Designing with Love

Jackie Pelegrin
  • 5.0 (7)
  • HOW TO
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

What does it take to design learning experiences that truly work? Join Jackie Pelegrin, award-winning instructional designer and Grand Canyon University (GCU) adjunct instructor, as she explores instructional design, e-learning, and AI integration. Expect actionable tips, real-world insights, and conversations with students, alumni, and industry leaders shaping the future of learning.

  1. Measure What Matters, Then Make It Human with David Sanchez

    1D AGO

    Measure What Matters, Then Make It Human with David Sanchez

    A frontline nurse turned founder changes how we think about “marketing” by treating it like care extended. David Sanchez, RN, shares how clinical empathy, clear language, and the right tools help healthcare organizations and educators reach the people who need them most. We unpack the journey from ER shifts to launching a recovery program and a patient-first agency, then translate that experience into steps any small team can take to grow with integrity. We go deep on foundations that matter: setting up GA4 and Google Tag Manager so every call, form, and booking is measured; reading customer journeys to see what actually drives action; and editing pages for conversion instead of chasing shiny redesigns. David explains how keyword research becomes education, not fluff: answer the exact questions people ask, reduce jargon, and publish helpful content that boosts dwell time and trust. We connect personas and funnels to message fit, showing how to speak to awareness, consideration, and decision without confusion. You’ll leave with quick wins you can ship this week: a 16-minute usability test with a real ideal patient, one concise educational article that answers a top-searched question, and a clean, prominent call-to-action that reduces friction. If this conversation helps you rethink growth with empathy and evidence, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so others can find it too. 🔗 Website and Social Links: Please visit David Sanchez’s website and social media links below. David Sanchez’s Website David’s LinkedIn Page  Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    41 min
  2. Networking Tips That Advance Your ID Career

    5D AGO

    Networking Tips That Advance Your ID Career

    What if networking could feel calm, kind, and effective—without the awkward pitch? We walk through five connection moves that help instructional designers and educators build real relationships: a mindset reframe, tiny weekly actions, breadcrumb visibility, simple follow-ups, and a growth circle powered by mentors and peers. The result is a practical, repeatable system that turns small moments into long-term opportunities. To make it actionable, we close with the Three Connections Challenge: one thoughtful comment, one genuine message, and one reconnection this week. Grab the free interactive flip card toolkit and the recommended networking guide linked in the show notes to keep the habit going. If this approach helps, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review—then tell us your small win so we can celebrate with you. 🔗 Episode Links: Please check out the resources mentioned in the episode. Enjoy! 5 Connection Moves Toolkit: Use this interactive toolkit to pick a move that you can try this week. Networking Resource (Bottom Line): A practical guide to networking basics, why it matters, and how to start—plus LinkedIn and informational interviewing tools.  Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    12 min
  3. Teaching and Curriculum Design in the Age of AI with Hamza Sami

    MAR 22

    Teaching and Curriculum Design in the Age of AI with Hamza Sami

    Want a smarter way to work with AI in the classroom without losing what makes learning human? Jackie had an engaging and insightful conversation with academic manager and curriculum designer Hamza Sami to unpack practical ways educators can harness generative AI as a learning partner while strengthening integrity, critical thinking, and authentic assessment. We start by reframing generative AI with simple language students can use: it’s the confident friend who doesn’t always have the facts right. From there, we outline day-one norms that encourage curiosity and set clear boundaries—what’s green-light brainstorming, where caution applies, and when only original work is acceptable. Hamza shares why instructor AI literacy comes first, how to discuss bias and hallucinations in plain terms, and why students’ “I feel like I’m cheating” reactions signal values worth guiding, not suppressing. Looking ahead, we land on the capacity every student needs next year and beyond: moral awareness paired with critical thinking. If the internet went down, could you still perform? Would you hire yourself? Like calculators, AI should sharpen our work, not replace our minds. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review to help more educators build classrooms where AI supports deeper, more honest learning. 🔗 Website and Social Links: Please visit Hamza Sami’s website and social media links below. Hamza Sami’s Website Hamza’s LinkedIn Page 📢 Call-to-Action: Need a hand bringing your learning ideas to life, whether curriculum design, instructional strategy, or even creative production? Reach out on LinkedIn, and let’s explore how we can make learning more engaging together. Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    48 min
  4. Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your ID Portfolio

