March 21 marks World Down Syndrome Day, a day dedicated to awareness, inclusion, and belonging. This day reminds us that everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, participate, and contribute in our society without barriers. At Harper Learning, we know there's a strong connection between accessibility, dignity, and confidence. We know inclusion works best when it’s built into learning design from the start. Accessibility-first design creates trust, respect, and better outcomes for individuals and organizations. World Down Syndrome Day reminds us that inclusive learning design is a responsibility that’s not optional. IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Text at the top of the image says, "Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, participate, and contribute" and "World Down Syndrome Day" at the bottom. The photo is hands holding a blue and yellow ribbon used to represent Down Syndrome.
Harper Learning
E-Learning Providers
Vancouver, British Columbia 398 followers
From learning strategy to results
About us
At Harper Learning, we partner with organizations that want to create safer, healthier, and more inclusive workplaces. Our approach blends strategy with educational storytelling and immersive learning that engages people on a deeper level. Every solution is custom and accessible, designed to build stronger teams, shift culture in meaningful ways, and achieve results that last.
- Website
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https://www.harperlearning.com
External link for Harper Learning
- Industry
- E-Learning Providers
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2007
- Specialties
- eLearning, Learning Strategy, Immersive Learning, Gamification, Measuring Impact, Virtual Reality, and 360 Immersive Learning
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Employees at Harper Learning
Updates
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Today we celebrate International Women’s Day, and I’m reflecting on the progress we’ve made as well as the work that’s still ahead. As the founder of a woman-owned and operated business, we've seen how learning can create opportunities for women or reinforce barriers and biases. That’s why creating safe, inclusive learning spaces matters so much to me. When women feel supported to ask questions, share ideas, and speak up, learning improves, confidence grows, and leadership develops. In learning environments, it’s essential to represent diverse voices, encourage participation, and build in flexibility. When organizations invest in learning that truly supports women, they strengthen engagement, expand leadership opportunities, and improve retention.This results in an organizational culture where everyone benefits. Today, we're celebrating all of the amazing women who’ve shaped our lives and work. Here’s to you and committing to inclusive practices that help women thrive! IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Image of Cara Johns, Harper Learning founder, and the text "Happy International Woman's Day."
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Curiosity during a project kickoff sets the foundation for stronger learning. We love the exploratory phase—asking lots of questions, listening closely, and taking time to understand the big picture. We want to go deeper with our clients to fully understand • What they believe they need • What problem they want to solve • What they’ve tried before • What didn’t work • What success looks like to them If we were to just start with saying you need a course to cover certain topics, it can limit what’s possible. Without understanding the context, it’s likely the outcomes won’t be as strong and learning will remain surface-level. When we take time to understand what’s really happening inside an organization, learning solutions become more thoughtful and more likely to engage learners meaningfully. Curiosity at the start of a project creates clarity later, and that leads to stronger learning outcomes. *** Image description: A graphic that starts with the heading “Curiosity at the start of a project.” Below the heading is an image of a checklist with several items marked, alongside a notepad with a magnifying glass that represents exploration and idea generation.
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Founder, Cara Johns, reflects on curiosity and how it relates to inclusion in the workplace. Please add your thoughts; we'd love to hear from you.
