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

How are you today? I am not well. I am suffering from an
irascible sore throat that fails to generate any sympathy
from any one! I've been guzzling barrels of tea laced with
ginger, tulsi, and pepper. If I could look "into" myself the
way Rasputin does in the movie "Anatasia", I would probably
find ginger and tulsi growing in my esophagus! These days I
don't speak, I squeak... yet, no one feels that there is
anything wrong with me...well!

I hold this fickle weather responsible for my plight! The
weather had turned warm and I had put away my woolens. Then
the weather changed. It became cold, damp, and frosty...and
I was caught unawares. Just the way an unprepared trainer
is caught unawares when the audience doesn't turn out to be
the way they were expected to be. "Hey, you almost twisted
the connection out of shape!" Is this what I hear you exclaim?
Honestly, I did my best. I can't stop my TOMA
(Top-of-the-mind Awareness) from interfering. Please excuse
me for this, but let me take the connection a bit further
and tell you about the Mystery of the Month article for
this month.

This month, we review "Audience & The Master Key!" to determine
how we can find audience information that matters. I often
come across questionnaires that ask for information that seems
completely useless and at times redundant. The audience who
is expected to complete the questionnaire considers such
questionnaires a necessary evil. People fill questionnaires
due to a variety of reasons - maintain social relationships,
keep the supervisor in good humor, do what the job requires,
and so on. Not all but many would fill the questionnaires
mechanically; some would even fill it by amusing themselves
through creation of patterns (4321...4321...) some others may
decide not to fill it up at all. Only some extremely hardworking,
meticulous individuals would go through completing a 20 questions
questionnaire "properly"! How do we expect to get authentic
and useful data is this is the case?

This month's Mystery of the Month article throws some light on
the philosophy and concepts that should enable you to profile
your audience correctly.

In the months of March and April, we bring to you two new workshops.

I. eLearning for Trainers (FREE) - March 11, 2007
----------------------------------------------------------
Wavelength shall be conducting another FREE workshop
"eLearning for Trainers" on March 11, 2007 (Sunday). This
workshop is for all those trainers who want to discover how
they can use the power of eLearning to make their trainings
even more effective. If you are interested in attending this
workshop, please register now.

II. ActionScript 2.0 (with OOP Module) workshop (PAID)
- April 16 to April 20, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------------
Registrations for the Open Spring training programs have
closed now, but those who had evinced interest in the
5-Day ActionScript workshop after the closure of the spring
training workshop registrations, will have another
opportunity to participate. We shall hold a
5-Day ActionScript training program from April 16 to
April 20, 2007. The details of this workshop are available at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/AS2withOOPModule_trgworkshop.htm

April will also see the fourth session of IDCWC Online go
online. This session of IDCWC Online shall begin on
April 01, 2007. We've already received registration requests
for about half the seats, if you are interested in joining,
please make sure that you send in your application ASAP.

The next course group for the Instructional Design &
Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC) course and the
ActionScript Developer Certificate (ASDC) course shall
begin on February 25, 2007.

I wish you a very happy and colorful Holi. Chalo rang
dein duniya ko apne rang mein!

Thanks and Warm Regards,
Shafali.

(Editor & Publisher, Wavelength)

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Table of contents
******************

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

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Events Calendar
*******************
1. The next session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design &
Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins on
April 01, 2007. We are receiving applications for this
course till December 18, 2006.

-NEW****Read the views of the IDCWC Online Sessions I & II
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@vibrantwavelength.com with your queries.

2. Wavelength's next course group for the Instructional Design
& Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC Contact) course begins
on February 25, 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
February 25, 2007. Registrations are on for this group.
Read details at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm

4. FREE eLearning for Trainers will be held on
March 11, 2007. Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/eltworkshop1.htm to register.

