Different Ways to Learn

We Don’t All Learn the Same Way, and That’s a Good Thing

It’s easy to assume that learning is a one-size-fits-all experience. Read the documentation, follow the steps, and you’ll understand it.

But in reality, that’s not how most of us work. Some people thrive on reading. They can absorb detailed documentation, explore links, and build a deep mental model from text alone. Others find that approach slow or even frustrating. They’d rather see something in action, a short video, a walkthrough, or someone demonstrating the steps.

And then there are those who only really understand something once they try it themselves. Give them a working example, let them experiment, and that’s when it clicks.

None of these approaches is better than the others, they’re just different.

My Own Learning Style

Personally, I find reading hard work. I tend to skim, searching for the parts I need, and then jump straight in to try things out. I learn best by doing, but that often means I miss the context or nuance that a more thorough read might provide.

What I’ve found, though, is that when the same content is available in another format, particularly audio or video, it becomes much easier to absorb. Listening while walking, or watching a quick explanation, often fills in the gaps that I’d otherwise skip past.

That flexibility makes a big difference.

The Importance of Choice

The key isn’t deciding which learning style is “best,” it’s making sure people have options. If you only provide written documentation, you’re unintentionally limiting who can engage effectively with your content. The same is true if you rely solely on video or hands-on examples. The more ways you present the same idea, the more people you enable.

Expanding Beyond Written Content

Traditionally, our focus has been on written articles, detailed, practical, and designed to help developers solve real problems. But we know that not everyone wants to consume content that way.

So alongside our articles, we’ve started introducing AI-generated podcast versions. These aren’t just simple text-to-speech recordings; they’re designed to present the material in a more natural, conversational format.

The idea is simple:

• Prefer reading? The article is there.
• Prefer listening? There’s an audio version
• Prefer doing? You can still follow along with examples.

It’s about meeting people where they are.

Learning in Context

This becomes even more valuable in real-world scenarios. You might:

• Listen to an article while commuting
• Revisit it later by reading specific sections
• Then apply it by working through an implementation

Each format reinforces the others. And importantly, it removes friction. You’re no longer forced into a single mode of learning that may not suit your situation at that moment.

A Practical Example

Here are a couple of recent articles where you can try this out:

• https://www.identityserver.com/articles/how-to-have-consistent-frontend-and-backend-authorization-for-applications
• https://www.identityserver.com/articles/upgrading-from-identityserver4-to-duende

Each includes an audio version, giving you the flexibility to choose how you engage with the content.

The Role of AI in Learning

What’s made this shift possible is tooling, specifically, tools like Google’s NotebookLM. NotebookLM allows us to take existing content and transform it into alternative formats, such as podcast-style audio. It’s a powerful example of how AI can enhance learning, not by replacing content, but by reshaping it.

Instead of forcing people to adapt to the content, we can adapt the content to the learner.

That’s a subtle but important shift.

Final Thoughts

We all learn differently, and that’s not a problem to solve; it’s something to design for. AI isn't perfect, but it does allow us to offer more forms of content to help our customers learn and engage with our products.

By offering content in multiple formats, we make it easier for people to:

• Engage
• Understand
• Apply what they’ve learned

And in the end, that’s what really matters.