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WAVELENGTH – The ID Newsletter of India – February
2005
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Hello Friends,
Welcome to this issue of Wavelength, the monthly e-Newsletter for
the Instructional Design and Content Development community of India.
I would like to begin by thanking all readers of Wavelength for
their overwhelming response. This month Wavelength will arrive in
almost double the number of mailboxes it did last month.
I leave you with the February issue of Wavelength with the hope
that it will make the coming spring more beautiful for all of us.
Thanks and Warm Regards,
Shafali R. Anand
(Editor & Publisher – Wavelength)
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Table of contents
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* From the Editor’s Desk
* Resources
* Site of the Month
* Mystery of the Month
* Surge Ahead
* India...is a Stage
* Laugh-a-little
* Signing Off...
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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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The mystery that we shall try to unravel this month is –
Why is culture such a big deal for Instructional Designers. What
are the components of culture and what significance they have for
us. Most of us can recollect incidents from our projects or even
our lives when a cultural faux pas led to situations that ranged
from hilarious to precarious. But then, most of these recollections
pertain to facts that can be recorded and measured. Does learning
about cultures, then, just means putting a fact-sheet together?
Let’s begin our discovery together. Read this Wavelength
article by clicking on: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/culture.htm.
This article presents the instructional design perspective on culture.
Here’s another link that I would like to propose for those
who want to take this thought further.
Please visit http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/guides/crosscultural.html
The quest goes on!
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Resources
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Resources – Writing Style
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This guide to writing by Jack Lynch is simply awesome. It’s
not just the content that will keep you grounded; Mr. Lynch’s
writing style follows his own recommendations – his writing
is alive and interactive; his examples are pertinent and useful!
Check it out yourself at http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
Quoting from online resources can be tricky, but we have to do
it very often, especially when we are developing content for online
delivery. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html
has some elementary information that can help us.
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Resources – Language & Culture
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Click on http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/text10-29-2004-60970.asp
to read an article about Dogpile (Yes!), the search-engine that
had to change its name to gain acceptance in a new market. The cultural
issues that plague International marketers are the same as those
that run havoc in an ID’s life!
Click on http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/initial.html
and read about the shift to multicultural education. This article
introduces the concept of multiculturalism and how it can be implemented.
Though the perspective here is of K-12 education, it applies to
all types of content.
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Resources – ID Concepts
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Check out
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/clrit/learningtree/DCD/WWWInstrdesign/WWWInstrDesign.html.
This is a simple but useful site that you should bookmark even if
you are not developing online content right now. The point about
“Motivating the Learner,” does become alarmingly important
when the user is online!
Read about 10 different Instructional Design theories at: http://www.funderstanding.com/instruction.cfm
. The material here is presented well and as it is in form of readable
chunks, I recommend it for leisure reading. Combine the reading
with some doodling and who knows you may be the one proposing the
eleventh theory.
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Site of the Month
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"Site of the Month" for February is http://www.macromedia.com
.
The Macromedia site is selected the Site of the Month for February.
Here’s Why.
1. The cool grays with a hint of blue – the corporate color
palette is integrated with soft Flash menus.
2. The extremely cautious rollover effects blend with the theme
of the site.
3. The product menu that is ensconced between the top menu and
the presentation window provides easy access to all their products.
4. The site is extensive and highly detailed still it’s easy
to navigate.
5. Flash has been seamlessly interwoven with the site to provide
non-obtrusive animations that supplement the content.
6. Macromedia Flash, the Flagship product of Macromedia is used
in correct measures to ensure that the user experience is enhanced
and not hampered.
Visit out http://www.macromedia.com
and be inspired.
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Surge Ahead
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If you want to assist your neighbor get a glamorous, challenging,
and rewarding job in the area of Instructional Design and Content
Development, here are a few vacancies to recommend.
Click on the links to read more about the skills and experience
requirements for each position.
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Delhi:
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QAI - Senior Instructional Designer and Instructional Designer
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http://www.qaiindia.com/Join_us/e-learning.htm
NIIT - Instructional Designer:
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http://www.niit.com/Admin/ASP/Aboutus.asp?Section=Global&L1=Employment&
;L2=Current%20Positions
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Bangalore:
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Intel – Technical Writer
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http://jobsearch.monsterindia.com/jobsearch.asp?re=11
&sort=dt&pg=1&cy=IN&ss=0&brd=1&vw=b&q=Instructional+Design
(While you are here, you can also check some other Instructional
Design vacancies (In Delhi and NCR) posted by an HR Consultancy
called Techroots Solutions Pvt. Ltd.)
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Mumbai & Kolkata:
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Tata Interactive Services – Project Manager (eLearning)
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http://yahoo.naukri.com/minnernew.php?othersrcpnew=rolesearchnext&
cat=0&filename=010904001001&id=
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Laugh-a-little
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“Are you serious? I am designing a course, writing content
for another, completing the edit fixes for a third one; and I had
to upload these by---why---yesterday! I don’t have time to
laugh!”
Wow! You do seem to be busy! It’s just that I needed your
help on a few courses – tell me if they interest you.
1. The Art of Resume Making:
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I strongly feel that this course would be runaway success in any
organization. It will help the industry in general, by making
it more dynamic!
2. Boss Management:
------------------
Most people in an organization would love to do this, unfortunately
only some excel. This course can carry quotations from such "Maharathis",
we can also added a few videos where these “wonder-employees”
can share their experiences and provide tips to the un-initiated.
3. Rise like a Phoenix:
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...After completing a project, "rise like a phoenix"
for another ... yet another...and another!
The Instructional Designer who works on these courses will automatically
be paid the development fees in form of experienced gained.
What? You don’t want to develop these courses! No Sweat!
Here are a few links that’ll take the stress off your mind.
The Marketing people always make us believe – “Customer
is the King”
But then the king may not always be computer literate. Check out
http://www.writershome.com/humor/dont-compute.htm#ill.
Is this real? You tell me. Don’t leave it midway. The reply
hits the bull’s eye.
http://www.jokecenter.com/jokes/Education/3209.htm
Finally, the joke is on us!
http://www.ahajokes.com/com047.html
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India...is a Stage
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Though creativity is the life-blood of Instructional Design, it
by no means is confined to it. Read about Creativity at http://www.geocities.com/mukul7/CREATIVITY.htm.
Mr. Mukul Saxena is Vice President - NIIT Ltd., and his spontaneity
at creating acronyms has been a source of wonder for many.
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/Instructional_Resources/Regional/India.htm
is a place where you can get some fantastic yet relevant information
about India.
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Signing Off...
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Thanks for being with Wavelength. Before we say goodbye, let’s
promise to meet again. Wavelength shall be back next month, with
more information, news, humor, and enthusiasm. See you then!
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Feedback: Write to me with your views on Wavelength at shafali@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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