5. ActionScript Programming (with OOP Module) Training
Workshop will be held from April 16, 2007 to
April 20, 2007. Organizations/individuals interested
in participating in this 5 day (8 hrs/day) workshop
are invited to visit http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/AS2withOOPModule_trgworkshop.htm

6. Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 with Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on April 07, 2007.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click on
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript2_oop_details.htm

***********************
From the Editor's Desk
***********************

http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/editorial.htm

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Mystery of the Month
***********************
Let me begin this section by recounting an experience
that still rankles in my memory. Some years ago, someone
wanted me to fill a questionnaire. I was busy. You all
understand busy...right? We, the eLearning and training
professionals, do not call ourselves busy when we work
10 hours a day. We gather the courage to call ourselves
busy when we are into a daily grind that lasts 14 hours
or more. So, I was busy. Yet, my tongue got all tangled up
when I tried to say "no". The person who wanted me to fill
up the questionnaire was candid enough to admit that there
would be some 30-40 questions in the questionnaire; yet, I
didn't have the guts to say "no"!

How do you say "no" to a sweet, charming, and
quite-obviously-in-need-of-data friend? I could not complete
the questionnaire - I couldn't find time, and whenever I
could snatch a few moments, my mind would be crowded with so
many other, presumably urgent things that I couldn't
concentrate on answering the questions. I
procrastinated...assuming that the next day wouldn't be as
busy as the previous one...and then I lost the courage to
even call this friend and apologize. The result was - an
unfilled questionnaire, a broken promise, and some
misunderstanding! (I know that she subscribes to Wavelength
and I hope that she will take this as a heartfelt sincere
apology.)

The point is...what is it that could help us gather
audience data in a positive manner? What can we do to
ensure that the person finds the process of completing
questionnaires rewarding instead of considering it a drain
on precious minutes and hours?

This month's mystery of the month article discusses
information gathering about the audience from a practical
viewpoint.

Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/audience_masterkey.htm
to read the Wavelength article, "Audience & The Master Key!"

**********
ID Section
**********

-------------------
ID Concepts
--------------------

Trainers often address multiple intelligences while they
train. This is truer in the case of soft-skill trainings
such as leadership, sales communication, etc. Read about
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences at:
http://www.homeedsa.com/Articles/Multiple%20Intelligences.asp

The interesting point to note is that intelligences are
determined not just biologically but culturally as well.
Thus, the magnitude of one kind of intelligence in a
particular society could be vastly different from the
amount of the same kind of intelligence in some other
society. The variations would depend on the kind of value
a society places on a kind of intelligence.

------------------------------
Language & Culture
------------------------------

Culture in Focus: French
------------------------------------

The culture that we shall become acquainted with this month, is
the exotic French culture. France has historically been
considered the global center of artistic affluence. Begin your
exploration of the French culture by clicking
http://www.communicaid.com/france-business-culture.asp
which introduces you to the business culture of France.

I think the French business culture is amazingly close to
the Indian business culture. What do you think? Do remember to
check out the little culture quiz at the end of this page. I
think you will like it :)

Another interesting web page that I have here for you is
http://www.zompist.com/frenchcult.html This page provides
you some insights into the minds of the French.

To the art-lovers I recommend http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en
which provides you a lot of details about the Louvre, the
most famous museum that also has the world’s biggest
collection of art.

At the end, I would like to present a content-mine in form of
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568934/France.html

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Writing Style
-----------------------
Have you ever been intrigued by the logic behind styling
technical text the way it has been? If so click
http://www.wisechat.com/thesis/chapter1.htm to read
through "Authorial and Reader Roles: Background and Theories",
which is the first chapter of Carl Chatfield's thesis. The
content here discusses the concept of the speaker and the
mock reader in depth. It also reviews its application by
analyzing two manuals, "The Microsoft Word User's Guide"
(a primary manual) and "Word for Windows 6 for Dummies"
(a secondary manual) to determine why the latter is bought
by many despite the existence of the former!

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Technology Section
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------------------------------------------------------
Learning Content Creation Technologies
------------------------------------------------------
If you've wondered how computer-based learning can make use
of the constructivism approach to learning, click
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/cnc.html to read the article
"Building on Technology's Promise". Some of the ideas
presented here are important to building interesting and
useful in view of eLearning content development.

