Kara’s inspiration for the concept of a portal (might surprise you)
- Straightening out the ‘spaghetti learning journey’
- The Remix and C2 conferences – learning from art galleries, museums, libraries, each other and experience– must attend events (see you there next year 😊)
- Tackling the firehose (how to drink from it – better!)
- Other topics in our rolling conversation which make the mix: blockchain, curation, long form journalism and the ever important personalisation of the user journey.
Join us for 45 off minutes on these topics and more.
If any comments at all, we would love to hear from you.
In the chat:
Brenden Carter, Creative Director at The Learning Hook
Kara MacLeod, Head of Risk Skills at National Australia Bank.
(and You!)