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

Welcome to this edition of Wavelength.

I am thankful to May. At least May didn't keep me
guessing - it was hot. Terribly May-like! I almost found
myself wishing that those nimbostratus clouds would stop
over my roof and douse it with a cool shower. But the moment
I caught myself making that uncalled for wish, I stopped.
May is supposed to be one of the two hottest months in the
year. May was just being May - that was all!

When things are the way they should be, we shouldn't feel bad.
The question that we should be asking ourselves is - why
shouldn't things be the way they are supposed to be. We should
ask why content for all kinds of learning remain a parched,
drought-effected land? Isn't it supposed to be the lush green,
verdant valley of knowledge, exciting and inviting the
learners to explore and to learn?

This month's article, "Reaching a Diverse Audience" attempts
to make the trainer's/content writer's job more rewarding by
using the mool-mantra of connecting with a diverse audience,
that could help in creating content that fascinates
the audience!

As you all know, Wavelength's CWWC Online goes online on
June 01, 2009. The response for this program has been
fantastic. We have stopped accepting applications for the
June session so if you want to apply for this course, please
apply for the August session. Of course, it isn't very far off.

I would like to thank all those participants who placed
faith in the first rollout of the CWWC Online. Today my
heart glows with pride and gratitude, as among those who
have applied for the June session, some are our past
participants. Thank you for your confidence.

Wavelength is organizing a 1-Day workshop on Instructional
Storytelling. Here are the details:

---------------------------------------------------------------
Wavelength's 1-Day Instructional Storytelling Workshop on
June 20, 2009 (Saturday)
---------------------------------------------------------------
This workshop aims at equipping the trainers, instructional
designers, and content writers with the skill to design and
develop instructional stories that make the content interesting
and digestible for the audience. We invite organizations to
sponsor their participants for this workshop. Organizations
are welcome to sponsor 2 or more participants for this
1-Day workshop. Please read the details at:

http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/instructional_storytelling_training_june09.htm

If you would like to attend this workshop, please speak to
your organization at the earliest. This workshop shall be
able to accommodate no more than 10 participants.

Other than the AIDC and the PLFC courses, the next course
groups for the Flex, ASDC and IDCWC courses are scheduled
to begin as follows.

* For the Flex Application Developer Course beginning on
May 31, 2009, please go through the details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flex_certificate.htm

* The next session of the IDCWC course also begins on
May 31, 2009. Read the details of this course at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm

* The ActionScript Developer Certificate Course too begins
its next session on May 31, 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 a wonderful, decisive, and path-breaking year
starting this spring.

Thanks and Warm Regards,
Shafali

******************
Table of contents
******************
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...

*******************
Events Calendar
*******************

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:NEW: Online Course on Web Content Writing :NEW:
-----------------------------------------------------

The CWWC Online (Content Writing for the Web Online)
course begins on June 01, 2009. Registrations are now
open for the 2nd session beginning on August 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
July 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
July 01, 2009. Read details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idsp_online.htm
Please send us your inquiries at idsponline [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

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

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

-------------------------------
::: Contact Courses :::
-------------------------------

1. IDCWC Contact Course
----------------------------
Classes for the Instructional Design & Content Writing
Certificate (IDCWC Contact) course begin on May 31, 2009.
Registrations are on for this group. Read details at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm

2. AIDC Course
----------------------------
The Advanced Instructional Design Certificate (AIDC) course
begins its first session on June 28, 2009. Read the details at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/aidc_details.htm

3. ASDC (ActionScript) Course
-----------------------------------
Classes for the ActionScript Developer Certificate (ASDC)
course begin on May 31, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_certificate.htm

4. FADC (FLEX) Course
----------------------------
Classes for the Flex 3.0 Application Developer Certificate
(FADC) course begin on May 31, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flex_certificate.htm

5. PLFC Course
----------------------------
The Programming Logic Fundamentals Certificate (PLFC) course
begins its first session on June 06, 2009. Read the details at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/plfc_certificate.htm

6. AS2OOP (Object-Orientd Programming) Course
-------------------------------------------------------
Classes for the ActionScript 2.0 with Object-Oriented
Programming (AS2OOP) course begin on June 06, 2009.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript2_oop_details.htm

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

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

***********************
Mystery of the Month
***********************
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wavelength Article: Reaching a Diverse Audience
---------------------------------------------------------------
Reaching a diverse audience isn't easy. In fact this is
often the main worry of those trainers who are required to
train fifties or hundreds of participants; all from
diverse backgrounds. The Wavelength article,
"Reaching a Diverse Audience" attempts to address this
issue by providing a simple rule that can make your
trainings/content more effective.
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/diverse-audience.htm
to read it.

