Summary In this engaging conversation, David Kolmer interviews Destery Hildenbrand, a learning technology consultant, about the intricacies of design and technology in the context of educational tools. In this, the final episode of season 1, they discuss the challenges faced when working with emerging technologies, particularly the frustrations of coding and the creative process. Destery shares insights on how the vision for a project can sometimes clash with technical limitations, leading to a struggle between creativity and practicality. The dialogue also touches on the importance of adaptability and the willingness to learn from failures in order to achieve a successful outcome in design projects. As the conversation progresses, they delve into the impact of AI on content creation and the democratization of technology, exploring how new tools can enhance creativity while also raising concerns about authenticity and acceptance within professional circles. Destery emphasizes the need for a balance between maintaining a creative vision and navigating the realities of project constraints, ultimately advocating for a mindset that embraces innovation and collaboration in the learning technology space. Alternate Reality Titles Navigating the Creative Process in Learning Technology Balancing Vision and Reality in Design Sound bites "That's a good question, Kolmer." "You're either all in or you're not." "What's the big deal with being all in on AI?" Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Setting the Scene 02:25 Creative Process and Design Approach 02:40 Challenges in Design and Technology 07:40 Balancing Vision and Technical Constraints 14:42 The Role of Autonomy in Creative Work 17:35 The Impact of AI on Content Creation 26:08 Embracing New Tools and Overcoming Judgment 28:24 GAMELAYER CLOSER Keywords learning technology, design process, emerging technology, AI in education, creative process, coding challenges, instructional design, project management, technology consultant GAMELAYER Alive Gameified Podcast Creation. Recorded live on site at GAMICON 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is a mini-series that highlights experts in the field of game learning, simple practitioners, and even those who are just curious, who happen to be at the conference. These high signal micro-episodes will be released daily, January 2026. This miniseries itself is organized through a card game that promotes conversations through self-hugging. Self-hugging is the aspect or tendency of a designer to create learning environments or artifacts that they themselves would enjoy consuming. This is seen as a negative practice in the game-learning industry. However, for a discussion, self-hugging is actually pretty useful. In this game, practitioners will identify with one of five cards. The cards are laid out on a spectrum of potential personas. Starting with the scientist on one and the Mystic on the other, after selecting their persona card, the speaker will be guided to choose one of three topic cards. The topic of building, the topic of measuring out outcomes, or the topic of the future of the L&D industry. CREDITS GAMELAYER RADIO is found wherever you get your podcasts. Transcripts and swag at Gamelayer.fm Theme Music by Caleb Willitz. calebwillitz.com/ calebwillitz.bandcamp.com/music PODCAST APP LINKS ♥️ Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gamelayer/id1804386590 ♣️ Pocket Casts https://pca.st/ch0fdeon ♦️ Spotify https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gamelayer ♠️ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2a617d81-2f96-43a3-9938-7f0b2ad7e49d/gamelayer 🎱 YOUTUBE Podcast www.youtube.com/@GAMELAYERPOD SOCIAL MEDIA INSTAGRAM! https://www.instagram.com/gamelayer.fm/ LINKED IN! https://linkedin.com/company/gamelayerfm FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/gamelayer.fm/ YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/@GAMELAYERfm #GAMICON, #GAMELAYER, #Game, #Gamified, #Kolmer, #DAVIDKOLMER, #GAMIFICATION, #GAMELEARNING, #IMPROVEMENTDAVE
