***********************************************************************
WAVELENGTH – The ID Newsletter of India – September 2007
***********************************************************************

Dear friends,

Welcome to this edition of Wavelength.

This month, we expected the weather's attitude to become
softer. We had also expected the breeze to soothe our
summer-weary souls with its cool caress. None of this
happened. The treacherous weather pushed up the mercury
once again, and we were left wondering whether we were
chugging towards summer or away from it. Then suddenly
something happened. Weather decided that a change was due
and that it was time for some cooling showers...and the
mercury lost its grip on the glassy walls of the
thermometer and zipped down.

I wonder why we still don't recognize the behavioral
patterns of weather...why we still expect the unexpected
from this phenomenon that we've had a life-long acquaintance
with? Isn't weather still a stranger? This month's mystery
of the month article helps us connect with another similar
stranger, "The Perfect Online Stranger." This article tries
to summarize the real online learner's personality and helps
you determine how you should structure your online courses,
so that they meet the online learner's requirements. Read
this article at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/online_stranger.htm

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Instructional Design for Senior Professionals Online Certificate
Course (IDSP ONLINE) - Last Date for Receiving Applications:
October 15, 2007.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The most important of all announcements is the announcement
for the Senior Professionals of the industry. If you are
someone with four or more years of experience and who has
already been through the rigmarole of eLearning content
development, training implementation, or teaching; but now
wishes to add instructional design to your work - to take your
content, trainings, or classes beyond the ordinary; please go
through the details of IDSP Online at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idsp_online.htm

We are receiving applications for the IDSP Online till
October 15, 2007, so if you are interested
please send your inquiries at: idsponline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

The important events at Wavelength are outlined below. I recommend
that you select your interest area and send us an email at:
connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

In the beautiful month of November (of course, I do hope
that the weather wouldn't want to defy nature to the extent
of making November scalding hot:), we bring you two short
duration, but extremely effective and useful workshops.
These workshops shall help you acquire the skill of
designing courses and trainings that would be effective
and hence successful.

---------------------------------------------------------------
ELearning Course Design Workshop (2-Days, Friday & Saturday)
(November 16 & 17, 2007)
---------------------------------------------------------------
The focus of the workshop is the design of eLearning content.
This workshop combines the knowledge of instructional design
with the requirements of eLearning medium to enable the
participants design effective eLearning content. This workshop
shall be held at Wavelength, Noida.

If you are a content developer or technical writer with six
months or more of elearning content development experience, or
you are a trainer engaged in the eLearning initiative of your
organization with some exposure to eLearning, you are welcome
to register for it. Find the details at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/elearning_design_workshop_nov07.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------
Training Design Workshop (2-Days, Friday & Saturday)
(November 23 & 24, 2007)
---------------------------------------------------------------
The focus of this workshop is the design of training programs.
This workshop brings together the instructional design
principles and the needs of the trainees, trainers, and the
classroom environment, to enable the participants design
effective training programs. This workshop shall be held at
Wavelength, Noida.

If you are a trainer with six months or more of experience, you
are welcome to register for it. Find the details at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/training_design_workshop_nov07.htm

The details of our contact courses and the IDCWC Online are
provided in the calendar. Please note that all seats for the
upcoming IDCWC Contact course are booked, and we are now
receiving registration for the next session.

I wish you all a lovely Dushehra and a fascinating year ahead.
I also thank all our subscribers, course/training participants,
and all those organizations that have supported Wavelength's
attempts to establish the primacy of complete knowledge and
skill ownership in individuals.

Thanks and Warm Regards,
Shafali.