On the Harper Learning page, we’ve been talking a lot about how curiosity helps us in our work with our clients. I was reflecting that it also allows us to work more inclusively when we collaborate with others. In many organizations we work with, people have different needs. When I think about inclusion, my mind goes to disability inclusion, and it is true that all people have different needs at different times in their lives. Working inclusively is important to consider in all of our conversations. Here’s an example. We never want our clients to feel put on the spot. We want to create an environment where all ways of contributing are welcome from the start. By ensuring they have all the additional support they need, or even space they need to take a beat if something comes up in a conversation that is challenging. We want to create the best outcomes possible, but really, we want to honour the person in front of us. We’ve likely all had the experience of having something really challenging going on in our own lives, or just receiving some difficult news, and having to be “on” in a meeting in a few minutes. We can put on our work mask and push through, and I encourage my team, and leave space for my clients, to be real to not be at their best at all times. Maybe they need cameras off or to listen in and make a decision after a later review. That is an example of making a safer space for anyone, really. However, we intentionally create space for people with disabilities by creating multiple ways of participating. As an example, in planning sessions that include people with multiple different types of disabilities, I started the session reassuring that participation looks different for everyone. This could mean cameras on or off in a virtual meeting, speaking or using the chat, or sharing ideas during the session or afterward once they’ve had time to reflect. We know everyone has something to contribute and some of the strongest ideas emerge once people have time to process. A curiosity and an openness to different ways of working and communicating helps us create more inclusive collaboration with our clients and ensures they can contribute in ways that work for them. *** Image description: A graphic showing a forest with sunlight streaming in through the tress and shining down on small tree with colourful leaves. The caption says, “Inclusion: Come as you are.”
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How our team practices internal curiosity plays an important role in helping clients reach their goals. We have a lead for each project supported by other team members. After client meetings, we typically have a team huddle to discuss what we heard in the meeting and compare insights. We’ve noticed it’s common for different team members to interpret the same conversation in different ways. One person might catch a subtle concern from the client or another might notice a point that wasn’t in alignment. These internal conversations help us identify where we need clarification and allow us to ask better follow-up questions early before any issues arise. That way, we ensure we’re all in alignment before the project moves forward and we can strengthen what we deliver to clients. *** Image description: A graphic that starts with the heading “Behind the scenes: How our team practices curiosity,” with an image of a team huddle brainstorming in a meeting room.
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On the Harper Learning page, we have been exploring curiosity throughout the month. I have noticed that organizations that adapt well to change tend to have curiosity embedded in their culture. Curious organizations question assumptions and remain open to new ways of working and learning. That mindset fuels continuous improvement and makes it easier to adapt when priorities, roles, or technologies change. Without curiosity, engagement drops, employees don’t develop new skills, and learning feels disconnected from real work. Over time, business goals become harder to reach. Continuous improvement comes from staying curious and asking the right questions of what is needed to succeed. *** Image description: The graphic starts with the heading “Curiosity equals growth.” Below the heading is an image showing a hand placing a seed into the soil, following the growth of a seed into a young plant.
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When you hear about corporate learning, you may think of familiar default options like one-size-fits-all programs or courses, training that simply “checks a box”, or solutions designed before fully understanding the real issue. We recognize our role at Harper Learning to challenge that status quo, and our most meaningful work starts with conversations. When we take the time to talk with our clients and ask what’s really happening inside their organization (such as what’s not working or what employees are struggling with), better learning opportunities emerge as do deeper, long-term relationships with clients. These conversations aren’t about pushing or selling more learning. They’re about understanding context and hearing from our clients about what feels harder than it should, so we can design learning that aligns with real business outcomes. *** Image description: The graphic starts with the heading “Better learning starts with deeper conversations.” Below the heading is an image of a small group of professionals gathered around a table in a meeting room engaged in a conversation.
