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WAVELENGTH – The ID Newsletter of India – September
2006
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Hello Friends,
Welcome to this issue of Wavelength.
Monsoons have now gone by, leaving us a vision clearer
than before...leaving us a will to wipe the slate clean
and begin afresh, learning from the past mistakes building
a future full of competence and commensurate rewards.
Those of us who have been in the eLearning industry,
sitting up late in nights, rising early in the mornings,
struggling to find how we can force-fit more work in the
24-hour day that each one of us has been given; should
take a break. I mean it. I don't mean a break from work,
but from over-work. Take a break...go home in time. Give
yourself some rest and think about ways to eliminate waste
of time. Think of new ways of doing things. When you
create anything new, the gratification of having created
something, overcomes tiredness. It helps work become
enjoyable...and when work becomes enjoyment, you do it faster.
This month, the Mystery of the Month article analyzes
eLearning interactions to make them more lively and potent.
The concepts may not be new in the absolute and
the generic sense, but you will experience them as new
when you apply them to the course or training that you
are currently developing.
Wavelength Organizes AUTUMN TRAINING WORKSHOPs:
--------------------------------------------------
I would also like to inform you of the Autumn Workshops
that Wavelength is conducting between November 20 and
December 01, 2006. These 5-day "open workshops" will be
held for Instructional Designers as well as for Flash
ActionScript Programmers. These training workshops
will be held Monday to Friday. These should
interest organizations that wish to have smaller
teams (1 - 6) persons trained in any of the two disciplines
mentioned above. The maximum number of participants in
these workshops will be twelve. Registrations for the
workshops will be on first-come-first-served basis.
Read details at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/autumn_workshops06.htm
Write to us at autumnworkshops@vibrantwavelength.com for
the fee and discount details.
The IDCWC Online Course - Oct-Dec Session (Registrations open)
--------------------------------------------------------------
The second session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design
& Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC-Online) course shall
start on October 01, 2006. Registrations are currently on
for this session. If you wish to enquire about this course,
please write to at IDCWCOnline@vibrantwavelength.com.
Read details at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm
The IDCWC & ASDC Contact Courses at Noida:
----------------------------------------------------------------
The next course groups for both courses will begin
classes on September 17, 2006.
Thanks for sending in your views and suggestions to us.
We value them tremendously. We also welcome the new
subscribers (both national and international) to be part
of the Indian eLearning environment and see it growing
through the window of Wavelength.
Thanks and Warm Regards,
Shafali R. Anand
(Editor & Publisher, Wavelength)
******************
Table of contents
******************
From the Editor's Desk
Mystery of the Month
ID Section
Technology Section
Media Section
Site of the Month
Views
Surge Ahead
Laugh-a-little
Innoken Games
Signing Off...
*******************
Events Calendar
*******************
1. The next session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design
& Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins
on October 01, 2006. We have started receiving
applications for the course.
* 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
* For queries write to idcwconline@vibrantwavelength.com
2. Wavelength's AUTUMN TRAINING WORKSHOPs begin on Nov'20, 2006.
These training workshops closely simulate the IDCWC and
the ASDC courses. Details of the workshops are available
at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/autumn_workshops06.htm
For more details, write to us at autumnworkshops@vibrantwavelength.com
or call us at 9810412297/9810324284/0120-4315505.
3. Wavelength's next course group for the Instructional
Design & Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC Contact)
course begins on September 17, 2006. Registrations are
on for this group. Read details at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm
4. Classes for the next Flash ActionScript Developer
Certificate (ASDC) course group begin on September 17,
2006. Registrations are on for this group. Read details
at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm
5. Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 using Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on September 30, 2006.
Registrations are now 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
***********************
Mystery of the Month
***********************
This month we set out to resolve the mystery behind the
potency (and at times, the impotence) of eLearning. Why is
it that some eLearning content is weak & uninteresting, and
is unable to hold the learner? What is it that we should do
to make eLearning attractive as well as effective? If the
aim is to just serve oodles of content, we may as well
serve it through a textbook - then what is the point of
serving content through an interactive medium if
interactivity is not combined with instructional design
to involve the learner in the learning experience
completely?
