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WAVELENGTH – The ID Newsletter of India – April 2008
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Hello friends,

Hello Friends,

Welcome to this edition of Wavelength.

Spring came and then left in a hurry, leaving behind a
scorching April that is wondering why the flower buds are
shriveling and dying before flowering. The temperature has
moved into the hot zone. It is now on the wrong side of
forty. Wrong side of forty...is it really the wrong side? If
you have seen forty, you know what I mean. It's all about
perspectives! There are some who believe that life begins
at forty for everything is settled by then; for others...well...you
are welcome to fill-in-the-blanks!

So what am I trying to conclude? Simply this that only
perspectives matter, nothing else does. The theory of
relativity states that every assertion is made from a
certain viewpoint (isn't this where ID and Physics meet?)
If you are a trainer, and if your organization is
implementing eLearning, what is it that you want to know?
Are you interested in how eLearning reduces costs for your
organization? I guess that if you have an interest in it,
it is fairly distant. You would be more interested in
discovering how eLearning can help (or harm) "you." It is
"your" perspective that matters. This month's Mystery of the
Month article, "The Trainer & The eLearning Adventure" attempts
to unravel the eLearning mystery from your angle.

For those who cannot stop themselves from analyzing everything
that they do, or in other words, for like-minded people; I've
added a short write-up, "Which Dream..." This write-up, I admit,
doesn't directly relate to instructional design. It is
reflective and doesn't address a specific audience - rather
it addresses some thoughts that exist in every mind. If you
are interested, you are welcome to click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/random_thoughts/which_dream.htm

The popularity of the Cognitive Excursion section is
increasing exponentially! We didn't expect this explosion...but
then, secretly, we did hope for it. This tells us
something...doesn't it? It tells us that we all love to play,
and to compete. We like to match wits, we like to stretch our
capabilities, and we enjoy seeing how well we performed. If
you've not been to the Cognitive Excursion section of
Wavelength, you are missing something! So click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/cog_ex/cognitive_excursion.htm
to join the fun.

Now, about Wavelength's Courses and Training Programs:

We've started receiving applications for the IDCWC Online
and the IDSP Online sessions that are beginning on
July 01, 2008. If you want to apply for any of these courses,
send us your application soon. Here are the details:

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Instructional Design & Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC Online)
Certificate Course - Session 9 (July 2008 - September 2008)
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Registrations for the 9th session of IDCWC Online shall be
announced soon. If you want to first
experience and then use the power of instructional design for
creating effective content, write to us at idcwconline@vibrantwavelength.com

Please visit the IDCWC Online page at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm

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Instructional Design for Senior Professionals (IDSP Online)
Certificate Course - Session 4 (July 2008 - August 2008)
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We've started receiving applications for the IDSP Online
Session 4, which is scheduled to start on July 01, 2008.
If you are an experienced learning professional wishing
to hone your already sharp skills further, write to us at idsponline@vibrantwavelength.com

Also read the views of the IDSP Online participants at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idsponlineviews

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Wavelength's Contact Courses at Noida
(The IDCWC and The ASDC Courses)
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The IDCWC and the ASDC (ActionScript Developer Certificate)
contact courses will begin their sessions on June 01, 2008
and June 15, 2008 respectively. The classes for these courses
are held at Wavelength, Noida, only on Sundays. If you want to
enroll for either of these courses call us at
9810324284/9810412297/0120-4315505.

I wish you all the best. I hope that you will find your work so
interesting that you'd forget the heat of May.

Take care,

Bye!

Thanks and Regards,
Shafali R. Anand.

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Table of contents
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From the Editor's Desk
Mystery of the Month

The Cognitive Excursion - *** NEW EPISODES!!! ***
** HIVE - New Episode!
** CLICK - New Episode!
** PEARL - New Episode!

ID Section
Technology Section
Site of the Month
Views
Laugh-a-little
Innoken Games
Signing Off...

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Events Calendar
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Online Courses:
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1. The 8th session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design &
Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins on
April 01, 2008. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm
Please send us your queries at idcwconline@vibrantwavelength.com

2. The 4th session of IDSP Online (Instructional Design
for Senior Professionals Certificate Online) course, begins
on July 01, 2008. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idsp_online.htm
Please send us your inquiries at idsponline@vibrantwavelength.com

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Contact Courses:
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1. Classes for the Instructional Design & Content Writing
Certificate (IDCWC Contact) course begin on June 01, 2008.
Registrations are on for this group. Read details at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm

2. Classes for the next Flash ActionScript 2.0 Developer
Certificate (ASDC) course group begin on June 15, 2008.
Registrations are on for this group. Read details at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm

3. Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 with Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on May 10, 2008.
Registrations are open for this course group. Read details at
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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Are you a trainer, working for a company that is implementing
eLearning? Are you trying to find how eLearning will help you,
or even, whether it will help you at all? Are you wondering
whether this new kid on the block would end up becoming a
pain in the neck?

If you are, then click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trainers_eLearning_adventure.htm
to read the Mystery of the Month article for May.
The Wavelength article, "The Trainer & The eLearning Adventure,"
will introduce you to eLearning and help you figure it out
from your angle.

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The Cognitive Excursion ( NEW EPISODES!!! )
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Wavelength's Cognitive Excursion brings you the brand-new
April Episodes of HIVE, CLICK, and PEARL. If you haven't
yet checked them out, you are missing on some good
cognitive fun! Don't!