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Happy Birthday, Harper Learning! 19 years helping purpose-driven organizations foster safe, healthy and inclusive workplaces. Our founder, Cara Johns, shares: I am so excited to share that it's our 19th anniversary at Harper Learning, a company I started nearly two decades ago! It seems like just yesterday that I started out with my first big client and big project: Over 20 online modules for the Operations Training department at YVR! It was a big one! From there, we grew, working with other international airports across Canada until today, our safety, security, operations, and accessibility courses are today in 24 (or more?) airports across the country used by employees and tenants. Amazing. It didn’t end there because 2020 created a necessary shift. We moved almost immediately into working with organizations on creating programs in psychological safety and in support of people with disabilities or working with people with disabilities. Accessibility and inclusion are one of our biggest areas of focus these days, and well before it became legislated. When I look back across the many clients and industries we have touched over the years, I see shifts and changes that had to occur due to the ever changing landscape across the country, and the world. Our values remain rooted in accessibility and inclusion, and our focus has shifted over the years from “creating training,” to creating comprehensive learning strategy with organizations with a long-term vision for supporting employee development. I am so happy my team and I have been part of the many amazing projects we have been part of over the years. Going forward, I recognize that how people learn and access learning has been shifting as technology changes. My team and I continue to learn ourselves, so we can continue to create learning strategy and solutions that meet the needs of today and many years to come. Thanks to everyone who has supported us and will in the future! Cara Johns, Founder - Harper Learning Recognizing some amazing clients we've had over the years (I apologize in advance if you are missed!): Vancouver Airport Authority, Kelowna International Airport - YLW, Winnipeg Airports Authority | Administration aéroportuaire de Winnipeg, ADM Aéroports de Montréal, Aéroport international Jean-Lesage de Québec (YQB), Fort McMurray Airport Authority, Regina Airport Authority - YQR, Saskatoon Airport // Aéroport de Saskatoon, Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Calgary Airports, Edmonton International Airport (YEG), Fredericton International Airport Authority, Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF), Canadian Airports Council | Conseil des aéroports du Canada, Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC - Nonprofit Health & Safety Association, MTU Maintenance Canada, E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated, Ritchie Bros., Work Wellness Institute, Belonging Network, Aecon Group Inc., Actsafe Safety Association
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Reflecting on how Harper Learning is different, Cara Johns shared some insights about how we operate and what is working for our clients. We'd love to hear what’s a norm you challenged in your own business or something you learned to challenge over time?
Since the early days of Harper Learning, our team has challenged the idea that we exist to simply take directions and execute requests from our clients. You can notice the “order taker” easily. They are the ones who keep coming back asking how to do things at each step, rather than going deeper with the why. Of course, it is essential and an integral part of our process to engage our clients all the way through a project to ensure alignment. However, ensuring alignment is very different from, “Do you want us to put this content here or use this image there?” That level of decision making comes much later, but sadly, I find some learning professionals start here. Instead, through conversation and curiosity, we uncover a client’s longer-term vision, an underlying challenge, or an opportunity to approach a solution in a more meaningful way. We operate as strategic learning partners who focus on what our clients truly need with an accessibility first mindset guiding how we work. Many of our clients have worked with us for years, some more than a decade, not because we just say yes to everything, but because we pause to ask questions, listen, and offer honest guidance. Sometimes our role is to have a conversation, ask clarifying questions, and help a client think through challenges or gaps they haven’t been able to navigate through on their own. It’s an inherent curiosity that my team members and I all have that has helped us challenge norms, strengthen relationships, and deliver solutions that truly serve the organizations we support. Shoutout to our amazing team over at Harper Learning! *** Image description: The graphic starts with the heading “Order takers to Strategic partners” with “Order takers” crossed out, below is a blue print of a building that represents strategic planning and design.
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Purpose-driven planning prevents the challenges of disconnected learning to save organizations time, money, and frustration by addressing needs proactively. This month we highlighted how reactive training wastes resources while careful planning aligns learning experiences with business outcomes. From setting clear intentions to translating an organization’s strategy into daily behaviours, it's proven that proactive clarity beats quick or reactive fixes. Organizations must start with the specific business problem and the goal they want to achieve, then design learning that directly supports it. Collaboration and communication between leaders and employees at all levels is key so everyone shares the same understanding of what success looks like. The next step is to map activities to real tasks and decisions that employees face daily to make the learning relevant and applicable. Build in measurement, monitoring, and reinforcement from the start of the process to sustain impact. It’s also important to regularly review and update your learning strategy over time to adapt to shifting priorities while keeping learning agile and effective. This approach will transform frustration into focused progress for organizations and their employees. Image description: The graphic starts with the heading “Plan with purpose” with a background of a close-up image of a checklist with dotted boxes, some marked with red check marks, and a pen resting on the page.
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