Designing with Love

Designing Learning, Not Just E‑Learning with Connie Malamed

Want to design learning that actually sticks—and gets you hired? Jackie sits down with Connie Malamed, publisher of The eLearning Coach website and podcast, author of Visual Design Solutions and Visual Language for Designers, to unpack how newcomers can skip the noise, master the essentials, and build a portfolio that proves real instructional design skill. We dive into the mindset shift from “make e‑learning” to “design for how people learn,” then get tactical: reducing cognitive load with white space and alignment, using dual coding without redundancy, and making accessibility a default through color contrast and non‑color cues.Whether you’re transitioning from K‑12 or pivoting into corporate learning, this conversation gives you a focused path: design with empathy, keep visuals purposeful, and ship polished work that respects learners’ time. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so others can find the show. What’s one change you’ll make in your next project?📢 Call-to-Action: Get The eLearning Coach free monthly newsletter: The eLearning Coach NewsletterLearn how to elevate your visibility with a free 8-lesson crash course sent by email: Free 8-Lesson Crash CourseLearn about having a career in instructional design with a free 12-lesson course about the career: Breaking Into Instructional DesignJoin a eLearning community with 15+ courses on instructional design topics and media: Mastering Instructional DesignSend Jackie a TextJoin PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription. 🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above. 👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

From SME Pathways to Stakeholder Highways

Projects stall when one expert carries the content, decisions, and approvals. We flip that script with a clear, usable playbook for building a stakeholder highway—bringing sponsors, learners, frontline leaders, operations, tech, and compliance into the right moments so training actually lands in the real world. You’ll hear why SME-only pathways create bottlenecks and blind spots, how to map the roles that matter, and when to loop each voice in across discovery, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.Roadblocks happen: the ghost SME, conflicting leader feedback, or last-minute compliance asks. Jackie shares practical responses, from clarifying who decides versus who advises to offering trade-off options that protect timelines without sacrificing quality. A quick scenario shows the reset in action—expanding beyond one overbooked SME to include a frontline manager, operations, tech, and a learner pilot—so the course is accurate, feasible, and ready for day one performance. Close with one task: sketch a one-page stakeholder highway for your next project, add two new partners, and watch momentum return. If this approach helps you, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more designers can build learning that sticks.🔗 Episode Links:Please check out the resources mentioned in the episode. Enjoy!Ask a Trainer: Time Slade on Working With Difficult Stakeholders and Subject Matter ExpertsStakeholder Highway ChecklistSend Jackie a TextJoin PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription. 🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above. 👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

From Haiti to Edge AI: Building Privacy-First Learning Tools with Sebastien Fenelon

What if your classroom could adapt to each learner without handing their data to the cloud? That’s the promise we dig into with technologist and founder Sebastien Fenelon, whose journey from scarce resources in Haiti to building privacy-first, edge AI tools reframes what “future-ready” really means for educators and instructional designers.We start with the power of resilience—how self-taught coding, late-night study sessions, and community support can outpace limited infrastructure—and move into practical strategies for teaching code with clarity and context. Sebastien shares why AI should compress project timelines, not critical thinking, and offers a simple “100-hour” ramp to acquire new languages fast. From K–12 to higher ed, we outline how to design small, visible wins that build confidence while using AI to scaffold learning rather than replace it.We close with a playbook for staying adaptable: keep learning in focused sprints, plug into communities that share what works, and seek mentors who reveal the path behind the skills. If you’re ready to personalize learning, protect student data, and keep your curriculum uniquely yours, this conversation offers a clear blueprint. If it resonates, follow and share with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more educators find thoughtful, practical guidance on AI in the classroom.🔗 Website and Social Links:Please visit Sebastien Fenelon’s website and social media links below.Sebastien Fenelon’s WebsiteSebastien’s Facebook PageSebastien’s Instagram PageSebastien’s LinkedIn Page📢 Call-to-Action: If you’d like to dive deeper, be sure to visit the InthraOS homepage. There, you’ll find resources, guides, and a newsletter that will keep you ahead of the curve on AI and privacy-first technology. It’s a great way to gain practical insights, connect with a growing community, and explore products you can start using right away. Send Jackie a TextJoin PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription. 🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above. 👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

Beyond The Basics: A Practical Blueprint for Microlearning

Short doesn’t automatically mean effective. We dig into the craft of microlearning that actually changes behavior on the job, moving past buzzwords to a clear blueprint you can use this week. You’ll hear the green‑yellow‑red fit test, a tight scoping method, and five delivery patterns that make small learning moments do real work without bloating your course catalog.Ready to ship something meaningful in seven days? Try the micro sprint, share your results, and help a teammate build their first win. If this conversation sparked ideas, follow the show, leave a review, and pass it to a colleague who’s drowning in long courses and craving lean learning that sticks.🔗 Episode Links:Please check out the resources mentioned in the episode. Enjoy!8 Secrets to Designing a Successful Microlearning ProgramMicrolearning Beyond the Basics Guide📑 References:Andriotis, N. (2025, October 2). What is microlearning: A complete guide for beginners. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/what-is-microlearning-benefits-best-practices Send Jackie a TextJoin PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription. 🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above. 👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

Alpha Minds, Real Tools with Queen Michele

Thunder cracked over San Cristóbal as Queen Michele told us how a retired teacher, armed with a suitcase and a stubborn sense of purpose, found her soul in Mexico and a mission for the most connected generation on earth. What followed is a story of reinvention, caregiving, and building a mindfulness curriculum that teaches middle schoolers to center before they swipe.We unpack Generation Alpha—kids born into a 24/7 feed—whose attention is shaped by platforms that never power down. Queen shares how 52 Insights for Gen Alpha blends self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, social awareness, and conscious decision-making into a year-plus sequence that fits alongside math and reading. The anchor is disarmingly simple: 4-4-6 breathing. Inhale four, hold four, exhale six—paired with words like calm, peace, focus, while releasing anger, fear, anxiety. Students lead it. Teachers get their minutes back. Classrooms find a tone that supports learning instead of firefighting.There’s a deeper arc, too: rewriting your personal narrative. Queen explains how stepping off the survival treadmill—and moving ego to the backseat—opened the door to work that actually heals. If you’ve ever wondered how to meet today’s students where they are, build calm into your class in 60 seconds, or bring AI into SEL without losing the human core, this conversation is your map. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a sustainable strategy, and leave a review to support more soul-forward learning. What’s the one ritual you’ll try this week?🔗 Website and Social Links:Please visit Queen Michele's website and social media links below.Queen Michele’s WebsiteQueen’s Facebook PageQueen’s LinkedIn PageQueen’s X PageQueen’s Instagram PageQueen’s YouTube Channel📢 Call-to-Action: View the 16-chapter blog, “My Soul’s Journey Home”Donate monetarily to the non-profit’s missionOrder any of my publications that resonate Send Jackie a TextJoin PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription. 🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above. 👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!