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WAVELENGTH – The ID Newsletter of India – April 2007
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Hello Friends,

Welcome to this edition of Wavelength's Instructional
Design Newsletter.

Ahem! This month was busy! The new launches, the
AS2 (with OOP module) workshop, and the media newsletter;
all together led to quite a lot of work. I worked more than
I ever thought I was capable of working, and I found a new
respect for the stretch-ability of humans. But then
stretching isn't a good thing. It has its share of
aftereffects.

"A bit of stretch goes a long way; a lot of stretch results in dismay!"
If the preceding lines didn't rhyme, they didn't because I
wrote them - and I am no poet when it comes to English.

Now something about stories...
Do you prefer to listen to stories in your mother tongue or
in English? I prefer my mother tongue, but I have nothing
against listening to well-crafted, relevant, and instructionally
sound stories told/written in English, especially while
learning. Storytelling makes content more interesting and effective.
However, a story that isn't relevant to the content, or that
doesn't create a suspension-of-disbelief is a story that is better
left untold. An instructional story is more than just a story;
it is a vehicle that expedites content delivery to the
learner's mind.

Wavelength's article for April, "The Long & Short of Instructional
Storytelling" brings to your attention, the mechanics of
storytelling. It introduces the elements of storytelling and
establishes a synergistic relationship between storytelling and
instruction. Designing an instructional story depends on using the
various elements of storytelling to the content's advantage, while
keeping in view the audience profile. If you are interesting in
learning how to design instructional stories for your trainings or
content, you are invited to enroll for a 1-Day training program,
"Instructional Storytelling for Trainers & Content Developers."
This training will be conducted on June 16, 2007 (Saturday) at
Wavelength, Noida. If it interests you, read the details at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/instructionalstorytelling_training.htm

I would like to thank everyone who subscribed to Wavelength's media
newsletter or who recommended it to his or her friends. The first
issue of Wavelength's media newsletter reached 412 mailboxes. Did
your mailbox receive a copy? If it didn't, please subscribe to it.
Once you begin receiving it, you will realize that graphic designers
have all the fun. If you would like to subscribe to the media
newsletter, click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/fsg/formsubscribe.htm

As an additional note - Many of the existing ID Newsletter subscribers
subscribed to both the newsletters. It is not required - your
subscription to the ID newsletter is secure, you need not subscribe again.

The Flash Certificate Course (FCC):
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The Flash Certificate Course (FCC), which shall begin classes on
May 20, 2007; has begun receiving registrations. If you are
interested in joining the Flash Certificate Course, or would
like to recommend it to someone you care for, click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flash_certificate.htm

Instructional Design for Trainers Workshop (FREE Workshop - IDT-2)
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The first Instructional Design for Trainers workshop that we
conducted in January had interested such an excellent group of
training professionals that we've been waiting to conduct yet
another IDT. You are invited for IDT on May 20, 2007. If you
missed the first IDT or if you've been hearing about how
interesting it was, from your colleagues...here is your
opportunity to figure out the connection between instructional
design and training. Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idtworkshop2.htm
to read about this workshop and register.

Instructional Storytelling for Trainers & Content Developers
Workshop (1-Day Paid Workshop)
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Wavelength brings to you a 1-day training titled
"Instructional Storytelling for Trainers & Content Developers."
If you would like to invest a Saturday to make your trainings
and your content more effective and interesting by mastering
the craft of instructional storytelling, this 1-day workshop is
for you. This training will be conducted on June 16, 2007
(Saturday) at Wavelength, Noida. If this training interests you,
read the details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/instructionalstorytelling_training.htm
Please send us your queries at connect@vibrantwavelength.com

SCORM Workshop (1-Day Paid Workshop)
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Implementation of SCORM-conformant content baffles many of us
who find ourselves spending time in gathering small bits of
information and attempting to tie it together. If you belong
to the project management team or if you are a tech-lead, or
even if you are a senior instructional designer, you are
expected to understand the implications as well as the
application of SCORM to eLearning. Wavelength brings you a
1-day workshop on SCORM, which will be held on June 23,
2007 (Saturday). This workshop will clarify your concepts
and provide you with a tidy approach to create SCORM-conformant
content. Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/scorm_training.htm
to read about this training and send us your queries at
connect [a] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

If you are interested in joining the July - September 2007
session of IDCWC Online, you are welcome to send your
inquiries to idcwconline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com.