The Wavelength article, "Interactivity - The Lifeline
of eLearning" takes a closer look at interactivity for
eLearning and uses some examples to explain how the
usual interactions such as DnDs, MCQs etc., can be used
to engage the learner at higher Bloom's levels.
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/elearning_interactivity.htm
to read this article.
**********
ID Section
**********
-------------------
ID Concepts
--------------------
1.George Siemens' articles always impress me with their
objectivity and clarity. I recommend a reading of
"Instructional Design in Elearning." to all those who've
just joined the eLearning industry (and my experience with
the eLearning industry tells me that Wavelength addresses
many new and inspired instructional designers each month:))
Here is the link:
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/InstructionalDesign.htm
2.Here's some food for thought for the more
seasoned instructional designers. If you have wondered
whether instructional design too can be implemented
in automatic mode, the answer is "yes." In "Tools
for
Automating Instructional Design," an article by Abby
Kasowitz, at the ERIC Digest site's page
http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-1/tools.html, you will
find a discussion on the AID tools. If it sets you
wondering whether our jobs are about to be taken up by
computers (sigh!) fret not, as these tools are expected
to "eliminate only some physical tasks such as
storyboarding and test generation" (the test questions
would probably never rise above BL3!) I would say that
such tools could be helpful in organizing instruction
for procedural content only.
When I began reading this article, I expected the
mention of ID2 (2nd generation instructional design) to
come up...and it did! An AID tool called ID Expert is
based on Dr. Merrill's ITT! As you go through the
article, you will also find support for my earlier
statement about the questions not exceeding BL3! I quote
from the article, "While expert systems for instructional
design can teach theory validation and function as
authoring tools, they are limited by their inability to
support analysis and design tasks." I nod my head in
complete agreement! My allegiance to constructivism
restricts my support to AID!
------------------------------
Language & Culture
------------------------------
Culture in Focus: Japanese
------------------------------------
This month, we take our quest of different cultures
further by bringing into focus, the culture of Japan!
The Japanese culture is probably the most intriguing of
all. Japanese art, language, script, and above all their
ability to keep their heritage intact, yet become an
economic super-power lends a lot of mystery to Japan. Here
are a few links that should help us understand the
Japanese culture.
The first link is from the great web encyclopedia, the
Wikipedia. This link gives us a bit on everything about
the Japanese culture. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Japan
for an introduction to the Japanese lifestyle and their
popular culture.
Click http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au for information
on the Japanese lifestyle.
If you are traveling to Japan, you may want to browse the
following link before you leave. Read about the Japanese
way of doing business at http://www.apmforum.com/columns/boye55.htm
-----------------------
Writing Style
-----------------------
"Choosing and Writing for an Audience" by Dr. Steven
Hale is
a well-organized article that begins by defining audience and
classifying them as "real" and "intended" audiences.
This
article then delves into the process of choosing an intended
audience and then outlines how this chosen intended audience
should be addressed. Click
http://www.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/audience.html
to read this excellent article.
While the above article by Dr. Hale prompts you to select
your audience with care and underlines the virtues of
writing with a specific audience in mind, the Writer's
Style Guide available at http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/
helps you identify a writing style appropriate to a generic
audience. Of course, the references to Carnegie Mellon
University and the corresponding guidelines are for their
"intended" audience:) and should not be used!
What?
You are still wondering where the guidelines are?! The
traditional left side menu in mauve is the one that you
should explore! All the best!
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Technology Section
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Learning Content Creation Technologies
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1.If you are bored of desktop applications, if you would
rather spend your time connected to the web...on the web
and not staring at the unsocial, Internet-starved desktop;
check out the webtop Flash applications from Goowy. Their
web-email created in Flash (well, they are the first ones
to create a complete web-email using Flash!) has a fresh
look to it. It's free for personal use! Try it out by
clicking http://www.goowy.com/
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Learning Content Management Technologies
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you've wondered about the patent row between BlackBoard
and Desire2learn and want to get to the bottom of it...
1.Begin your exploration with
http://www.brandon-hall.com/free_resources/lms_and_lcms.shtml
to understand what LMSs are all about.
2.Also checkout http://www.prescientdigital.com/Prescient_Research/Articles/
Learning_Articles/Understanding_Learning_Management_Systems.htm
for a good understanding of LMSs and LCMSs.