******************
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...

*******************
Events Calendar
*******************
----------------------
Online Courses:
----------------------
1. The 7th session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design
& Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins on
January 01, 2008. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm
Please send us your queries at idcwcline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

2. The 1st session of IDSP Online (Instructional Design for
Senior Professionals Online Certificate) course begins on
November 01, 2007. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idsp_online.htm
Please send us your inquiries at idsponline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

--------------------------
Training Workshops:
--------------------------
2-Day eLearning Course Design Workshop
(November 16 and 17, 2007 - Friday/Saturday)
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/elearning_design_workshop_nov07.htm

2. 2-Day Training Design Workshop
(November 23 and 24, 2007 - Friday/Saturday)
(September 24-28, 2007). Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/training_design_workshop_nov07.htm

3. 5-Day Instructional Design & Content Writing Workshop
(January 14 to 18, 2008)
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/instructionalDesign_trgworkshop_jan08.htm

If you are interested in registering for any of the above
workshops, please write to us at connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com
or call as at 9810324284/0120-4315505

----------------------
Contact Courses:
----------------------
1. Classes for the Instructional Design & Content Writing
Certificate (IDCWC Contact) course begin on December 02, 2007.
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 October 28, 2007
Registrations are on for this group. Read details at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm

3. Classes for the next Flash Certificate (FCC) course group
begin on October 21, 2007. Registrations are on for this group.
Read details at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flash_certificate.htm

4. Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 with Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on September 29, 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

***********************
Mystery of the Month
***********************
Most of us have heard stories of online content that didn't
work...or at least didn't work as effectively as its
classroom counterpart. Some of these stories are true.
However, the problem that mars online content is not related
to the medium, but to the way we treat the medium. Let me
explain. Out of a hypothetical basket of movies, only a couple
of movies are super-hits, then there are a few that are
almost-hits, some just recover their costs, but many more
of them are flops! Is there a problem with cinema, or does
the problem lie elsewhere?

I would bet my second-tea-of-the-day on the problem lying
elsewhere - actually, I can point out the exact nature of
the problem. The films flop because they don't click with
the audience. This is also true with the online courses.
Unfortunately, the online audience is not easy to
understand. This month, we will try to uncover the true
personality of this audience and try to list some ways to
reach him or her through our online content. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/online_stranger.htm to
read this Wavelength article.

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

-------------------
ID Concepts
--------------------
Landa's Algo-Heuristic theory states that all
"cognitive activities" can be classified into 4 different
types, on the basis of the conscious or sub-conscious
action of the mind. He classifies them as: "algorithmic,
semi-algorithmic, heuristic, or semi-heuristic". In other
words, our mind solves problems either by following a
step-by-step process, or by going through a trial-and-error
method; or by using a combination of both.

Click http://tip.psychology.org/landa.html to read about
the Algo-Heuristic theory in more detail.

----------------------------------
Language & Culture
------------------------------------
"IMPACT OF CULTURE ON LEARNING: SOME THOUGHTS" by Leonid
Khaimovich is a very old article (1995.) However, it makes
a very interesting point about organizational culture and
learning. This article explores the relationship between
Disciplined Problem Solving Approach (which usually exists
at the root of how most organizations approach learning)
and learning.

Click http://home.earthlink.net/~lkhaim/cul_on_l.html to read
this article. As this article is long (and it makes use of
terminology that may be slightly strange to some of us,) I
recommend that you print this article to read it.

------------------------------
Writing Style
------------------------------
Recently, one of the IDCWC Online course participants wrote
to me. He asked me a question that made me feel sad. This
excellent writer asked me - "Is my style of writing too
anecdotal?" Well, as a matter of fact, his writing style IS
anecdotal (and beautiful,) but does it make it bad? Do we
need to snuff the life out of our writing? My reply - an
unequivocal NO." Our writing style needs to be alive - it
needs to change with our audience! Do we talk to the
vegetable vendor in the same manner as we talk to our client?
No, we don't! This is also true for instructional writing.

"Choosing and Writing for an Audience" by Dr. Steven Hale is
an article that brings out the importance of the audience
factor in determining your writing style. Read this article
by clicking
http://www.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/audience.html
Unfortunately, we often do not have the freedom to choose
an audience, but then we do have the freedom to steer our
writing in their direction.