****************************
The Cognitive Excursion
****************************
This month, the Cognitive Excursion has gone Psycho.
Check it out very carefully at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/cog_ex/cognitive_excursion.htm

**********
ID Section
**********
-------------------
ID Concepts
--------------------
The behaviorist and the cognitive/constructivist approaches
are often visualized as opposing each other. The fact however
is that we use both - and in almost equal measures. Read
about the differences between the approaches at:
http://depts.washington.edu/eproject/Instructional%20Design%20Approaches.htm

----------------------------------
Language & Culture
------------------------------------
Find an excellent reference for the differences between the UK
and the US English at http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/differences.htm

------------------------------
Writing Style
------------------------------
The Owl at Purdue is an excellent online reference for
Style and Grammar. I would recommend it to all content
writers. Please reach it by clicking http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/738/01/

For Grammar, please click http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/01/

*******************************
Technology Section
*******************************
--------------------------------------------------------------
Learning Content Management Technologies
--------------------------------------------------------------
It is a good idea to keep yourself abreast of the important
developments in the field of eLearning technology. One
such development is the patent row between Blackboard and
Desire2Learn. Read about Blackboard's "victory" on D2L at
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/25/2345211 and
then on the same page, read about how Blackboard fell flat
on its face when all its 44 patent claims were invalidated
by USPTO on March 29, 2008.

Next Blackboard went ahead and requested a reexamination
adding 13 more claims. All 57 claims were rejected by the
US Patent and Trademark Office in the April of 2009! Read
the story at http://mfeldstein.com/blackboard-patent-invalidated-again/

The third (and final) re-examination of the claims is due
at the end of May. If this too goes the same way, it would
be victory for Desire2Learn and also a victory for the
love of customer over the love of money.

**************************
Cognitive Footprints ::: NEW SECTION :::
**************************
Jean Piaget, the man credited with the theory of cognitive
development, was born on August 9, 1896. When he was
young he was interested in biology. He is also thought
of as a child prodigy, as he had published a number of
papers even before he graduated from school. At the age
of 10, Piaget published a small note on the sighting of
an albino sparrow. He thought that it would help him gain
access to the University library, and he turned out to be
right. Piaget was a prolific writer and he wrote more than
sixty books in his lifetime.

Through his studies, he theorized that in the different
phases of our development, humans exhibit different
patterns of cognition (mental activity.) The four stages
of development identified by him are: the sensorimotor
stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational
stage, and the formal operational stage. Children aged 11
years and above who can reason at an abstract level are
at the final stage.

* Visit the Jean Piaget Society at: http://www.piaget.org/
* Read his biography at: http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html
* Read about his key ideas at: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm
* Read Howard Gardner's criticism of Piaget's ideas at http://www.edge.org/q2008/q08_1.html#gardner
* And finally, also read "Comments on Vygotsky's critical
remarks concerning The Language and Thought of the Child,
and Judgment and Reasoning in the Child", by Jean Piaget at http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/comment/piaget.htm

I recommend that you read the material available at the
last two links not so much for their content but for what
they imply - that psychologists of such stature as
Jean Piaget and Howard Gardner too are willing to review
their thoughts and reframe them, if they find sufficient
reason to do so.

********************************************************************
Our Readers and Course/Workshop Participants Views
********************************************************************
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Instructional Design and Content Writing Certificate
Online Course (IDCWC Online) Participants' Views:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idcwconlineviews
to read what the course participants feel about the Instructional Design and
Content Writing Online course (IDCWC Online) and Wavelength.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Instructional Design for Senior Professionals Certificate
Online Course (IDSP Online) Participants' Views:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idsponlineviews
to read the views of our participants from the IDSP Online.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Wavelength Trainings/Workshops Participants' Views:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#trainingsworkshopsviews
to read what the our Trainings'/Workshops' participants
feel about our training programs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. IDCWC (Contact) Course Participants' Views:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#idcwccontactviews
to read what the IDCWC Contact program participants feel
about the Instructional Design course (IDCWC) and Wavelength.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. ActionScript Developer Certificate Course
(ASDC) 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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. The ID Newsletter Readers' Views:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/views.htm to read
what our readers feel about Wavelength.

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Laugh-a-Little
***************
Are you tweeting already?

If not, here's some inspiration.

Click http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/50-twitter-comic-strips/
to see some funny twitter cartoons. Really...who needs
140 characters...except the wordy humans!

If you've wondered about who was created first
Adam or Eve - click http://www.funs.co.uk/fs/s24.html
to find your answer.

Figure out what the term "Contempt of Court" means - click http://www.funs.co.uk/fs/10.htm

Have fun!

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

**************
Signing Off...
**************
I wish you all the best. Keep learning and keep
progressing. I will meet you next month, same
place (your inbox) and about the same time:-)

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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