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WAVELENGTH – The ID Newsletter of India – September 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.

August provided Wavelength with a landmark in its journey to
connect and serve the Instructional Design community. The
first IDCWC Course Group completed their course and received
their certificates on August 28, 2005. Interested organizations
can see the profiles of Wavelength Certified Instructional
Designers of Course Group-I by clicking on:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/wavelength_certified_ids.htm.

In August, Wavelength also organized the
"Instructional Visualization for eLearning" workshop. Details
of this workshop can be viewed at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/visualizationWorkshop_details.htm.

This month we begin another serial,"Different Dimensions of
Accessibility." The article "Accessibility -- A Conceptual
Framework", which is also the Mystery of the Month for
September, will introduce you to the concept of accessibility
and also provide you an analytical glimpse into some of the
important guidelines. The article tries to build relevance for
each of the guidelines, so that you may be prompted to
implement accessibility in an instructionally effective manner,
because you understand what "in-accessibility" is.

I bring this issue of Wavelength to your mailbox with the hope
that you will continue to enlighten and motivate me with your
invaluable suggestions, subscriptions, and views.

Have a beautiful September!

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
Serials -- Different Dimensions of Accessibility
Readers' Views
Surge Ahead
India...is a Stage!
Laugh-a-little
Signing Off...

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NEW!
-----

1. Wavelength's next course group for the Instructional Design
& Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC) course begins on
September 18, 2005. Registrations are now open for this course
group. Click on
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm

2. This month, Wavelength is organizing its
3rd FREE Instructional Design Orientation workshop(IDO-III),
on September 11, 2005. This workshop suits Instructional
Designers with 0-2 years of experience in writing and
related areas. Please read the details of this workshop at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idorworkshop3.htm

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

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

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Mystery of the Month
***********************

If you have been working on courses that are designed for
accessibility, and have been doing it without understanding the
"why", please read the Wavelength article,
"Accessibility -- A Conceptual Framework" at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/accessibility.htm to feel it.
The article will help you simulate inaccessibility...with a hope
that it will give us all a new perspective.

This Mystery of the Month article will also serve as an
introduction to the new serial that begins this month. This
serial called "Different Dimensions of Accessibility" will bring
to you a collection of the best links that will help you
implement accessibility in your online courses, without
burdening you with redundant information.

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Serials -- Different Dimensions of Accessibility -- Episode I
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Welcome to this episode of "Different Dimensions of Accessibility."

I implore you to first read the article
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/accessibility.htm. This article
will give you a foothold into the much traveled yet less
understood realm of accessible online content publishing. It will
help you answer the following questions, among many others that
you may have.

- What is accessibility?
- Why am I expected to create alt text for images?
- How will it help anybody if I provide transcripts for audios?
- What are these guidelines?
- Do I have to implement all the guidelines if I want to make
my content accessible?

Also read a short and pertinent article on accessibility at:
http://www.htmlhelp.com/design/accessibility/why.html

The web page at http://www.mandarindesign.com/uie.html has some
very interesting and useful links. I recommend that you perform
the color-blindness check on a site of your choice. The results
will surprise and, I hope, inspire you.

To get a view of the legal angle on accessibility, I recommend
that you visit the following URL.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264/

The above URL will lead you to the following two URLs,
which I feel are extremely important from the
viewpoint of a contentdeveloper.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264/s22.html
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264/s23.html

The most important URL is http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/. This
URL gives us the W3C guidelines for making web-content
accessible. The guidelines are available as pdf, html zip
archive, and text file. Choose the one you find most convenient
and read through it.

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Resources
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-------------------------
Resources -- Writing Style
-------------------------

1. In this article "GUIDELINES ON STYLE FOR SCIENTIFIC WRITING"
Will G Hopkins PhD, provides a crisp and concise summary of
the rules that should be applied for scientific writing.
These rules can be very useful for IDs who frequently create
content of scientific nature. The "FONTS & SYMBOLS" section
is especially useful. Click on
http://www.sportsci.org/jour/9901/wghstyle.html and save it
in your favorites.

2. Check out http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/style/default.html
to refresh your writing style. I would like to recommend a
quick tour of this URL when you are changing projects. It
often happens that when we work with tightly enforced
project-specific style guidelines, our writing style changes,
and this changed style stays with us even when we move on to
another project. This article called "Essentials of Writing,"
will help your writing shed the previous project's style
cloak and don the new one with ease.

3. A special link in the above article is
http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/style/plagiarism/plagiarism.html
I wish such honor codes will soon become part of our
educational system as well.