The next course group for the Instructional Design & Content
Writing Certificate (IDCWC) course and the ActionScript
Developer Certificate (ASDC) course shall begin on May 13, 2007.

I wish you the coolest summer of all.

Thanks and Warm Regards,
Shafali.

(Editor & Publisher, Wavelength)

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Table of contents
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From the Editor's Desk
Mystery of the Month
ID Section
Technology Section
Media Section (Important!)
Site of the Month
Views
Laugh-a-little
Innoken Games
Signing Off...

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Events Calendar
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1.The next session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design &
Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins on
July 1, 2007. We are currently receiving applications for
this session.

***Read the views of the IDCWC Online participants at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/wavelengthians.htm#idcwconlineviews

***Read details of the course at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm

***View FAQs at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwconline_faqs.htm

***Experience sample learning interactions at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwconline_preview.htm

***Write to idcwconline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com with your queries.

2.Wavelength's next course group for the Instructional
Design & Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC Contact) course
begins on May 13, 2007. Registrations are on for this
group. Read details at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm

3.Classes for the next Flash ActionScript Developer
Certificate (ASDC) course group begin on May 13, 2007.
Registrations are on for this group. Read details at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm

4.***NEW***FREE Workshop - Instructional Design for Trainers
(IDT-2) (May 20, 2007, Sunday). If you are interested in
attending this workshop please click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idtworkshop2.htm
to read the details and register online.

5.***NEW*** PAID Workshop - Instructional Storytelling for Trainers &
Content Developers (1-Day) (June 16, 2007, Saturday).
If you are interested in enrolling for this workshop, or would
like to sponsor participants for it, please write to us at
connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com. Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/instructionalstorytelling_training.htm
for the details of this workshop.

6.***NEW*** PAID Workshop - SCORM (Sharable Content Object
Reference Model) (1-Day) (June 23, 2007, Saturday).
If you are interested in enrolling for this workshop, or
would like to sponsor participants for it, please write
to us at connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com. Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/scorm_training.htm
for the details of this workshop.

7.Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 using Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on May 19, 2007.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript2_oop_details.htm

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From the Editor's Desk
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http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/editorial.htm

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Mystery of the Month
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Some people are endowed with a mysterious skill. We've all
met some of these magicians. While we sit wide-eyed, with
our mouths agape, they weave a delicate, shimmering web of
connected events, and stitch the scintillating gems of
fascinating characters to create an experience. The experience,
though woven with words becomes so real that the character's
pain makes us wince and its happiness makes our hearts dance
with abandon. When the story is told, and when we find
ourselves waking up to the reality, we wonder what made the
story so gripping. And we look at the storyteller and exclaim...it
is a gift to be able to tell stories that sweep us off our feet!

The instructional designers, the content writers, and the
trainers look at storytelling from another perspective. We
wish to employ storytelling as a tool that would help us
ensure smoother transfer and higher retention of knowledge.
Yet, in order to write an instructional story, we should know
how to combine instructional knowledge with the skill of
storytelling. We need to learn and practice the delicate yet
extremely rewarding art of instructional storytelling.

This month, the Mystery of the Month article discusses the
long and short of instructionally storytelling. Read
"The Long & Short of Instructional Storytelling" at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/instructional_storytelling.htm

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ID Section
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ID Concepts
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Universal Instructional Design is instructional design that
meets the learning needs of most of the audience irrespective
of their learning preferences, learning styles, or
disabilities. As UID doesn't mean robbing content of its
personality but making it more flexible, it follows that
UID would use different ways to treat and deliver the same
content to the diverse audience, hence addressing their
diversity effectively.

Click http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/uid/html/what_uid.shtml
for an excellent explanation of UID. Then click http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/uid/html/what_essential.shtml
to read about the characteristics of UID. According to
this page, UID aims at providing multiple means of
representation, engagement, and expression. What we need
to understand is that UID does more than ensuring that the
courses become accessible and engaging for specific groups
of people; what it aims to ensure is that they become more
effective for the entire audience.