--------------------------------------------------------
Learning Content Management Technologies
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The link http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061130/nyth100.html?.v=72
provides us a glimpse into the future of the D2L-Blackboard
battle, while telling the eLearning new-comers about Sakai,
Moodle, and ATutor.

If you haven't been following the D2L-Blackboard war closely,
click http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2006-08-27-blackboard-dispute_x.htm?POE=TECISVA
to read a crisp article about it.

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Media Section
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------------------
Art Concepts:
------------------

The Masters - Frida Kahlo
-----------------------------------------
Frida Kahlo is probably the most known woman artist of the last
century. Her self-portraits and her renderings of her own
reality, tell us the story of a life that was fraught with
physical pain and mental anguish.

Click http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/kahlo.html to read
about Frida Kahlo's life. Then visit http://www.pbs.org/weta/fridakahlo/worksofart/borderline.html
to view five famous self-portraits done by Kahlo. This web
page is also an example of how a lot of information can be
chunked and presented clearly through rollovers. Roll your mouse
over the image in focus to "understand" Kahlo's paintings.

Find pictures of Kahlo's paintings at http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/kahlo/index.html

-----------------------------------
Graphic Design Concepts:
-----------------------------------
If I were to ask you to define graphic design, how would
you go about defining it? A concise definition of graphic
design is available where else but at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_design

I specially recommend the section "Graphic Design History" to
all those who love to build their concepts ground-up.

Do click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_design to read
about the web avatar of graphic design.

-----------------------------------
Media Technology Concepts:
-----------------------------------
If you are a Flash designer, stretching to meet your
deadlines, you may like to go through the nine software
programs listed in the article "Create Flash effects
fast--without Flash" at http://builder.com.com/5100-6371-5081456.html

One of the packages mentioned here is Swish, which of course,
you know all about. You may find the other eight interesting
to explore.

----------------------
Photoshop Pros:
----------------------
When Photoshop was young, it didn't have so many of its
regular features - then how did Schewe manage to wrap the
wooden grains so beautifully on the muscles of this man's arm?
Find out by clicking http://www.adobe.com/ap/print/gallery/schewe/image1.html

And if you looking for more click
http://www.adobe.com/ap/print/gallery/schewe/ to read
"Profile of a Photoshop abuser", an article about Jeff
Schewe's involvement with Photoshop and how their
relationship resulted into the ever-evolving software that
grows to meet our needs even before we consciously realize them.

Check out Schewe's gallery at the top of this page.

---------------
Flash Fans:
---------------
Checkout some refreshingly simple, yet creative Flash
work at http://www.1007.peugeot.co.uk/home.asp

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3D Dons:
------------
Let us shift our focus to outer space and spot some space ships.
Check out the tutorial, "The making the Galaxy Spaceship
Explorer" at http://cg-india.com/making_GalaxyExplorer_3d.html
Also click http://www.wallpaper.net.au/wallpaper/space/
Space%20Fiction%20Andromeda%20Spaceship%20-%20800x600.jpg
To view the Andromeda spaceship! Bon Space Voyage!

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Site of the Month
******************

The site http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/ is crowned the
Site of the Month for February 07. Click the url and wait
for the pre-loader to announce the completion of loading.
(Did I have to tell you this - you would've done it anyway.)

1.Next watch the site build up. Watch the "Media" and
"Community" buttons fall into the left menu and settle at
the bottom. Check out the earthy color theme. What else do
you expect in the wizarding world? Also, don't lose site of
the "Open Marauder's Map" and the "Pensieve" icons. And...If
you haven't recognized him yet, that monster in blue is
Voldmort...shhh...it's He Who Must Not be Named...You know who?

2.The look of the entire site makes it belong to Hogwarts.
Now move your mouse over the different items given in the
left menu. Do you like the rollovers? I do. I like the
white-blue look of the arrows that appear and oscillate when
you roll your mouse over the menu items. Don't forget to keep
your speakers on...the sound effect shouldn't be missed.

