Behind the Magic: How Learning Services Transforms Education at D2L 

When you think of transformative learning experiences, you might picture cutting-edge technology, immersive content and seamless design. But behind every great course is a team of passionate professionals who bring it all to life: the D2L Learning Services team.  

We recently sat down with three members of the team—Jeff Salin, Jadine Krist and Rob McKercher—to learn more about what they do, how they work and how they’re using AI to push the boundaries of online education. What we discovered was a team that’s not only technically skilled but deeply committed to making learning meaningful, engaging and accessible. 

A Team Built on Collaboration and Creativity 

Jeff Salin, senior manager for learning experience, has been with D2L for nearly 13 years.  

“We believe that high-quality learning has the potential to transform people’s lives,” he says. That belief is the foundation of Learning Services, which is made up of two core groups: Learning Experience Architects and the Course Development Team. 

The Learning Experience Architects partner with clients to design scalable, inclusive and innovative learning strategies. Meanwhile, the Course Development Team builds engaging, effective courses for Brightspace customers—from simple audits to full-scale course builds. 

Instructional designer Jadine Krist, who joined the team in late 2024, describes her role as “guiding and creating content for our learning platform.” But it’s more than just content creation—it’s about crafting experiences. “We use tools like H5P to build immersive elements like virtual art gallery tours or branching scenarios,” she explains. “It’s like painting with different colors to bring a course to life.” 

Rob McKercher, senior audio engineer and video designer, adds another layer to the team’s capabilities. “I take the curated content and infuse it with life through animation, video and audio,” he says. His work ensures that learners aren’t just reading—they’re seeing, hearing and interacting. 

Designing for Every Learner 

One of the team’s strengths is their ability to tailor learning experiences to different audiences. “If we’re designing for Gen Z, we might use bite-sized content,” McKercher explains. “For corporate learners or Boomers, longer-form content like podcasts or interviews can be more effective.” 

Salin echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of engagement. “When we talk about engagement, we mean participation. How can we draw learners in and get them to interact with the material, not just passively consume it?” 

Krist, who comes from a classroom teaching background, knows firsthand how important this is. “Keeping students’ attention was always a challenge,” she says. “Now, we can use interactive activities with immediate feedback to help students feel ownership over their learning.” 

The team also understands the nuances of different learning environments. Whether it’s fully online, hybrid, or in-person, they adapt their approach. Salin shared an example of a flipped classroom model they implemented for a major U.S. bank. “We moved their mortgage underwriting training from a dull, two-week classroom experience to a blended model with self-directed learning in the morning and hands-on activities in the afternoon. The results were dramatic—higher engagement, better performance and lower turnover.” 

AI as a Creative Partner 

The team is also at the forefront of integrating AI into their workflows, but not as a replacement for human creativity. Rather, they see it as a powerful assistant. 

“When ChatGPT 3.5 came out, we immediately saw the potential,” Salin recalls. “We focused on three principles: efficiency, effectiveness and ease of use.” By using AI to speed up content creation, the team can spend more time enhancing the quality of learning. 

Krist uses AI to generate content for interactives. “If I have a vision for a branching scenario, I can give ChatGPT the parameters and it gives me something usable,” she says. “It saves hours of writing.” 

McKercher shares a real-world example: “Before AI, I’d spend hours cleaning up audio. Now, I can do that faster and use the extra time to add music, sound effects and visuals. The result is a richer, more immersive experience for learners.” 

But the team is also careful about how they use AI. “We’ve vetted all our tools through D2L’s InfoSec team,” Salin explains. “We ensure client data is secure, and we always get explicit permission before using AI in any project.” 

Krist offers a thoughtful analogy: “Think of AI as an assistant. If you don’t know what you want, it won’t either. But with the right guidance, it can save a lot of time and help us do amazing things.” 

McKercher adds, “AI is not the band, it’s the roadie. We’re still the band.” 

Empowering Clients Through Partnership 

What truly sets D2L Learning Services apart from competitors is their collaborative approach. “We don’t just build courses—we build relationships,” McKercher says. “We form a team with the client and help bring their vision to life, often elevating it beyond what they imagined.” 

Salin adds that enablement is a key part of the process. “We train clients along the way so they can carry on the work themselves. There’s a lot of passive learning that happens during our collaboration.” 

Krist agrees. “We’re a group of professionals who love what we do. We’re excited to be creative and to share our knowledge. Brightspace is a powerful platform, and we know how to make the most of it—for both learners and instructors.” 

A True Learning Partner 

D2L’s Learning Services team isn’t just a group of designers and developers. They are a collective ot educators, innovators and collaborators who combine their diverse skill sets to create learning experiences that are not only effective but inspiring. 

Whether it’s helping a university redesign its curriculum, supporting a corporate client with onboarding or enabling instructors to use new tools like H5P, the team is always focused on one thing: making learning better.  

And while AI is helping them move faster and smarter, it’s their human insight, creativity and empathy that truly makes the difference. 

“I would describe our team as a group of professionals that absolutely love what we do. We all are happy to be here, and we all love it when we can become creative and bring a client’s vision to life,” Krist shares. “I was a Brightspace user for eight years before I started working [at D2L], so it’s funny to have that perspective, but it’s a very powerful platform for learners and for instructors.”

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