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Language & Culture
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Have you read "The Country of the Blind" by H.G. Wells? I
read it some years ago, but my interpretation of the story
changed after reading this article, "Culture as Disability"
at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/culturedisability.html#intro.

This article demands some serious reading and some equally
serious reflection. The "Culture as a disability" approach is
fascinating, and it answers many difficult-to-answer questions
about entry behavior. Culture leads to the recognition of a
lack of ability (or a disability.) I quote from the article -

"without a money system, there is no debt;
without a kinship system, no orphans;
without a class system, no deprivation;
without schools, no learning disabilities;
without a working concept of truth, no liars;
without eloquence, no inarticulateness"

It is important for us, the instructional designers and the
trainers to realize that some learning disabilities may be
rooted in culture - and this realization may help us
improve learning effectiveness.

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Writing Style
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Online content requires more attention. It has to be smart,
crisp, and direct. But how does one make it so? Click
http://www.monash.edu.au/staff/web/content/writing.html
for some specific guidelines that can help you write better
web-content. I specially recommend the "Resources" section at
the end of this page.

Click http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/alternative.pdf for the
list of (simpler) alternative words.

Another useful link http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/Resources/lutz.htm provides
"(39) Rules for Writing Plain English" by William D. Lutz.
The "Whiz-deletion" rule is very interesting and useful:-)

A very interesting concept for simplifying writing is
introduced in the article "How Users Read on the Web" at
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html. This article presents
the results of a study that shows how we can improve
usability of the content by combining "concise text"
with "scannable layout."

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Technology Section
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Learning Content Creation Technologies
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If you've written a lot of eLearning scripts, then you know
what goes into the task. But if you haven't...and if you
find yourself in the hot seat of eLearning content writer
or reviewer - you would like to know what it takes to do
the job. http://www.adobe.com/resources/elearning/article/itskills/
has a good article, "Online learning... Do I need to be able
to design AND build it?" by Patti Shank, which will give
you an overview of the additional skills that you should be
developing. Also check out the Wavelength article
"Peripheral Learning" at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/peripheralLearning.htm
which explains the logic behind the development of these
peripheral but essential skills.

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Learning Content Management Technologies
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While there is a continuous movement (and enough
controversy) about the LMS providers trying to patent and
control the LMS technology, educationists are experiencing
a need to modify the LMSs to suit their requirements. This
need often cannot be fulfilled in absence of the source-code
to the LMS, which remains with the LMS developers. Thus the
reliance of the academia over eLearning as a medium leads
them into a tricky situation, where they are not able to use
the learning management systems to its full advantage.

Click http://campustechnology.com/articles/39682_1/ to read
the article "The Future of eLearning in Learning Management
Systems" by Samuel G. Scalise. This article written in very
simple but interesting manner, illustrates the dilemma that
educationists face while using proprietary learning
management systems.

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Media Section
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...is now part of Wavelength - The Media Newsletter!

We now publish a comprehensive newsletter dedicated to
digital media and request all those who are interested
in being abreast with media information, to subscribe.

If you are reading this, I can infer that you have some
inclination towards media. If this is true, click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/media_nletter_psr14w_apr07.htm
to view the previous issue of Wavelength's Media Newsletter.

If you like what you see, subscribe to the media newsletter
by clicking http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/fsg/formsubscribe.htm

If you know media/graphic designers, gift them a
subscription of the media newsletter by clicking
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/fsg/formgift.htm

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Site of the Month
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The Site of the Month for April 2007 is http://www.unattended-baggage.com

Yes. Unattended Baggage! It is a portfolio site of a
designer...but he does think out-of-the-baggage!
Let me tell you why I liked this site. I liked it for its
striking colors, its completely outrageous concept, the little
details that the designer has put into the bald character
(the designer himself,) its swift play of animations, its
visualization, even the occasional spelling mistakes!

Let us begin.

1. When you click the URL given above, the scene loads with
our avatar sitting on a metallic bench with some baggage! The
scene swings - but the swings accelerate and decelerate! The avatar
(Ben) isn't exactly quiet (and static). While you explore, he
continues to communicate - both verbally as well as non-verbally.

2. Now roll your mouse over Ben's seated figure and his
baggage. The red buttons that appear upon rollover look
striking. It is up to you what you wish to explore
first - Ben's resume or his portfolio! I suggest clicking the
portfolio first. His sketches and photographs are inspiring.
I don't know what made him consider engineering as a career option!

