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WAVELENGTH – The ID Newsletter of India – December 2008
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Hello Friends,

Welcome to this edition of Wavelength.

What is your New Year resolution? If you haven't made any
so far, I request you spend some quiet time, away from
everyone and make a resolution...make a promise to yourself
that you would love to keep. You may want to begin by
reflecting upon who you are and what you desire to be. If
you are wondering how you could make a difference in the
New Year, here are my thoughts.

We the ones who have pledged our lives to the cause of
learning, could do our bit to make learning more effective
and efficient...and above all else, make it a happy
experience for our learners. Let us strain ourselves to
focus our ability in one direction - making learning
better - making it worth the learner's while! We cannot
let the genuine learner sink into the quagmire of failed
promises made by those who consider teaching and training
a money-making machine and wheedle people into paying for
a shred of paper that is not even worth itself!

Though we cannot change those who sell empty dreams to
the unseeing eyes; but we can do something for the
discerning few who are stumbling through the chaos,
desperately seeking quality learning! We can establish a
win-win relationship with them where we exchange value
for value. In this New Year, let us pledge to make
learning happen!

At Wavelength, we resolve to stretch our abilities beyond
our best to make learning a beautiful experience for those
who wish to pursue their dreams by strengthening their
competencies and creating value for their customers. We
invite the seekers of knowledge and competence to join us
in our quest. Let us grow together!

On a slightly different note - learning isn't all about
mopping the sweat off your brow and then slogging some
more - it's also about having fun with learning. This
month's Mystery of the Month article helps you understand
how a training game works and how it makes learning fun!
Read, "The Game of Training Games!" at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/training_games.htm

Wavelength is flagging off two new courses, the IDT Online
and the ELT Online, on January 01, 2009. We welcome all
our online course group participants onboard. We hope that
you will enjoy your learning trip with us.

The next sessions of all the four online courses shall
begin on April 01, 2009. We shall announce the opening
of registrations for these courses soon.

About the contact programs at Wavelength:

For the Flex Application Developer Course beginning on
January 11, 2009, please go through the details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flex_certificate.htm.

And for those who reside in NCR - Delhi, the next sessions
of the IDCWC course, the ActionScript course, and the Flex
course are all scheduled to start on January 11, 2009. 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 a beautiful, happy, warm, and snug New Year!
May your wishes come true and may your resolutions stay
strong!

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 - *** NEW EPISODES!!! ***
** HIVE - New Episode!
** CLICK - New Episode!
** PEARL - New Episode!

ID Section
Technology Section
Site of the Month
Views
Laugh-a-little
Innoken Games
Signing Off...

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Events Calendar
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Online Courses:
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1. The 12th session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design &
Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins on
April 01, 2009. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm
Please send us your queries at idcwconline[at]vibrantwavelength[dot]com

2. The 7th session of IDSP Online (Instructional Design
for Senior Professionals Certificate Online) course, begins
on April 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
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1. The 2nd session of The IDT Online (Instructional Design for Trainers
Certificate Online) course begins on
April 01, 2009. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idt_online.htm
Please send us your queries at idtonline[at]vibrantwavelength[dot]com

2. The 2nd session of The ELT Online (Elearning for Trainers
Certificate Online) course begins on April 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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Contact Courses:
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1. Classes for the Instructional Design & Content Writing
Certificate (IDCWC Contact) course begin on January 11, 2009.
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 January 11, 2009.
Registrations are on for this group. Read details at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm

3. Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 with Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on February 28, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Read details at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript2_oop_details.htm

4. Classes for the Flex 3.0 Application Developer Certificate
(FADC) course begin on January 11, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flex_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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Everybody loves training games! The trainees love them
for their ability to kill inaction and ennui; the
trainers love them for filling their classes with
enthusiasm and delight; and the instructional designers
love them for the opportunity to create fun and excitement.

Despite all the euphoria associated with training games,
most training games fail to reach their goal, which is
enhanced learning effectiveness. This month's Mystery of
the Month article helps you understand how a training
game works and how it makes learning fun!
Read, "The Game of Training Games!" at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/training_games.htm

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The Cognitive Excursion
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The December 2008 issue has something for everyone.
The CLICK aims at reconnecting you with the mysterious
but enthralling discipline of psychology while the PEARL
takes you back to your childhood with its theme of
comic characters. The HIVE, as always aims at exciting
your gray cells with a shot of the High Intensity Verbal Espresso.

\Enjoy the Cognitive Excursion at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/cog_ex/cognitive_excursion.htm

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ID Section
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ID Concepts
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If you are engaged in developing content for the online
adult learner, you will find "Meeting the Needs of
Adult Learners in Developing Courses for the Internet" by
Linda Stilborne and Lindy Williams at http://www.isoc.org/inet96/proceedings/c4/c4_2.htm useful. This write-up begins with an overview of Internet from the
learning angle and then discusses the adult learner's
online behavior.

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Language & Culture
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How culture impacts learning, is a question that worries
any good instructional designer. As an instructional
designer you could be called upon to create content for
any audience residing anywhere on the globe. "Diversity,
Learning Style and Culture" by Pat Burke Guild at http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/styles/guild.htm
is an interesting review of the impact of diversity
and culture upon the effectiveness of learning. The
article speaks of the impact of Cognition,
Conceptualization, Affect, and Behavior upon the
learning style of an individual. It then characterizes
the learner on the basis of different learning styles
and personality traits identified by different
learning psychologists.

