#IDIODC Instructional Designers In Offices Drinking Coffee

Content 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 thin...

Most 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...

What 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 practi...

Understanding 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, th...

Many 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...

In 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...

Your 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...

Christy 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 con...

Does 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 ha...

Managing 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 nee...

Dr. Alaina Szlachta, founder of By Design Development Solutions and the Measurement Made Easy community, tackles a critical challenge facing L&D teams today. How do you shift from measuring learning activities to measuring actual business outcomes? Her expertise in sustainable assessment frameworks addresses the real-world struggle of proving learning impact when executive leadership demands concr...

Training that doesn't transfer is training that wastes budget. Katrina Kennedy joins IDIODC with a solution that addresses every L&D leader's biggest challenge: proving learning works. Her systematic reflection methodology turns ineffective training into measurable business impact through strategic design choices. Kennedy's "Learning That Lasts" framework provides the quality assurance system L&D...

The gap between skills aspirations and reality is costing enterprises millions in learning inefficiency. Koreen Pagano, renowned skills transformation expert and Chief Product Officer at Build Capable, joins IDIODC to discuss how L&D leaders can bridge this divide through strategic data architecture and operational excellence. From content tagging methodologies that actually work to building cross...

Traditional assessments are often rigid, resource-heavy, and fail to fully capture on-the-job impact. In this session, Garima Gupta, founder of Artha Learning and creator of AIReady, shares a practical blueprint for modernizing assessments without losing scientific rigor. Drawing from her experience designing AI-enabled assessment systems for enterprise clients, Garima demonstrates how to keep the...

Stop treating microlearning as "just short training" — and start tackling the misconceptions that kill most implementations. Robyn A. Defelice cuts through the hype to reveal what L&D leaders consistently miss when rolling out microlearning initiatives. Robyn will arm you with the critical questions that expose whether your organization is truly ready for microlearning success. Discover the hidden...

Join Dave Vance, architect of the groundbreaking ISO 30437 standard for L&D metrics, as he reveals why the first comprehensive measurement framework is a game-changer for L&D leaders. Dave shares his take on today's obsession with role/skills-based learning — and why this tunnel vision could be sabotaging your L&D impact. As an industry thought leader and former Fortune 100 CLO, he'll argue that e...

What if everything you think you know about learner engagement is wrong? Clark Quinn, renowned learning scientist and author of "Make It Meaningful," joins IDIODC to challenge conventional L&D wisdom. He reveals the research-backed approach to creating learning experiences that actually drive business results. We'll explore the critical difference between "engagement theater" and meaningful learni...

What if better visual design could simultaneously boost learning outcomes and meet accessibility requirements? Visual design expert Connie Malamed, author of "Visual Design Solutions," reveals how strategic visual choices enhance learning for everyone — then shows how to make those same visuals accessible without compromising effectiveness. We'll explore why visuals help people learn, characterist...

Let's be honest — L&D teams are drowning in meetings that feel like productivity black holes. But what if those same meetings could become your secret weapon for driving real business results? Communication expert Mike Simmons has figured out how to transform meetings from time-wasting rituals into strategic performance engines, and joins our IDIODC session to spill the secrets. Applying the battl...

The future of workplace training is arriving faster than anyone predicted, and Donald H Taylor has a shocking forecast: traditional training courses have just 2-5 years left before they become extinct. Drawing from his latest Global Sentiment Survey and decades of L&D expertise, Donald will reveal how personalization, coaching/simulation and learner expectations are dismantling the training models...

L&D’s relevance crisis is here — and hope isn’t a strategy. Marketing expert Ashley Hinchcliffe flips the script on traditional learning functions with the People Impact Loop™, a bold framework to transform L&D from content factories to business-critical enablers. Discover why learner-centric buzzwords fall short, how to design initiatives employees actually want, and why marketing-led thinking is...

Immersive tech isn't just cool. It's useful. And more importantly, it fits right into the blended learning you're already building. In this IDIODC session, Destery Hildenbrand, a Learning Technology Consultant and Immersive Technology Evangelist, will walk you through integrating mixed reality, such as AR and MR, into your learning experiences. We'll explore where immersive learning fits into the...

How do you move beyond endless checklists to bake quality into every layer of learning design? In this actionable conversation, Hadiya Nuriddin tackles this challenge head-on, drawing from her Quality Management in Learning and Development  playbook and frontline experience. We’ll explore why “quality theater” fails, how to align standards with organizational DNA, and practical ways to transform r...

Danielle Wallace, Chief Learning Strategist at Beyond the Sky, merges decades of corporate marketing expertise with cutting-edge L&D innovation to tackle the crisis of ineffective training. In this episode, she dismantles why traditional content-heavy approaches fail to drive real-world performance, revealing how AI-powered role-plays, immersive scenarios, and precision feedback systems can transf...

Join us for a captivating conversation with Margie Meacham, famously known as "The Brain Lady," a pioneer in applying AI to learning and talent development since 2013. Drawing from her hands-on experience developing educational chatbots, Margie will take us on a journey through the powerful intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence. We’ll explore practical ways to enhance learning e...