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WAVELENGTH -- The ID Newsletter of India -- August 2009
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Hello Friends,

Welcome to this edition of Wavelength.

Are you motivated? It's a big question to answer - isn't it?
It requires certain qualifiers. You'd want to know - motivated
for what...for work, for growth, for a vacation, for
freelance work? All these motivations are different and
they emerge from different needs. If you ask me, I'd say
that in the last few months, the sum-total of motivation
in our industry has shot down the chute like a ball of lead.
We, as a population are feeling low. Unfortunately, it's
never a good time to be feeling low.

If you too are feeling low and clammy - pull yourself out of
the pit. Begin by getting your body into action. Physical work
helps you put your mind into gear - try it. Next, reflect
upon the outcome of your apathy. Is it going to improve the
future? If you were a sensible person, you'd tell yourself
that listless, action-free acceptance of anything would just
maintain the status quo, it won't change a thing.

So act - list the jobs that you could do when times are dull.
Reflect upon the possibilities. Could you pick up a hobby
and add more value to your life, could you rediscover the lost
art of family picnics, could you play a game of carom with your
child, could you fill a gap in your skills by using these hours
that are being devoured by the demon called dejection?

Think over it - each new moment has the potential of being the
best one in your life - and you hold the chisel. You can make
it what you want it to - don't let it pass by un-noticed and
un-appreciated.

Coming back to the affairs of the newsletter kind. This month's
Mystery of the Month article attempts to list five verbs that
could guide you through your writing journey. If you are destined
to be a content writer, become a good content writer - an
advice that comes from the bottom of my heart, as I've had the
misfortune of meeting some otherwise brilliant people who've
been lugging the role of a writer while despising it with every
breath. Of course, to be a content writer you need to have the
right language skills - but to be a good one, you really need
to FORGE ahead! Read "The Writer's Paradise" at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/five_things_that_good_content_writers_do.htm

Wavelength's online courses are currently receiving applications for
their sessions starting October 01, 2009. If you are interested
in either our Instructional Design or Web Content Writing
programs, please visit the Wavelength website and read through
the details of the course that maps with your learning needs.
You are welcome to write to us with your queries at the
email ids provided against each course.

The next sessions of our Contact programs are scheduled to
begin as follows:

* For the Flex 3.0 & ActionScript 3.0 Application Developer
Course beginning on September 13, 2009, please go through the
details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flex_actionscript3_certificate.htm.

* The ActionScript Developer Certificate Course begins its
next session on October 10, 2009. The details are available
at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm.

If you are interested in enrolling for any of these courses,
write to us at connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com or call us at
9810324284/0120-4315505.

I wish you the best for the coming season. May your loved ones
flourish. May the ones you cherish, bloom with health and happiness.

Thanks and Warm Regards,

Shafali

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Table of contents
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From the Editor's Desk
Mystery of the Month
The Cognitive Excursion
ID Section
Technology Section
Cognitive Footprints
Views
Laugh-a-little
Innoken Games
Signing Off...

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Events Calendar
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::: Online Course on Web Content Writing :::
-----------------------------------------------------

The next session of CWWC Online (Content Writing for the Web Certificate
Online) course begins on October 01, 2009.

Please read the details of this course at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/content_writing_for_web_online.htm

Please send queries at: cwwconline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

-----------------------------------------------------
::: Online Courses in Instructional Design :::
-----------------------------------------------------

1. IDCWC Online Course
----------------------------
The next session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design &
Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins on
October 01, 2009. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm
Please send us your queries at idcwconline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

2. IDSP Online Course
----------------------------
The next session of IDSP Online (Instructional Design for
Senior Professionals Certificate Online) course, begins on
October 01, 2009. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idsp_online.htm
Please send us your inquiries at idsponline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

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::: Online Courses for Trainers :::
------------------------------------------

1. IDT Online Course
----------------------------
The next session of IDT Online (Instructional Design for Trainers
Certificate Online) course begins on
October 01, 2009. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idt_online.htm
Please send us your queries at idtonline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

2. ELT Online Course
----------------------------
The next session of ELT Online (Elearning for Trainers
Certificate Online) course begins on October 01, 2009.
Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/elt_online.htm
Please send us your queries at eltonline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

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::: Technology Courses :::
-------------------------------

1. ASDC (ActionScript) Course
-----------------------------------
Classes for the ActionScript Developer Certificate (ASDC)
course begin on October 10, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm

4. FAADC (FLEX) Course
----------------------------
Classes for the Flex 3.0 and ActionScript 3.0 Application Developer Certificate
(FADC) course begin on September 13, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flex_actionscript3_certificate.htm

3. AS2OOP (Object-Orientd Programming) Course
-------------------------------------------------------
Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 with Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on September 12, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript2_oop_details.htm

4. PLFC Course
----------------------------
The Programming Logic Fundamentals Certificate (PLFC) course
begins its first session on September 12,2009. Read the details at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/plfc_certificate.htm

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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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Wavelength Article: The Writer's Paradise!
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Being a writer is tough. It's tough because as a writer you
aren't taken seriously. Imagine a surgeon operating upon a
patient while being dogged by pesky colleagues or a possessive
spouse. Writers who need to accomplish a task as delicate,
even though not as fatal; unfortunately need to write
wherever, whenever, and however!

Read "The Writer's Paradise!" at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/five_things_that_good_content_writers_do.htm
to review five dos for writers who go crazy trying to find
the paradise that doesn't exist!