3. When you click the baggage, it zooms in. Ignore the spelling
error (for all you know, the spelling errors could be
deliberate - they add style to the website!) Click the
"Projects" button from the lower toolbar. Check the rollover
effect on the buttons. Now click one to see how well the
details of the "projects" are presented.

4. Next click the "Sketchbook" and the "Photo Album" buttons.
What I like is the organic approach to presentation. In
most portfolio sites, we find the same treatment repeated
for icons and buttons used in their different sections.
Here, the three sections of the portfolio use treatments
that belong to the same family but have interesting
individual characteristics.

5. Ask Ben to "Go Back" by clicking the "X" button, and
click Ben's seated figure to read his resume. I think I
should say, "experience" his resume. His resume is divided
in 5 sections that have been very creatively portrayed.
Click each to experience them. His history is a graphical
timeline, his approach is a smooth tab-interactive and so
are his skills, and his potential - well, is it surprising
that the baggage was claimed so soon?!

6. Even contacting him is interestingly creative - you know
whether he is awake or asleep and whether it would be
socially correct to call him at a particular time.

I would like to stop here...leave you at this fantastic site,
which achieved its goal (of getting Ben a job!) and which
still continues to inspire.

Click http://www.unattended-baggage.com/ to experience this site.

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Views
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***NEW!!!***
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1. IDCWC Online Course Participants' Views:
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/wavelengthians.htm#idcwconlineviews
to read what the course participants feel about the
Instructional Design ONLINE course (IDCWC Online)
and Wavelength.

2. IDCWC (Contact) Participants' Views:
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/wavelengthians.htm#idcwcstudentviews
to read what the IDCWC Contact program participants feel
about the Instructional Design course (IDCWC) and Wavelength.

3. ActionScript Course Participants' Views:
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/wavelengthians.htm#asdcstudentviews
to read what the ActionScript Course participants feel about
the ActionScript course (ASDC) and Wavelength.

4. Reader's Views:
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/views.htm to read
what readers feel about Wavelength.

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Laugh-a-little
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Let us begin with some educational cartoons. Well...no! These
cartoons don't educate, they are about "education". Click
http://www.borg.com/~rjgtoons/edu.html to view some cartoons
by Randy Glasbergen.

Do you use humor in classroom? It isn't easy to manage, I
agree; but it does work wonders. Here is an article that you
may like to read through before you experiment with humor.
Read "Humor In The Classroom: Cultivating Camaraderie To
Maximize Learning" by Katherine Abbott and Mark Lewis, which
is available at http://www.abbottcom.com/Humor_in_the_classroom.htm

I also liked the way the content is presented in this article.
What do you think?

Is humor getting a bit too serious this month? I am sorry...I
do have some links that I hope will have you rocking in your seat.
Click http://www.freedomtolearn.org/ftl_classroom_humor.html and
if you want to read some jokes that require more cognitive
processing, click http://2havefun.com/Comedy/professor.shtml

Have a great month and do subscribe to
Wavelength's Media Newsletter.

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Innoken Online Games
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Net pe Khel - India ke Games!
Click http://www.netpekhel.com or http://www.innoken.com/games.htm
to play Innoken Games.

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Signing Off...
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I leave you with this issue of Wavelength. I hope you will
enjoy it and that you will also subscribe to
Wavelength - The Media Newsletter of India, which will
attempt to infuse more color into your lives.

I shall see you again next month. Until then, goodbye!

Shafali

Shafali R. Anand
Editor & Publisher, Wavelength the ID Newsletter
Director, Wavelength eLearning Consulting and Training Pvt. Ltd.
shafali [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com
Wavelength, Link House, 2nd Floor,
C-4, Sector 10, Noida-201301, India.
Ph: 9810324284 / 9810412297 / (0120)4315505
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com

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Feedback: Write to me with your views on Wavelength at shafali [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com
with "Wavelength Feedback" written in the subject.

Suggest Links or site for "Site of the Month": Publish an article in Wavelength or suggest links– Check out http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/contribute.htm

Subscribe/Gift Subscription/Unsubscribe - Click on http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/subscribe.htm
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