3. Now click http://www.p2pnet.net/story/9576
for the story.
To develop a clearer understanding of the issue, also look
at the 44 claims in simple English at
http://noedupatents.org/wiki/index.php?
title=Blackboard%E2%80%99s_US_patent_6%2C988%2C138
These links will help you get an eyeful of the controversy
that is reigning supreme in the eLearning literati circles
these days.
******************
Media Section
******************
This month, let us learn about another of the great
Renaissance artists - MichelAngelo! Almost everyone who is
connected to art has heard of this great artist who took the
Renaissance Art to its height.
Art Concepts:
The Masters - MichelAngelo
-----------------------------------------
MichelAngelo, the Italian artist who was born in 1475 in
Italy (Florence) was a painter, architect and poet. Read
the biography of MichelAngelo at
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/m/michelan/biograph.html
To see two of his breath-taking works, click
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/michelan/3sistina/2ceil_ve.html
(The Ceiling of Sistine Chapel) and
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/michelan/1sculptu/david/david.html
(David)
Michel Angelo wrote his thoughts down in his diary. Painting
the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel took him four long years,
which, he wrote - ruined his health completely. Known as the
master of high renaissance, (defined as "the artistic style
of
early 16th century painting in Florence and Rome;
characterized by technical mastery and heroic composition
and humanistic content " at
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)MichelAngelo
surprisingly
is also known as one of the initial proponents of mannerism,
(defined as "A style of painting in Italy and France about
1520-1600,
marked by emotional distortion, harsh coloring, and individualism,
said to be a reaction to the art of the High Renaissance" at
http://www.indiana.edu/~w505a/dictionary.html)!
As most of the work left behind by MichelAngelo can be
classified as High Renaissance, the former title appears
more logical for this great artist whose work never ceases
to amaze us.
-----------------------------------
Graphic Design Concepts:
-----------------------------------
Interface design can be called a science with a generous
helping of art! Seriously speaking...interface design worries
many graphic designers more than they would care to admit.
http://www.ambysoft.com/essays/userInterfaceDesign.html
can
give you a lot of helpful guidelines for creating good
interfaces. You may also find that the six principles that
are listed for creating good interfaces, immensely useful.
-----------------------------------
Media Technology Concepts:
-----------------------------------
There is a possibility that you are already using these
features of Photoshop 7 CS2; but if you are not do
explore them. Do check out "Revolutionary Vanishing Point,"
"Smart Objects", and "Image Warp." I think these
three
can really add an extra hour to a graphic designer's day.
(It's then up to you to spend that hour with yourself
rather than spending it with...well, your work.)
Click http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/newfeatures.html
to make your day.
----------------------
Photoshop Pros:
----------------------
If you created cartoons you would know what goes into
good cartooning. It isn't just the eye for detail, nor
is it only the ability to see the bigger picture - cartooning
requires the ability to look at the big picture, review
the details - then determine what changes will result in
the effect that you look for! Click http://www.einarlunden.com/
to visit the cartoon gallery of Einar Lunden, and be
amazed by this wonderful synthesis of Mr. Lunden's
creativity and Adobe's technological expertise! I
just loved - "Gesundheit:"!
---------------
Flash Fans:
---------------
http://www.eye4u.com/home/
is where you can find the
demos of some flashy intros and cool cartoon animations
that they've done for their clients.
------------
3D Dons:
------------
Every month I try to bring you links that, I hope,
inspires you to push the bars higher for yourself. One
such link for those who prefer the three-dimensional
to the planer is: http://www.the123d.com/characters/ideyetronics/bodybuilder1.html
The model is very realistic, no doubts! But the
presentation of the model, including the different views
as well as the close-ups, is excellent.
Another link that I would like to share here is
http://www.amazing3d.com/services/trans1.html,
which is
a gallery of 3D models that organizations/individuals
can buy. Their organic models do not impress me, but
the automobile models are quite nice.
******************
Site of the Month
******************
The Site of the Month for September is very different
from my usual selection! (I confess that I like
Flash-based sites more:)
This site is an informational site, and as an audience
seeking specific information, I found this site amazing.