*******************************
Technology Section
*******************************

---------------------------------------------------------
Learning Content Management Technologies
---------------------------------------------------------
If you've just entered the eLearning industry, you may
still be struggling to find a foothold in the treacherous,
ever-shifting sands of the eLearning terminology. The
terminology continues to grow and it continues to change.
For example, a virtual classroom is not the same as an
online course, and an online course is not the same as a WBT!
The vastness and the newness of eLearning is enough to make
even the seasoned professionals wonder - Are we keeping up?
Nevertheless, here's a link that will introduce you to virtual
classroom and inspire you to differentiate it from online
courses and WBTs. Click http://www.learningcircuits.org/2003/oct2003/maiden.htm
to read this article.

Another article, "Who owns the online content that
your teachers create?" by Mary Axelson at
http://www.electronic-school.com/2001/06/0601ip.html, held my
attention. The content that teachers create is being bought
by some organizations. This article should interest the
academicians.

******************
Media Section
******************
This section is now part of Wavelength's Media Newsletter.
For the content of this section and for many other
interesting media-related resources and activities, click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/subscribe.htm and subscribe
to Wavelength - The Media Newsletter!

Please click the following link to view the September issue of
the Media Newsletter. http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/media_nletter_zx684s_sep07.htm

******************
Site of the Month
******************
This month, we train our binoculars on the site of
Leo Burnett, the advertising agency. The site is
http://www.leoburnett.com and it is...different!

It is different in many ways. For starters, it gives us an
opportunity to take a pencil and take a trip into our
childhoods! I am sure you're wondering what I am talking
about. If so, click http://www.leoburnett.com and you shall
comprehend!

As usual, let me tell you about what made me select this
site as Site of the Month for September 2007.

1. This site is different. Oh my god! I am repeating what
I said earlier and committing the unpardonable content-writing
sin. But seriously...I've never seen a site that allows you
to scribble all over itself and then entertains you. Talk
about Gandhigiri! Could you identify the connection? If you
could, you are 24-carat ID material.

2. The pencil, well there is a story behind it. Nevertheless,
what is more interesting is the formation of menus and
submenus. Click "This is Leo" and select "Core Brands". All
the menus are formed through animation. However, you can
click anywhere on the white space to go back to the
previous state.

3. The pencil and the apple, both have a reason to be there
on the site. Read the Apple Story to find why the apple
makes such frequent appearances on the site. Click "We Have
History" then select "Classic Leo" to view the timeline with
the apple slider.

4. I think that all the animations on this site are very
smooth. I also saw some other sites that had implemented
such click-to-form-menus functionality, but the animation
was not that smooth and natural.

5. Check the "We're Idea-Centric" link. The Apple is used
once again...and it is used quite creatively. Check out
those ripples. The ripples are interactive too. Roll your
pencil over the apple and see the ripples grow. Now click
"Amplify" to see how the text also experiences the
ripple effect.

6. Now click "Moving Markets" to see the parallax effect
on the Leo Burnett text at the center. The sub-menu is
formed by sticking the brand names to the Leo Burnett text.
Do you see the little red spots? Rollover to discover
that they are apples and click them to read quotes from
Leo Burnett.

7. Click "Delivering Results" to...what? You want me to
stop? Fine...I stop. I was just trying to help. If you
want to enjoy the site alone...go ahead.

Oh, so you want the URL again. Who am I to refuse? Please
click http://www.leoburnett.com for a cool learning experience.

**********
Views
**********
1. IDCWC Online Course Participants' Views:
----------------------------------------------------------
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. IDCWC (Contact) Participants' Views:
--------------------------------------------------
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.

3. ActionScript Course Participants' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------
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.

4. Reader's Views:
-------------------------
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/views.htm to read
what readers feel about Wavelength.

***************
Laugh-a-little
***************
Humor for writers, about writers, in writers...is the rarest
of the rare material. So we look for humor about those around us.

Check out the symptoms of Grapholism at:
http://www.computerjokes.net/195.htm

Then click http://www.computerjokes.net/144.htm to find more
about the Girlfriend v5.0 application.

And finally check out http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/

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

**************
Signing Off...
**************
I hope you enjoyed this issue of Wavelength. Until next
month, then! Goodbye!

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

*************************************************************************
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

Subscribe/Gift Subscription/Unsubscribe - Click on http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/subscribe.htm
*************************************************************************