    MAR 18

    Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your ID Portfolio

    Hiring managers don’t want a gallery of artifacts; they want proof you can solve real performance problems. We walk through a clear, house-style blueprint for building an instructional design portfolio that highlights your judgment, shows measurable impact, and makes it effortless to find your best work. To help your work get found, we align language across your site, resume, and LinkedIn, weave in job-aligned keywords naturally, and create a light sharing plan. Add your portfolio to LinkedIn’s Featured section, include the link in your email signature, and send targeted notes that point to two relevant projects. Ask focused questions for feedback—“Is it clear what I do in ten seconds?”—and iterate fast. We wrap with a memorable reminder: start simple, refine early, and improve as you go. If this helped you sharpen your portfolio, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review. It helps more instructional designers find the tools and confidence to land their next role. 🔗 Episode Links: Please check out the resources mentioned in the episode. Enjoy! Top 7 Principles for a Stand-Out Instructional Design Portfolio: A 15-minute video from Scott Schmitt through Delvin Peck’s ID Bootcamp on how to create a solid ID portfolio using seven key principles. Portfolio House Blueprint: An interactive visual with hotspots for each step that you can reference at any time.  Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    12 min
  5. Choose Love Over Fear to Guide Learning with Tommy Kilpatrick

    MAR 15

    Choose Love Over Fear to Guide Learning with Tommy Kilpatrick

    What if the key to tomorrow’s lesson lives in what lit you up at age seven? We bring back Tommy Kilpatrick to turn that early spark into practical, compassionate teaching—linking identity, choice, and classroom design. Together, we unpack a simple ten-minute exercise to replay your earliest memories and name the gift you were eager to share. That clarity becomes a compass for lesson tweaks you can implement this month, aligning activities with purpose and giving students a language for who they are becoming. We also explore a set of powerful “forks” that shape behavior: whether you see yourself as a spirit having a human experience, a human seeking herd safety, or a human reaching for spiritual connection. Each choice expands or contracts your field of courage. Tommy demonstrates how educators can coach struggling learners by broadening their perspective, guiding them to choose love over fear, and teaching them to reassess when a path closes. The conversation stays grounded with three concrete practices: a personal habit of gratitude and giving, a classroom move that defuses conflict by affirming and then guiding, and a team ritual that pairs courage with compassion to define maturity. Throughout, we return to a working definition of love—“I give”—and mercy as extreme kindness, turning classroom management into human development. We close by inviting you to sketch your own owner’s manual: a living set of axioms, forks, and practices that keep your teaching aligned with your deepest values. Listen, pick one idea, and put it into motion this week. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs encouragement, and leave a review to tell us which practice you’ll try first. 🔗 Website and Social Links: Please visit Tommy Kilpatrick’s website and social media links below. Tommy Kilpatrick’s Website Tommy Kilpatrick’s Facebook Page 📢 Call-to-Action: Click the link to obtain a free book and a free 15-minute consultation with the author: Debt Relief  Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    37 min
  6. Virtual Playgrounds: Bringing Learning to Life

    MAR 11

    Virtual Playgrounds: Bringing Learning to Life

    What if your course felt less like a checklist and more like a world your learners return to, level up in, and prove real growth? We walk through a practical framework for building a virtual playground that mirrors the work, builds measurable skills, and motivates through clarity rather than gimmicks.  🔗 Resources and Related Episodes: If you would like to explore today’s topic further, here are a few resources to check out: 📚 Virtual Playground Resources Digital Playgrounds: Driving Workforce Performance through Play and Experimentation: In this blog post by Jaxon Avery at Ridiculous Engineering, explore how digital playgrounds drive workforce performance through play and experimentation. From Duolingo to Wordle: How Educational Games Are Changing the Way We Learn: In this article by James Lane at NCFE, learn how educational games can help improve knowledge retention by making learning more active and interactive. 📝 Canva Template Virtual Playground Mission Control Blueprint: A worksheet to help you design a persistent learning world with progression, feedback, resources, and measurable impact. 🎧 Listen Next: Related Episodes Episode 44: Designing for Everyone: A Guide to Universal Design for Learning: An introduction to UDL principles and how to design from the start with variability in mind, so more learners can access and engage with your experiences. Episode 65: Accessibility in Action: Inclusive Design for Every Learner: Practical strategies for designing with accessibility at the forefront—from structure and media choices to small tweaks that make a big difference for every learner. Episode 85: Gamification Strategies to Improve Learner Engagement: A practical toolkit with five common pi Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    12 min
  7. Why Starting With Where Changes Everything with Tommy Kilpatrick