3.Now roll your mouse over the media button. The effect of
the parchment roll being pulled down is felt not seen, yet I
request you to analyze it. Do you see the bounce-back? Yes,
when the parchment roll hits the bottom button, it bounces
up a bit then settles down. I just love this - it makes the
entire effect look so realistic.

4.Don't forget to take a closer look at the background of the
left menu area. Do you see the finely detailed work? I think
it is made to resemble the castle's facade.

5.Honestly, I don't like the Tee shirt advertisement that
hangs under the left menu. It breaks my suspension of
disbelief. Students at Hogwarts wear cloaks and not tee
shirts; but then they need to sell their Harry Potter
merchandize to pay for the maintenance of this site
(who knows?)

6.I moved the mouse over the pensieve. Although I expected
the memories in the sieve to swirl (as they are supposed to
do when you touch them with a magical wand) but it didn't
happen. Despite being slightly disappointed, I decided to
click it.

7.So click the pensieve. A new window comes up. I detested
the brown buttons (those that look like they've been
created using a scan of the filter end of a cigarette,) but
I liked the overall presentation. Checkout the panels as
well as the pensieve. Not impressed? Neither was I until
I clicked the four-arrow button at the extreme-right.
Could you find it? Click it to zoom into the video. Did
you see the smoothness with which you can zoom-in and
zoom-out? Awesome!

8.Now click the Marauder's Map icon. I find the depth of
information available through the map quite amazing.

9.I recommend that the Harry Potter fans click the Dark
Mark button to visit the sub-site, which brings to life
the campsite experience.

10.If you love to play online games, click the New Games
icon to play Moody's eye game. The graphics and the
gameplay, both are simple yet enthralling.

Let me stop now and allow you to explore this site, as
you would like to. As the mock-reader of JK Rowling's Harry
Potter books or as the mock-viewer of Warner Bros' Harry
Potter movies. If you haven't stopped by the site yet,
here's the url once again - http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com

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Views
**********

1. IDCWC Online Course Participants' Views:
---------------------------------------------------------------
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) Students' Views:
--------------------------------------------------
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 Students' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------
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:
-------------------------
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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We've found writer jokes, technical writer jokes, designer
jokes, publisher jokes, and also some programmer jokes in
this section. Yet, they are one kind of jokes that have not
yet found their way into this section. These jokes relate to
those of us who look the busiest, who spend more time in the
conference halls than they do at their desks...Have you
already identified them? Oh, you have. Good. This month we
devote this section to our dear...oh so dear managers!

Click http://www.workjoke.com/projoke50.htm to read some good
manager jokes. The first may be a bit off-color but then I
decide to take a measured risk:) After all, managers are the
most mature of us all.

Click http://www.joblatino.com/jokes/managers.html to join a
project manager in a hot air balloon (We all know how hot air
is an abundant commodity with this particular variety of
travelers.)

Find out how managers complicate lives (ahem!) by clicking
http://www.dyoks.com/jokes/joke.cfm?jokeid=448

And if you haven't laughed enough (look around before you laugh)
click http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/b/bad_manager.asp to
view some interesting manager cartoons.

And finally...
Darth Vader...you remember him, don't you? Click
http://www.costumedogs.com/images/03-14-2006.jpg for a
quick recap.
PS: The above link has nothing to do with managers
(though Darth Vader did manage his fleet quite well!)

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Innoken Online Games
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NetPeKhel - India ke Games!
Play Holi Hues to celebrate Holi digitally by clicking
http://www.innoken.com/UtopiaGames/holihues/holihues.htm

Send the above URL to your Indian friends and tell them -
NetPeKhel - India ke Games!

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Signing Off...
**************
I hope you enjoyed this issue of Wavelength.

I look forward to meeting you again, next month after
Holi...with more information bits and bytes.

See you next month! Bye!

Shafali

Shafali R. Anand
Editor & Publisher, Wavelength the ID Newsletter
Director, Wavelength eLearning Consulting & Training
shafali@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@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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