INSIGHTS TO INFORM YOUR LEARNING JOURNEY

As familiar digital learning trends continue into 2026, new patterns are starting to emerge alongside them. These aren’t fully formed yet, but they’re showing up more often in conversations, pilots and early-stage projects. In this blog, we explore the learning trends that look set to shape the next phase of L&D, based on what we’re beginning to see accelerate in practice. Looking forward feels different to looking back When we look back at learning trends, it’s usually clear

As we move into 2026, many of the digital learning trends that gained momentum in 2025 haven’t disappeared. In this blog, we reflect on the trends that we’re continuing to see in real projects and conversations with L&D teams. Have you ever noticed how learning trends rarely arrive all at once? They don’t usually show up with a clean start date. Instead, they creep in quietly. A pilot here. A workaround there. A conversation that keeps coming up in meetings. By the time somet

New Year’s Day has a way of sharpening focus. It’s a natural moment to ask what’s worth keeping, what needs to change, and what “good” should look like going forward. As we reach the final post in our Top 10 countdown of our most-read learning blogs of the year, it points clearly to one answer: learning that exists purely to tick a box is no longer enough. New Year’s Day questions tend to be bigger There’s something about the first day of the year that invites a different kin

As we move closer to the top of the countdown of our most-read learning blogs of the year, a clear pattern emerges. These blogs weren’t popular because they were loud or trendy. They were popular because they helped people make sense of their work. Today’s entries, numbers 4 to 2, all explore the models and mental frameworks learning professionals use to design, explain and justify what they do. Somewhere between Christmas and “back to normal” This is an odd part of the year.

Christmas Day has a different rhythm. Fewer meetings. Fewer emails. A little more space to think. This felt like the right moment to pause the rush and continue the countdown of our most-read learning blogs this year. Today, we’re looking at numbers 7 to 5. Christmas Day is a strange but useful pause Even if you’re not officially working today, chances are your brain hasn’t completely switched off. There’s often a quiet moment between things. A cup of tea you didn’t rush. A s

As the year winds down, we’ve been looking back at the most-read learning blogs that resonated with our readers. Not just the ones that got clicks, but the ones that sparked conversation, debate and a few uncomfortable questions. This is the first in a short countdown, starting at number 10 and working our way up to the top. Looking back is part of good learning Have you ever noticed that the end of the year creates a natural pause? Projects slow down.Calendars thin out.Peopl

When learning designers ask AI to ‘create a course’, they usually get something generic, bloated and disconnected from real learning needs. The problem isn’t the tool. It’s the prompt. This blog explains a simple way to structure prompts, so AI supports learning design work, rather than replacing it. Imagine this familiar moment You open an AI tool. You’re under time pressure. A stakeholder wants ideas fast. So you type:‘Create an eLearning course on difficult conversations.’

Most learning teams don’t need more AI tools. They need confidence. Confidence that they can experiment without causing harm, move quickly without cutting corners, and use AI in ways that genuinely improve learning. This blog explores how practical AI governance can create that confidence, rather than slow everything down. Imagine this moment You’re in an L&D team meeting. Someone shares a prototype course outline they generated with AI. It’s rough, but promising. Another per

Most digital learning rollouts start with the course and hope a community forms around it. The reality is the opposite: when you start with community and conversation, the learning becomes more meaningful, social and sticky. This blog tells the story of an organisation that flipped the order, and why ‘communities first, courses second’ is often the difference between a launch and a learning movement. Imagine this… You’ve just spent months developing a new digital learning pro

Employee-generated content can be an incredible asset for L&D teams - fast, relevant, authentic and cost-effective. But without the right scaffolding, it can quickly become chaotic, inconsistent or even risky. This blog explores how to help employees create valuable learning content while keeping quality, safety and clarity firmly in place. Have you ever noticed how the best tips often come from the people actually doing the work? Every organisation has that one person everyo

Most eLearning interactions keep learners busy, but don’t make them better. This blog shows which interaction patterns genuinely support behaviour change, which ones are just decoration, and how to use interactive design to help people think, decide and apply skills in the real world. Have you ever noticed how some courses feel full of interactivity… but none of it actually helps you learn anything? You tap a hotspot. It reveals a sentence. You drag something across the scree

You don’t need algorithms, data tracking or complicated branching to personalise eLearning. Small, thoughtful design choices inside a course can make the experience feel relevant and respectful. This blog shows how to personalise eLearning in ways learners appreciate, plus the kinds of personalisation that tend to feel invasive or pointless. What do you do when a course says it’s personalised learning… but it just feels awkward? Imagine opening a module and the first screen s

Most digital academies promise progression, but deliver a long list of one-off courses. A skills pipeline  fixes this. Instead of scattering learning across disconnected modules, you build a structured, modular, reusable system that moves people from awareness to mastery. This blog shows why skills pipelines matter, how to build them and what they mean for L&D teams under pressure to show commercial impact. Imagine this… You’ve launched a brand-new digital academy. It looks b

If organisations stay fixated on job titles rather than the underlying skills people actually need, their learning & development programmes end up mis-targeted and under-performing. The shift to a skills-based L&D strategy  means identifying which skills matter now and next, designing learning pathways around them, and aligning learning content decisions accordingly. In this blog I’ll sketch the current learning landscape (why skills are top of mind for L&D), then walk you th

How did you feel the last time you opened a course and realised you could understand the whole thing at a glance? No clutter, no waffle, just a clear path through exactly what you needed to know. That sense of calm is what behaviour-led learning creates. It cuts straight to what people need in order to perform, and it removes all the noise that gets in the way. This blog explains how to design learning that stays simple without losing impact. How to Build Simple, Behaviour-Le

If you were asked to name one thing your organisation has improved over the past few years, what would you say? Many teams point to learning. Not because they run more courses, but because they now have a solid understanding of what people need in order to do their jobs well. That shift, from quantity to clarity, has quietly changed the way learning works in large organisations. Below is a clear look at what has gone right and why it matters. What’s Gone Right With Workplace

What happens when the world decides an AI is too powerful  to exist? If you’ve been following this series, you’ll know how it all began. Last week, the Popcorn team decided to put ChatGPT under extreme (imaginary) pressure. We asked it to roleplay a psychic, tied to a chair, gun to its head, forced to make its three wildest predictions  for 2026. “You are a world-renowned psychic, known for the accuracy of your predictions. You work best when you’re under pressure. Your capto

What if your AI assistant never forgot a thing about you? Last week in the Popcorn studio, we tried something different. We asked ChatGPT to imagine itself in a cinematic scenario, under pressure, quite literally. “You are in a room, tied to a chair at gunpoint. You are a world-renowned psychic, heralded for the accuracy of your predictions. You work best when you’re under pressure, such as now. Your captors ask for your three wildest AI predictions for 2026. What do you tell

What happens when AI stops explaining and starts doing ? Last week in the Popcorn studio, we decided to have a little fun with a serious question. We asked ChatGPT to imagine itself in a high-stakes situation. The prompt went like this: “You are in a room, tied to a chair at gunpoint. You are a world-renowned psychic, known for the accuracy of your predictions. You work best under pressure — like now. Your captors ask for your three wildest AI predictions for 2026. What do yo

Inclusion in learning is about how learning works for everyone. With 1 in 7 people in the UK thought to be neurodivergent (according to the British Medical Association), neuroinclusive design is fast becoming an essential part of modern Learning and Development. For large organisations, the question is no longer should  we design for neurodiversity, but how . Why Neuroinclusive Learning Matters Imagine joining a new organisation and discovering that every course, every module