Skip to main content

Why We Don't Record Our Workshops (Live vs Async Learning) - Digital Compliance Academy

Clients often ask "Can we just record the training for people who missed it?" Our answer is usually No. Here is why "Watch Party" learning fails, and why Live matters.

Jon McGreevy November 8, 2025 4 min read
L&D Training Pedagogy Workshop

We have a strict rule at DCA: We do not record our live workshops.

For many Learning & Development (L&D) managers, this is annoying. They have a metric to hit. “We need 500 staff trained.” They can only fit 50 in the Zoom room. So the logic follows: “Record the session. Send the MP4 link to the other 450. Job done.”

This is what I call “The Zombie Training Strategy.”

Because let’s be honest: Nobody watches a 2-hour recording of a Zoom call. Or if they do, they watch it at 2x speed, on a second monitor, while answering emails. They absorb nothing. They tick the “I watched it” box, and they go back to working exactly how they did yesterday.

But engagement isn’t the main reason we don’t record. The main reason is Fear.

The “Chatham House Rule” of AI

In our workshops, we ask people to be vulnerable.

  • “Tell me a task you hate doing.”
  • “Show me a difficult email you need to write.”
  • “Admit that you don’t know what ‘Context Window’ means.”

If the little red “REC” light is blinking in the corner, that vulnerability dies instantly.

The “Stupid Question” Factor

I once ran a session for a C-Suite executive team. About 20 minutes in, the CEO put his hand up. “Jon, explain it like I’m 5. What actually is a ‘token’? Is it like a crypto coin?”

It was a great question. Half the room didn’t know, but they were too terrified to ask. Because the CEO asked, we had a brilliant 5-minute deep dive.

If that session was being recorded: The CEO would have stayed silent. He wouldn’t want a video file of his “ignorance” saved on the company Intranet forever.

When we say, “This session is not being recorded. What happens in this room stays in this room,” shoulders drop. The masks come off. Real learning happens.

The Shelf-Life Problem

There is a practical reason, too. AI moves too fast for video archives.

If I record a workshop on “How to use Claude” on Tuesday:

  • On Wednesday, Anthropic releases a new feature.
  • On Thursday, the UI changes.
  • By Friday, the video is misleading.

We have seen companies hosting “AI Training Videos” on their LMS (Learning Management System) that were recorded in 2023. They feature “ChatGPT-3.5” and tell staff to “Act as a wizard.” They are actively teaching bad habits.

Live training is ephemeral for a reason. It is accurate right now.

”Lean Forward” vs “Lean Back”

There are two modes of learning:

  1. Lean Back (Passive): Watching Netflix. Listening to a podcast. Watching a recording. This is fine for knowledge (history, theory).
  2. Lean Forward (Active): Coding. Cooking. Prompting. This is required for skills.

AI is a skill. It is like swimming. You cannot learn to swim by watching a 2-hour video of me swimming. You have to get wet. You have to swallow some water.

In a live workshop, I force participants to “Lean Forward.” “Okay, open Claude. Type this. Did it fail? Good. Let’s fix it.” You cannot replicate that friction in a recording.

The “Async” Alternative

We are not unreasonable. We know you can’t get all 500 staff on a call at 9am on a Tuesday.

But the alternative to “Live Training” is not “Bad Video of Live Training.” The alternative is High-Quality Asynchronous Content.

If you want to support people who missed the session, we provide:

  1. The “Laminated Desk Card”: A physical summary of the Golden Rules.
  2. The Glossary: A searchable definition list.
  3. Loom Videos: Short, sharp, 3-minute tutorials on specific tasks (e.g., “How to upload a PDF to Gemini”).

The “3-Minute” Rule

If you need to make a video, make it 3 minutes.

  • Topic: “How to anonymise data.”
  • Duration: 2:45.
  • Action: One specific takeaway.

People will watch that. They will re-watch that when they actually need to do the task. They will never re-watch “Zoom_Meeting_Recording_Final_v2.mp4”.

Summary

If your goal is to “Tick a Box” for compliance, record the session. If your goal is to change behaviour, turn the camera off.

Get them in the room. Make it safe to fail. Make it messy. Real learning leaves no trace on a hard drive; it leaves a trace in the brain.