    MAR 8

    Why Starting With Where Changes Everything with Tommy Kilpatrick

    What if the fastest route to clarity is the one we usually skip—where are you, when is it, and who are you—before asking what to do next? In this episode, Jackie sat down with Tommy Kilpatrick to explore his book, Human Occidental Owner’s Manual, and translate big human questions into practical habits for teachers, creators, and lifelong learners. Using a crisp computer setup analogy, we reset our defaults: location determines time, identity shapes action, and context beats assumptions. From there, we unpack communication through vivid sports metaphors that actually change how you host conversations. Conversation plays like tennis with cooperative volleys, debate ranges from elegant fencing to MMA intensity, dialogue becomes chess for co-solving, and discussion moves like rugby with many roles carrying the ball. We also map single-voice modes—lecture, rant, sermon, story—and show how choosing the right mode prevents conflicts and keeps teams, classes, and families aligned. We close with the “first fork,” the early identity choice that silently guides a life. Write one sentence for each of the four essential human questions, choose your fork for the week, and watch momentum return. If this conversation helped you reset your settings, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to help others find the show. What’s the first question you’ll answer today? 🔗 Website and Social Links: Please visit Tommy Kilpatrick’s website and social media links below. Tommy Kilpatrick’s Website Tommy Kilpatrick’s Facebook Page 📢 Call-to-Action: Click the link to obtain a free book and a free 15-minute consultation with the author: Debt Relief Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    29 min
  8. Personalization Unleashed: Adaptive Learning in Action

    MAR 4

    Personalization Unleashed: Adaptive Learning in Action

    Ready to move beyond one-size-fits-all courses? We explore a practical path to adaptive learning that uses the content and tools you already have—no massive rebuilds, no mystery AI required. By focusing on three simple levers—sequence, pacing, and practice—we demonstrate how to direct learners to the right support at the right time and convert feedback into fuel for mastery. The goal is simple: design smart checkpoints, not clones, and honor learner differences without inflating complexity. If you’re an instructional designer, educator, or L&D leader looking for higher pass rates, faster time to mastery, and more confident learners, this guide to adaptive learning will help you start small and win early. Subscribe, share this with a colleague who builds courses, and leave a review to tell us which module you’ll pilot first. 🔗 Resources and Related Episodes: If you would like to explore today’s topic further, here are a few resources to check out: 📚 Adaptive Learning Resource 6 Benefits You Should Know About Adaptive Learning in Corporate Training: In this article by Suresh Kumar at eLearning Industry, read about the six benefits of how you can utilize adaptive learning in corporate training to provide custom-tailored learning experiences for learners. 📝 Canva Template Adaptive Mini-Pilot Map: A roadmap to help you pilot adaptive learning without rebuilding your course. You’ll map a pre-check, two simple pathways (refresh + fast), and one metric to see what’s working. 🎧 Listen Next: Related Episodes Episode 44: Designing for Everyone: A Guide to Universal Design for Learning: An introduction to UDL principles and how to design from the start with variability in mind, so more learners can access and engage with your experiences. Episode 65: Accessibility in Action: Inclusive Design for Every Learner: Practical strategies for designing with accessibility at the forefront—from structure and media choices to small tweaks that make a big difference for every learner.  Send Jackie a Text Join 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!

    12 min
See All (103)

Trailer

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

What does it take to design learning experiences that truly work? Join Jackie Pelegrin, award-winning instructional designer and Grand Canyon University (GCU) adjunct instructor, as she explores instructional design, e-learning, and AI integration. Expect actionable tips, real-world insights, and conversations with students, alumni, and industry leaders shaping the future of learning.

Information

  • Creator
    Jackie Pelegrin
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    103
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Designing with Love
  • Show Website
    Designing with Love