Well here's the web url... http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/psa540/index-e.html
This url will take you to the page for PowerShot A540
from Canon. I was interested in finding some information
for this particular camera, but if you are interested
in some other model of theirs, the combo-box at the
top left should be helpful.
Here's what I liked about this site.
1. The site is a cool combination of blues and grays.
The color-scheme is neutral, thus allowing you to
focus on the content.
2. The only picture on the page is that of the camera.
There is absolutely no clutter. Everything on the
page can be called "relevant information."
3. The important information bits, such as the resolution,
the optical zoom, and the size of the LCD monitor
are provided with the photograph of the camera. The
important information is given to you at a glance.
4. The top row of blue buttons is simple and imitates
a tab interactive. When a particular button is clicked
it remains highlighted, so that you don't lose your
place on the site.
5. The sections are well organized in terms of content.
Click the Overview button to see what I mean. The
Overview introduces the basic details of the camera.
At the left side on this page is a simple text menu,
which when clicked, expands below. Each feature of
the camera is discussed in detail.
6. The hyper-linking is extremely logical. If you buy
a camera from canon, I don't think you need to ask
anyone about your camera. You will find information
on its features, buttons, and functions here - organized
in an instructionally sound manner.
7. The site doesn't stop after giving you information
on how you should operate the camera. It goes a step
further and tells you about the entire system of
transferring data from your camera to your computer.
8. The graphic treatment of the site is simple,
elegant, and instructional. Graphics have been
added only to support information and for this
reason they don't become bothersome.
9. If you are interested in the paraphernalia, there
is information on that too. There is nothing that
has been left unattended. I would call it a
complete tutorial on the A540.
10. Don't forget to look at the sample images
section. Talk about using ARCS!
I am sure that the instructional designers and the
technical writers will discover a lot of good
things in this site. Do click http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/psa540/index-e.html
to check whether my assertion holds!
**********
Views
**********
1. Reader's Views:
-------------------------
Click on http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/views.htm
to read what readers feel about Wavelength.
2. ActionScript Course Students Views:
-----------------------------------------------------
Click on http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/wavelengthians.htm#asdcstudentviews
to read what ours students feel about the ActionScript course (ASDC)
and Wavelength.
3. Instructional Design Course Students Views:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Click on http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/wavelengthians.htm#idcwcstudentviews
to read what ours students feel about the Instructional
Design course (IDCWC) and Wavelength.
************
Surge Ahead
************
September's sweetness also makes us feel altruistic! Here
are some links that can help you add more punyam to
your account with Chitragupta!
ELearning industry is growing in India...so are the
jobs - Instructional Design, Media, ActionScript Programming,
Project Management - forward this issue of Wavelength to
all those who would like to be part of the present and
future of the eLearning industry!
The following jobs seem to be in the limelight!
Instructional Design Jobs:
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Location: US
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NIIT LTD
Content Developers / Technical Writers
(Exp: 1 to 3 years)
Write to hr@cognitivearts.com or click on
http://www.niit.com/Admin/ASP/Aboutus.asp?
Section=Global&L1=Employment&L2=Current%20Positions
--------------------------
Location: Delhi, NCR
--------------------------
FCS
Senior Instructional Designers (3 to 5 yrs)
Project Manager ( >6 yrs)
Project Lead (4 to 7 yrs)
Content Writer( >1 yr)
http://www.fcsltd.com/home/careers/careers.asp
INFOPRO
Instructional Designers (1 to 3 yrs)
http://learning.infoprocorp.com/careers/careers.html
NIIT
Sr. Project Managers (4 to 5 yrs)
Instructional Designers (Exp: 2+ years) (Also at Mumbai)
Write to: disha.bhatnagar@niit.com
http://www.niit.com/Admin/ASP/Aboutus.asp?