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

1. Do you know when Pidgin became Creole? Do you know why Nushu
died? If you want to know the nuances of language, if you
want to explore the causes of births and deaths of languages,
if you like to explore the mysteries of humankinds most
wonderful gift...check out "What is Language?" at
http://anthro.palomar.edu/language/language_2.htm.

2. A link embedded in the above article
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/07/2/l_072_04.html)
will take you to the article "Birth of a Language." This
article probes into the possible causes behind the deaf
Nicaraguan children creating a sign language (complete with
syntax) that was quite different from the normal sign
language used around the world. What is important to note
here is that the children rejected the administration's
efforts to teach them the usual sign language and created
their own instead! I strongly recommend that you view the
video provided at this page.

------------------------
Resources -- ID Concepts
-----------------------

1. Have you heard of Gestalt? Sure you have! So tell me about
it because I never understood it completely. Somewhere down
the line I get so thoroughly confused that I stop reading
about it. But this article puts Gestalt in the correct
perspective, in proximity, in the right order, with
symmetry, follows the law of closure, and maintains
continuity. If you don't "understand" what I mean, click on
http://chd.gse.gmu.edu/immersion/knowledgebase/strategies/cognitivism/gestalt/gestalt.htm.

2. If you are new in ID and want to get an idea of what
different terms, theories, models, and approaches mean,
you will get a lot of information at
http://wwwadmin.cl.uh.edu/itc/course/INST/6031/html/pedagogy.html

3. http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/development.html
is another link that presents Gagne's Nine Events in a
beautiful way. This is what I mean when I say that good ID
can do a lot without harassing the graphic designer and the
programmer!

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

This month the Site of the Month award goes to...
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

As usual, you will want to know why this site is so cool...
and as usual, here's my list of the virtues of this site.

1. It is a site that deals with history; all you need to do is
to look at it, and you will know. Of the wide variety of
reasons, I will draw your attention to only a few. Check out
the yellow (graphic designers may scream - "Too Yellow!")
parchment background, with the organic treatment of the
interface, and the glossary tab! I guess the photograph just
adds to the look.

2. I am not too happy with their selection of fonts, especially
the "PBS Program Club Pick" font, but some other elements
drag my attention away from the "nazar-battu" font. (For
those who do not understand Hindi - a Nazar-battu is an
eye-sore!) Click on the picture of Goering and Hitler, to
open the page that shows the case files 2005 program details.
Forget about the content on this page, but check out the clip
and the hand-lens at the top-right corner.

3. Check out the details of the programs on the same page. The
icon, the brief, and the link; the information is presented
in a very organized manner. If you've come across sites that
present some icons and titles and expect you click on them
without knowing where they might take you, you will
appreciate this.

4. The top menu is especially interesting. To complete the look
of a file (perhaps a history detective's case file) the top
menu is formed using sticker tapes. The translucent tapes
end in labels of different colors, ensuring that your eye
doesn't tire of seeing yellows and blues.

5. The Games & Quizzes section has some interesting games to
play. I would like to draw your attention not to the games
but to the way they are presented. The case file theme
continues, but the lens appears once again. The buttons
are in form of circled text on the file page. It looks so
natural!

6. The pictures are pasted in the case-file using the sticker
tapes. Perfectly logical, very organic!

7. By the way, Instructional Designers can explore some of
these games to get an idea of how text-based games can
lend interest to content (without giving sleepless nights
to the programmers.)

I think I should leave you to do your bit of sleuthing! I am
sure you will uncover much that yet lies undetected and
unexposed. Don your overcoat and cap if you are an admirer
of Sherlock Holmes, bring your knitting along, if you love
Ms. Marple - and get down to some super detective work!
For the first clue - click on

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

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Readers' Views
*****************

Click on http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/views.htm to read
what readers feel about Wavelength.

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Surge Ahead
************

What's new this month?

Some more jobs, what else?

What is the point? Everyone who receives Wavelength will
apply...and they tell us that more than 500 people have
received Wavelength this month.

Check out the IBM jobs...they look HOT!

You are right...they do look COOL!

HOT!

COOL!

HOT...

...

You decide!

------------
Chandigarh:
------------

Cogniter

Content Writer
http://www.cogniter.com/Job_Content_Write.htm
(You will need to send your resume at jobs@cogniter.com with
the job code CHDCON in the subject line.)