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The Cognitive Excursion
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This month's Cognitive Excursion brings you a Crossword Puzzle
that will help you cruise down the memory lane to reach the
little Gaulish village where Asterix lives. Leave the worries
of this world behind to reach another world that Gocinny and
Uderzo created with their stories and art!

Challenge yourself at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/cog_ex/cognitive_excursion.htm

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ID Section
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ID Concepts
--------------------
"Instructional Design and eLearning: A Discussion of Pedagogical
Content Knowledge as a Missing Construct" at http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/e-jist/docs/vol9_no2/papers/full_papers/kanuka.htm
is a paper that provides a concise historical overview
of the relationship between instructional design and eLearning.
This paper by Heather Kanuka, first describes instructional
design and then puts it firmly where it belongs, from
the technological as well as the philosophical viewpoint.

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Language & Culture
------------------------------------
I found the page at http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/languages.htm
extremely interesting. It lists more than thirty languages
for which you can read and hear the common phrases (aptly
called the survival phrases). An excellent reference for travel
writers and also the travelers. Though not much on this site is
free, you can still find some free-bytes of information embedded
in certain sections. Check out the Japanese section for some
survival phrases in Japanese.

------------------------------
Writing Style
------------------------------
The Wikipedia page titled "English Writing Style" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_writing_style
explains the term as: "a way of using the English language."
I list this page here because of its quick
classification - it classifies writing style into Personal,
Proprietary, and Academic styles.

I believe that a personal style is what each writer needs to
develop and stay true to - while the other styles would be
donned or discarded as per the requirements of a
particular project.

For the sake of interest (and learning) visit http://www.economist.com/research/styleguide/
to find the Style Guide for The Economist.

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Technology Section
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Learning Content Management Technologies
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Technology's Impact on Learning at http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/tiol.html
is a comprehensive article that discusses the impact that
technology has on the learner's efficiency, and then goes
on to discuss the ACOT (Apple Classroom of Tomorrow) project.
Though this article is somewhat old, but it helps us
understand the constraints that we face in our country today.
The ACOT project results established that the age-old rule
of practice-makes-perfect stays true even for the application
of technology in learning.

This article also lists and explains Howard Gardner's
concept of multiple intelligences from the viewpoint of
a technologically-enabled learning environment.

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Cognitive Footprints
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Abraham Maslow gave us an almost failsafe framework to
understand human motivation. Most would recall the
Hierarchy of Needs pyramid that displays the
physiological needs at the bottom and the self-actualization
needs at the top, as the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid.
Maslow is known for his work on motivation and personality.

Maslow was born as the first of the seven children of a
Jewish Immigrant couple in New York. He worked with
Thorndike (one of the main proponents of Behaviorism,) in
New York, after completing his Ph.D. in Psychology at
the University of Wisconsin. He was also the president of
the APA from 1967 to 68. Maslow is most popularly known for
his theory that human needs are the primary factor in
motivating an individual.

He died of a heart-attack in 1972, but while he was alive
he reviewed his hierarchy to include two other growth
needs to his hierarchy - the aesthetic needs and the
cognitive needs.

1. Read about Maslow's Motivational Theory at: http://www.rpi.edu/~verwyc/MASLOWOH.htm
2. Read his biography, the Meta-needs concept, and some criticism of his ideas at: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html
3. Read about the 17 Meta-needs at :http://www.grokdotcom.com/metaneeds.htm
4. Read about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs at: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadhb.html

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Our Readers and Course/Workshop Participants Views
********************************************************************
Read what the Course Participants feel about Wavelength's Courses:

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1. The Content Writing for the Web Certificate
Online Course (CWWC Online) Participants' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#cwwconlineviews

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2. Instructional Design and Content Writing Certificate
Online Course (IDCWC Online) Participants' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idcwconlineviews

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3. Instructional Design for Senior Professionals Certificate
Online Course (IDSP Online) Participants' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idsponlineviews

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4. Wavelength Trainings/Workshops Participants' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#trainingsworkshopsviews

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5. IDCWC (Contact) Course Participants' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idcwccontactviews

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6. ActionScript Developer Certificate Course
(ASDC) Participants' Views:
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#asdcviews

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7. The ID Newsletter Readers' Views:
-----------------------------------------
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/views.htm

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Laugh-a-Little
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Are you ready to introduce some humor in your content?

Read "Humor and the Multiple Intelligences" by Dee Dickinson,
who forms a novel connection between Howard Gardner's
multiple intelligences and humor through this crisp
article. A link in this article (http://www.markwahl.com/)
will take you to Markwahl's site about the
Multiple-intelligence-Math connection. I know it sounds
"blurry" (Ah...why can't sounds be blurred, and why should
the written word "sound" like anything at all? I wish I
could understand English. Phew!) but...what's the harm in
clicking a couple of links and checking it out yourself?

Now for some real jokes...

Do you have Webular Standarditis? Find out at http://www.kathymarks.com/archives/2005/05/10_signs_you_ma.html

Read some news (real fake news) on how hackers are bored
of what they find inside the encrypted emails at http://www.satirewire.com/news/aug02/encryption.shtml

Keep Smiling:--)

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

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Signing Off...
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My thoughts shall reach you again, next month about the
same time, and in the same place - in your cyberbox!

Shafali

Shafali R. Anand
Editor & Publisher, Wavelength the ID Newsletter
Director & Chief Instructional Architect
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

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