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Student Stories
From Content to Whole Learner Journey | Olivia’s Holistic Learning Design Story
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Olivia came to the Certified Digital Learning Professional (CDLP) program with a strong background in immersive, experiential learning. She was used to designing in-person experiences driven by story, emotion, and the senses.
She enrolled because she wanted to think more holistically about the learner journey, strengthen how she evaluates impact, and build a more formal grounding in digital learning.
Hear from Olivia directly below!
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Why Olivia Enrolled in the CDLP Program
Olivia chose the CDLP program to step back and look at the whole end-to-end learning journey.
“I wanted to be able to think more holistically about the learner’s journey… to deepen my entire approach to learning needs, learning needs analysis, how I think about learning architecture, and then especially how I evaluate everything.”
She felt she had solid experience in designing engaging learning, but wanted stronger tools and structure behind her decisions.
Getting Serious About Evaluation
For Olivia, evaluation was a key motivator.
“It often feels like it’s easy-ish to create really, really great learning content and design great learning content, but understanding whether it actually works, whether it’s tangibly changed anything or anyone’s behaviour… that’s the much trickier part.”
She says the CDLP program gave her practical tools and frameworks to approach that “trickier part” with more confidence and clarity.
Bridging Immersive and Digital Learning
Olivia’s background sits firmly in immersive and experiential learning, usually delivered in person.
“My background is a bit more firmly in creating immersive and experiential learning… learning where story, emotion, all of your senses are driving your journey as a learner, and they tend to be in person.”
The CDLP program gave her a more formal grounding in digital platforms and tools. It has helped her:
Create standalone digital experiences
Use digital tools to extend and reinforce the immersion of in-person learning
“The CDLP gave me a more formal grounding in digital platforms and tools, which has enabled me to create standalone digital experiences, but it’s also helped me think about how these digital tools and platforms can actually extend the immersion you might have in an in-person experience.”
Staying Ahead of Innovation and AI
Olivia has worked in innovation for a long time and is naturally drawn to what’s next.
“I work and have worked for a long time in innovation, so I’m always really curious and driven to explore what’s next.”
She saw the CDLP program as a way to keep her finger on the pulse of emerging learning technologies, especially AI and new design tools and practices.
“I could understand before studying the CDLP that it was going to be really great for keeping my finger on the pulse of all of the emerging learning technologies, especially around AI and other design tools and practices that are coming out right now and are going to be shaping the future of how people learn and how people design learning.”
She says it has helped her keep a sense of innovation and experimentation alive in her role and supported her in forecasting trends.
The Value of Social Learning
One of the main things that set the CDLP program apart for Olivia was the social learning element.
“The main thing that differentiated the CDLP from other courses I’ve taken was the social learning aspect, which is another thing that drew me to it.”
She enjoys independent study, but needs interaction and examples to push her thinking.
“I like squirrelling myself away and learning alone, but only for a certain amount of time. There comes a point at which I want to be able to interact with other people, but also to be able to see examples of other people’s work. Often that sparks a lot of ideas.”
She describes the standard of work in her group as very high, and that this:
Made her “up her game”
Helped her feel bolder about trying tools she’d previously been hesitant about
Impact on Olivia’s Career and Mindset
Olivia describes the CDLP journey as:
“Challenging, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately enlightening.”
It gave her:
A respected qualification and greater confidence
Clearer frameworks and language to explain her design decisions
“It’s given me some really solid pillars for design… frameworks and language that really help me to explain my thinking and back up my decision making. I feel more confident articulating what I do and why I do it.”
Most importantly in her innovation-focused role, it reinforced a “have-a-go” mindset with new tools and technologies.
“In the CDLP you have to try out a number of different tools and platforms… that’s helped me have this have-a-go kind of attitude, to just experiment and figure things out and have no fear around that, and just maintain a constant sense of curiosity about new things.”
👉 Would you like to transition into a digital learning career or take your current role to the next level?
Explore the Digital Learning Institute’s Certified Digital Learning Professional (CDLP) program and join a global community of learning professionals.
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