Section=Global&L1=Employment&L2=Current%20Positions
--------------------------
Bangalore
--------------------------
MENTORWARE
Technical Writer (1 to 3 yrs)
http://www.mentorware.com/careers/careers_ind.html
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Pune
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BRAINVISA
Project Manager(Exp 3 to 7 yrs)
http://www.brainvisa.com/opening3.html
Instructional Design::Project Lead (Exp: 2 to 8 yrs)(Also at Delhi)
http://www.brainvisa.com/opening5.html
Content developer / Content writer (Exp 1 to 3 yrs)(Also at Delhi)
http://www.brainvisa.com/opening4.html
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Mumbai:
--------------------------
LIONBRIDGE
Instructional Designers
Content Writers
Technical Writers
(Exp: Not mentioned)
http://www.lionbridge.com/careers/empdisplay.asp?chkJobCat=18&chkJobCat=12
&chkJobLoc=45&chkJobLoc=44&intPageID=584&jobSearch=Search
LEARNING MATE
Mgr of Projects/Project Mgr./Project Leader ( 1 to 8 yrs)
Instructional Designer (Exp: 3 to 8 years)
Team Leader::Writing and Instructional Design (Exp: 5 to 8 years)
Lead Instructional Writer (Exp: 3 to 5 years)
Instructional Writer (Exp: 1 to 3 years)
http://www.learningmate.com/index.html
->Careers ->here
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Chennai
--------------------------
LIONBRIDGE
Sr./Lead Instructional Designer (4 to 5 yrs)
Sr.Project Manager/Project Manager ( >5 yrs)
http://www.lionbridge.com/careers/empdisplay.asp?chkJobCat=18&chkJobCat=12&
chkJobLoc=45&chkJobLoc=44&intPageID=584&jobSearch=Search
Flash ActionScript Jobs
***************************
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Kolkata
--------------------------
INFOSOFT GLOBAL
ActionScript Developer (Exp: 2 to 3 years)
http://www.infosoftglobal.com/Careers.asp
> Job CodeIGPLASD08
pallav@infosoftglobal.com
--------------------------
Bangalore
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MENTORWARE:
Flash Engineer (>2 yrs)
http://www.mentorware.com/careers/careers_ind.html#flashEngineer
--------------------------
Delhi
--------------------------
FCS
Flash Developer
http://www.fcsltd.com/home/careers/careers.asp#FDev
--------------------------
Mumbai
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LEARNING MATE
Flash Developer/Team Leader (Flash) (Exp: 1 to 3 years / 4 to 6
years)
http://www.learningmate.com/index.html
->Careers ->here
*************
Media Jobs:
*************
--------------------------
Pune
--------------------------
MAXIMIZE LEARNING
Media Designers (Flash MX, Authorware, Photoshop,Dreamweaver, and
Fireworks)
http://www.maximizelearning.com/pop_up_gd.htm
Check out Lead Positions at: http://www.maximizelearning.com/pop_up_learnPro.htm
--------------------------
Delhi
--------------------------
FCS
Flash Designer
http://www.fcsltd.com/home/careers/careers.asp#FD
--------------------------
Mumbai
--------------------------
LEARNING MATE
Graphics: Team Leader (Exp: 6+ years)
Graphics Illustrator (Exp: 2 to 4 years)
Graphics Designer (Exp: 1 to 3 years)
Visualizer (Exp: 2 to 4 years)
http://www.learningmate.com/index.html
->Careers ->here
***************
Laugh-a-little
***************
Acronyms have been the breeding ground for humor
for a long-long time. Click http://www.pinetree.net/humor/computeracronyms.html
to find how some computer related acronyms can
tickle your funny bone. APPLE and WINDOWS
seem especially interesting.
The following link has information (ahm!) that
would probably appeal to male programmers! Hey...No! I
am not using sexist language! It's just that the
content of http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/88q2/3785.4.html
brings cars and programming languages together...and
men do seem to be more interested than women in both
of them:-) I plead humor as my defense for ruffling
any feathers that I may have!
To round it up...here's a bit about Bill Gates,
PC, Mac, and so on. Click the following links:
http://www.elsop.com/wrc/humor/ms_genes.htm
http://www.elsop.com/wrc/humor/ms_cars.htm
And...http://www.elsop.com/wrc/humor/shipwrek.htm
Have a great laugh!
****************************
Innoken Online Games
****************************
http://www.innoken.com/games.htm
**************
Signing Off...
**************
I hope you enjoyed this issue of Wavelength.
I look forward to meeting you again, next month - with
more with more information, news, humor, and
enthusiasm...right there, in your mailbox!
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
*************************************************************************
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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