Join the Cognitive Excursion at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/cog_ex/cognitive_excursion.htm

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ID Section
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ID Concepts
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Rapid Prototyping...it is a term that is often heard in our
industry. If your understanding of this term is somewhat
nebulous, don't worry. The Tripp and Bichelmeyer Rapid
Prototyping Model will help dispel the confusion.
http://it.coe.uga.edu/studio/seminars/rpmodel.html displays
the graphic representation of this model. The stages in
this model overlap with one-another (thus making the
process "rapid".) Click http://www.public.iastate.edu/~abowser/pdf/Rapid%20Prototyping%20Presentation.pdf
for an instructive presentation on the
Tripp and Bichelmeyer model.

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Language & Culture
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The online learner of today is different from the online
learner of yesterday. Let me explain. The online learner
of the past didn't grow up with Internet. Thus, this
online learner was somewhat unsure of the efficacy of
the online medium. Many of us, who belong to that
generation, still are. However, the online learner of
today is different. He or she belongs to a generation
that grew up with the Internet. These young learners
have grown up playing online games, using chats and
emails; creating their own blogs...they are more
comfortable with the Internet. We need to learn about
these learners. Click http://www.citejournal.org/vol7/iss3/general/article1.cfm
to read "The Online Learner: Characteristics and Pedagogical
Implications" by Nada Dabbagh.

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Writing Style
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Writing for the web is different. You need to make your
content direct, keep it short, use headings, and so on.
Here's another link that will help you tailor your
writing for the web. Click http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/guide_write_01.htm
for some web content writing guidelines.

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Technology Section
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Learning Content Management Technologies
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"Are You Ready for E-Learning?" by Samantha Chapnick
is an interesting and highly useful article for the
Training Managers of organizations that are currently
evaluating the viability of eLearning. Click http://www.learningcircuits.org/2000/nov2000/Chapnick.htm
to read this smart and compact article. Ms. Chapnick
classifies eLearning readiness into different readiness types,
which apply to different stakeholders in different measures.

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Site of the Month
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The Site of the Month for May 2008 is the most creative site
that I've ever come across. If you would like to discover
the reason behind my blanket assertion, click
http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/ to access
Claudia Cortes' Color in Motion.

Before you begin, I should tell you what this site is about.
This site is about six wonderful colors and what they
symbolize. As always, I'll first tell you why it enchanted
me...then you can go ahead and find your reasons for loving
it.

1. Click the link above, and then click English to experience
the English version of the site. If you aren't able to
proceed, please click http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/colors/Colors.html
to arrive at gray screen, with a START button. Click the START
button to begin your experience.

2. One of the colors will guide you to the three doors. Roll
your mouse over the doors to discover what lies behind them.
If you don't click, the colors will continue to walk past
the doors. Click the second door (door no. 202) first.

3. The second door will show you the movies about the colors.
There are six movies, one for each color. The figures of
the colors stand at the bottom of the screen, forming a
menu. You can select, whose movie you would like to watch
first. BTW, they continue to attract your attention by
jumping up and down. I would like to recommend a selection
mechanism. Reflect upon your favorite color, and then
select that color first.

4. Each movie shows you the "star" doing a set of actions
that are related to each other through some logic, and
what that the corresponding color symbolizes, appears in text.

5. After enjoying the movies and learning from them, click
the Menu to bring up the three doors again. Now enter the
first door (door no. 201). This door takes you to the
audition room, where you find all the six stars sitting
with their profile folders. Click their profile folders
to read about their complementary colors, what they should
be used to represent, positive and negative traits, and
also their cultural significance around the world.

6. While you enjoy this site, don't forget to look at its
clean graphics, smooth animations, and fantastic
visualization.

7. Now that you've had your fill of passive entertainment
(movies) and learning; you are ready for some interactive
experimentation. Click the third door (door no. 203) to
enter the Lab.

8. The lab is different. It's hardly a lab. It is place to
have fun while you reinforce your learning. There are
three projects here. I think that they cater to three
different types of kinesthetic learners - the intellectual
type, the artistic type, and the passive type.

(I am responsible for this idiosyncratic
classification - but then the declaration of these types
is completely local to the content of this page; and
this classification shall be destroyed after being
used here.)

9. So I, being the passive type kinesthetic learner,
enjoyed the third project a lot. I'll not describe it
in greater detail, for I don't want to spoil your
experience.

So...if you haven't yet clicked http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/colors/Colors.html
click and enjoy.

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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/trg_participants_views.htm#idcwconlineviews
to read what the course participants feel about the
Instructional Design ONLINE course (IDCWC Online) and Wavelength.

2. IDSP Online Course Participants' Views (first session):
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idsponlineviews
to read the views of our participants from the first session of the IDSP Online.

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

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

5. 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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Do you fill in a time sheet before you leave office?

Okay, so you don't call it a time sheet! You've got some
other, probably a more exotic name for it!

Doesn't matter, you know what I am talking about!

Now the question is - Do you have to fill it "completely" for
8 hours?

If so, how do you account for the time that you talking,
cribbing, drinking coffee!

Here's how...click http://www.ahajokes.com/off03.html for a
list of specifics against the non-specifics!

The last day at work...(a sweet dream for many, a nightmare
for some!)

How do you tell? Well, click http://www.ahajokes.com/off18.html
...and of course, there is the naukri ad!

And finally...one for the sibling professions!
Click http://www.workjoke.com/projoke64.htm

Are you laughing? You look good when you
laugh...keep laughing

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Innoken Online Games
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http://www.innoken.com/games

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Signing Off...
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I wish you a cool and comfortable summer this year.

Bye!

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

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