The Speexx Exchange Podcast with Donald Taylor

Are you focused on efficiency, or are you focused on effectiveness? Founder of the Global Curiosity Institute (and former CLO for Cognizant) Stefaan van Hooydonk, a well-known educator, strategist, innovator and consultant, sits down with Donald Taylor to discuss this, and other pertinent inquiries, for the Speexx Exchange podcast. As someone who oversaw the learning over 300,000 people at Cognizant, Stefaan shares his thoughts on learning generosity, and insights on how to best magnify the voices of every single person within an organization. Indeed, like us at Speexx, Stefaan believes so much knowledge is – as we say – “already in the room” (to be found within the organization). He and Donald also talk about how curiosity is a beautiful gift that L&D folks can give to an organization. Listen in to find out why! 

Links and resources  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stefaanvanhooyd  
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefaanvanhooydonk/

Ep. 23: Efficiency vs. Effectiveness: Learning generosity in the L&D profession

How important is accessibility to you and to your company? Probably not too much. But that is about to change. 
Michael Osborne, a user-experience-driven developer with a focus on accessibility who recently took on his new role at Upskill Digital as a Learning Experience Designer, sits down with Donald Taylor, the host of the Speexx Exchange podcast, to discuss the importance of accessibility in L&D. 
Statistics say that approximately 1 billion people have some kind of disability, which means 1 in seven people is somehow affected and thus it is most probable that among your customers or students are far more people with a disability than you might think. But that is just one reason why you should put more thought into the topic of accessibility. Find out why it is so important to make accessibility a priority instead of an add-on and why it benefits everyone. Listen in and learn from the expert!

Links and resources
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeOzzy 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlosborne/

Ep. 24: Accessibility – more than an add-on, a benefit for everyone

Learn from two highly successful experts why a real Learning and Development department is the best choice for a business.
Malene Engelbrecht Schau, Head of Wind University at Siemens Gamesa, and Lisbeth Andersen, Global Head of Learning Operation at Siemens Gamesa sit down with Donald Taylor to talk about the importance of Learning and Development in general, why L&D should not be outsourced and what other businesses can learn from their experience in an environment where security is a particularly important factor for the team. 
Starting from inside the Sales team Malene Engelbrecht Schau and Lisbeth Andersen have created an impressive and effective L&D department that is not only appreciated by the team but also highly approved by the business leaders. 

Links and resources 
Malene Engelbrecht Schau
https://www.linkedin.com/in/malene-engelbrecht-schau-a834b97/ 
Lisbeth Andersen
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisbethandersen1108/

Ep. 26: Making a case for a real L&D department

Do you know your way around badges and credentials? Or, are you like most people and struggle with the terminology and what achievements they actually recognize? 
Listen to this episode for an entertaining deep dive into the topic of badges and, as Donald Taylor sits down with Dr. Doug Belshaw to discuss the importance, various fields of application, and actual value of badges and credentials. 
Some highlights include Dr. Belshaw addressing the question of credibility and verification of credentials, the difference between bases and credentials, and the motivation and value of a badge. How will hierarchy be influenced by badges and credentials in the future? Listen to hear more on this fascinating topic! 

Links and resources  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dajbelshaw   
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dajbelshaw/ 
Blog: https://dougbelshaw.com/blog/ 

Other: 	
https://weareopen.coop/  
https://openbadges.org  
https://www.ibm.com/skills/badges/  
https://blog.weareopen.coop/badges-for-digital-transformation-7e9e1a17e714  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh1PhPWra9w  
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:6831021062386458624/  
https://github.com/IMSGlobal/openbadges-specification/pull/303

Ep. 25: Badges and Credentials - A new currency for the digital world?

In this episode, host Donald Taylor interviews analytics consultant Derek Mitchell, who has a serious passion for measuring the impact of training and development activity. They talk about learning data and analytics from the past few months, with work forces adapting to a global pandemic, and also make projections about the skills needed in a post-COVID future. Derek explains why people in the field of L&D and training are historically wary of data and demonstrates the benefits of “experimenting” with data in the field of L&D (providing his own professional experiences as examples). He and Donald urge training managers to use the data they already have in a more effective way, and insist that the data is already “in the room”; among the many valuable and unique suggestions that Derek gives listeners during this podcast is: “Have high-quality biscuits in the room.” Intrigued by this piece of advice? Then listen in (and be prepared to start craving cookies!).

Ep. 14: Experimenting with Data in L&D; Behavioral Data in Training Functions

In this fascinating and cerebral Speexx Exchange podcast, Donald explores the world of cognitive neuroscience with Dr. Itiel Dror, a Senior Researcher at University College London. In his daily work, and for this podcast episode, Dr. Dror shares insights on the human brain and cognitive system and shows HR and L&D managers how to apply this knowledge to enhance learning, decision-making and human performance. 

The pair share best practices for L&D managers on how to reduce a learner’s cognitive load; creating actually “brain-friendly” learning experiences; why we should be wary of any learning marketed as “brain-friendly”; and what we can borrow from lessons catered to pilots, bankers, and orthopedic and cardiothoracic surgeons – and why making a mistake is, oftentimes, the very best way to learn. 

Dr. Dror on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itiel-dror-7301723/ 

Resources from Dr. Dror on brain-friendly learning: http://www.cci-hq.com/training.html

Ep. 17: Brain-friendly learning & reducing cognitive load

Welcome to the Speexx Exchange podcast with Donald Taylor.

This podcast features global experts who explore topics like business communication across borders, learning technology, language skills, digital transformation, and engaging, upskilling and reskilling organizations.

This podcast is brought to you by Speexx, the first intelligent language learning platform for the digital workplace. 

Want more Speexx? Check out our whitepapers, e-books and other resources here: https://www.speexx.com/speexx-resources/