------
Pune
------

HSBC bank

Instructional Designer (Experience: 3 to 5 years)
http://jobsearch.monsterindia.com/getjob.asp?
JobID=33124588&AVSDM=2005%2D08%2D16+03%3A20%3A32&
Logo=1&cy=IN&ss=0&brd=1&sort=dt&vw=b&q=Instructional+designer

Brainvisa

Project Managers (Experience: At least 3 years to be in
eLearning business domain, and 2 years in leading teams.)
http://www.brainvisa.com/opening3.html

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Bangalore
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IBM

1. Project Manager (Experience: 7+ years of experience in PM,
with at least 4 years of it in the eLearning domain.)
2. Senior Instructional Designer (Experience: Over all
experience of 10 yrs and above in eLearning. 5+ years of
experience in Instructional Design)
3. Lead Instructional Designers /Content developers
(Experience: Some ID experience and 1 or 2 years team
management experience)
4. Lead Instructional Designers /Content developers
(Experience: 2+ years of experience in content development/
creative writing in the eLearning domain)
5. Graphic Artist (Experience: 3+ years of experience in
design and development of graphics and animation)
6. Courseware Engineer or Multimedia Developer cum web
designer (Experience: Minimum 3 years experience in
Multimedia Content development and / or Web development)

Check out the following URL for all the above jobs.
https://forms.bpfj.intronet.com/ibm/Forms/ap/expro/VacancyDetails.jsp?
vacancyCode=32464

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Delhi - NCR
-------------

Brainvisa

Content developer / Content writer (also at Pune)
http://www.brainvisa.com/opening4.html

Instructional Design - Project Lead (also at Pune)
(Experience: 2 to 8 years)
http://www.brainvisa.com/opening5.html

--------
Chennai
--------

SifyCorp/Sify eLearning

Content Writers / Instructional Designers
(eLearning Services, Chennai)
http://www.sifycorp.com/scripts/workcontent.asp?
id=23&title=Current%20Openings

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India...is a Stage!
*******************

Here are a couple of tools from two Indian companies that I
came to know about this month. These tools are designed with
a view to improve the productivity of Instructional Designers.

My own experience suggests that tools should be used only after
careful deliberation, and what the Instructional Designers need
to know is that a tool is only as good as the designer who
uses it. I've seen project productivity go up when tools &
templates have been used yet my personal belief is that they
need to be used with care. Tools & templates may improve the
project productivity but at the cost of creativity. The
approach of standardizing the creation process through use of
tools may work well with technical courses, but with soft-skill,
non-technical higher education, and K-12 courses, they tend to
soak up the freshness of the course.

All said and done, who doesn't want to be more efficient, so
here are the two tools from two Indian companies that project
managers and team-leaders may want to explore:

1. Check out the Elicitus Interactivity Builder from Harbinger
Systems. It allows you to create content and add
interactivity in eLearning courses without programming.
Visit http://www.elicitus.com for details of the product.
You can also download a free trial at this site.

2. Also check out Rapidel http://www.rapidel.com from
Brainvisa, a tool that creates Flash Courses using
Microsoft word.

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Laugh-a-little
***************

Sigh! Humor isn't for us. We can't laugh. We are Instructional
Designers. We carry the burden of ensuring that the human race
and its progeny is educated in the most effective manner. It's
no laughing matter.

I too am quite serious about it...believe me and read, "What's
so funny about instructional design?" at
http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/humorinstruct/index.htm. Is
there a real instructional designer out there who walked into
a bar...especially from Mumbai? I thought not...ID is
heady enough!

All of you (not just new, fresh, and starry-eyed instructional
designers) should definitely check out
http://www.campusnut.com/lovecalculator.cfm, add your name
along with your dream-person's name to the two fields, and
find out if you are made for each other. Those who are
"settled-for-life" can have fun reading the smart messages
and figure out if the hot-couples in your organization are
really so hot!

(A Note of Caution: Don't take the Love Calculator too
seriously, it might just be a random number generator!
Who Knows?)

Check out some humor theories at
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~jteslow/pptext.html. You will be
"seriously" surprised to know how serious humor can be.

Those who would like to experiment with humor in their
trainings may enjoy this pdf:
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-71798-173628/unrestricted/Whisonant.pdf
According to my information, no study has ever proved that
humor makes learning more effective, but many studies have
shown that they do help the learner become more interested in
the training (if humor is implemented properly.) According to
ARCS, higher attention level leads to a more motivated
learner,which in my opinion should increase the effectiveness
of learning. So where did we begin?

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Signing Off...
**************

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: Send your views on Wavelength at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/fsg/formfeedback.htm

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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