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Writing Style
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"Developing a Writing Style" by Peter Smith is a good
guide to writing style, though right at the beginning
he declares that "this is just one person's view, not an
Official Faculty Guide." I like the tone of the article.
It is direct yet not instructional! I agree with the
author's viewpoint that you need to read well if you
want to write well! I also concur with his thoughts the
read-aloud test's efficacy! Click http://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/teaching_staff/Smith/students/writing.html
to read this excellent article.

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Technology Section
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Learning Content Management Technologies
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Have you ever screamed at your computer screen when the
spell-checker gave you a go-ahead despite your expectation
becoming an exception, and your files having become flies!
If the "Context-Sensitive Spelling Correction" system
becomes a reality, those screams and gasps would become a
thing of past. Click http://www.merl.com/projects/spelling/
to read about this project. Click http://www.merl.com/projects/
to read about other interesting ongoing projects at
Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories.

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Site of the Month
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How do you make the most of your life?

Yes?

We have about 80 years or 29200 days or 700800 hours to
live...and we let many of these hours and many of those days
go by...not making the most of them! But Mayflies have just
one day or 24 hours to live...and fill their day or their
life with moments of happiness and joy - They don't let
life go by.

Meet the Mayfly at http://www.vodafonemayfly.co.uk/ and give
life a bear hug!

Here are the reasons why I recommend this wonderful site to you.

1. It is the most appropriate New Year gift that I could think
of bundling up with this newsletter. The message of the
mayflies can fill your life with happiness and
satisfaction...so if you aren't already into living each
moment of your life - click the link...pronto!

2. When you click the ENTER button, you reach a beautiful
place; and while you look at the serene scene, the mayflies
approach. Roll your mouse over a mayfly and watch it glow
ethereally. Then click it to read the message.

3. Now click "The Story of a Mayfly" link at the top-left.
The video of this story is probably the most beautiful
thing on this site. When it begins, you assume that it's a
video, but as it progresses, you see the magic sweeps of an
artist's brush. The fantastical rendition of the Mayfly's
story is nothing less than video art!

4. Continue to read the messages as you browse. The bottom
bar contains a lot of dots - those dots are the mayflies. In
fact, the bottom bar is a dynamic map that tells you the
location of every mayfly in the vicinity. Roll your mouse
over the "Show Names" button at the top-right corner of
this bar. The names of the mayfly creators would replace
the dots.

5. If you are wondering about the mayfly creators, click
"Give Life to a Mayfly" from the top menu. Now you can
create your own mayfly that would be born within 24 hours
and then live for another 24 hours (when you will be able
to see it on the site.) So if you have a message that could
help others make their lives more meaningful, create a
mayfly and let it spread the word.

6. I haven't spoken much about the graphic effects of the
site, but it's only because I wanted to discuss them in
detail. Have you noticed the overall effect, the aura of
the mayflies, and their smooth movements? Of course you
have. Have you also taken a closer look at panel used for
the story video? I think it's beautiful. I love the thought
of combining bamboo, jute-base, and thread to create a panel
that has a thematic connection with the background.

7. This site doesn't have the depth that many other sites
have, but it wasn't needed either. This is a small site
that brings out the importance of living our lives through
every moment...making the most of now, which is Vodafone's
calling card. The connection is established very subtly...it
doesn't interfere with the experience at all.

So if you still haven't clicked the link and met the
mayflies, click http://www.vodafonemayfly.co.uk/ and make
the most of now:)

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Views
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***NEW!!!***
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1. IDCWC Online Course Participants' Views:
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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. IDSP Online Course Participants' Views (first session):
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idsponlineviews
to read the views of our participants from the first session of the IDSP Online.

3. Wavelength Trainings/Workshops Participants' Views:
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#trainingsworkshopsviews
to read what the IDCWC Contact program participants feel
about the Instructional Design course (IDCWC) and Wavelength.

4. IDCWC (Contact) Participants' Views:
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Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idcwcviews
to read what the our Trainings'/Workshops' participants
feel about our training programs.

5. ActionScript Course Participants' Views:
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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.

6. Reader's Views:
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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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I know that you've been laughing a lot, and that you don't
need to laugh anymore...especially when the boss has
called a morning meeting for only God knows which new fire!
But I can't resist...I have to tell you about the honest
professor! Please click http://www.ahajokes.com/bribe2.html
to read about the point-wise bribe!

And though I don't get all of them, but the ones that I did
had me in splits...so, click http://www.math.ualberta.ca/~runde/jokes.html
to read Math Jokes (an oxymoron? Absolutely not...click to
discover how you can prove almost anything - begin with
"Let epsilon be greater than zero...")

If you have the time and the will, click http://www.funnybite.com/jokes_school5.php
to read the New Professor's diary!

I leave you now so that you may write your
New Year resolutions in your new diary.

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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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I wish you and your family a very happy and
fulfilling New Year!

Good Bye!
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

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with "Wavelength Feedback" written in the subject.

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