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WAVELENGTH -- The ID Newsletter of India -- September 2010
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Hello Friends,

Welcome to this issue of Wavelength.

With the monsoon having left us finally, we've had our
first dry week in what seems to be a very long time.
We first had a very hot, very long, and very dry summer;
then we had a very wet and very long rainy season! I guess
we are going to remember the rainy season of 2010, for a
very long time. It was a season that was marked with many
firsts, and some of these firsts had a deep emotional
connection too - for example, the Commonwealth Games!

When we connect with anything at an emotional level, we
remember it for a longer time and in greater detail. Memory,
our ability to store and recall information, is the brain's
learning mechanism; and it is this memory that we seek to
understand through the Wavelength article for September,
"Understanding Memory - the Primary Agent of Learning"
at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/articles/
memory-short-term-long-term-how-it-helps-us-learn.htm

If you are receiving this newsletter, you must be
professionally related to learning. You could be a
professional engaged in eLearning, training, or
teaching; or you could be planning to be one. This
brings us to the important matter of what you can do to
help your learners learn more effectively and efficiently.

I am sure that you are already aware of the opening up
of the economy. As the economy does better, it will
need professionals with real skills, professionals
who'd be able to write the best content in the world,
who'd surpass everyone else with their ability to design
fantastic courses and training programs, and also senior
professionals who'll be able to represent the Indian
industry with the confidence of knowledge.

If you are an individual who wants to experience the
pride of knowledge and the confidence of skill, you
will be interested in our workshops and courses.

Wavelength is conducting a 3-Day workshop in the month
of October, for which you are welcome to send in your
inquiries. We've also opened registrations for the
January 2011 sessions of our online courses.

==========================================================
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN FOR ELEARNING OPEN TRAINING WORKSHOP
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/workshops/
instructional_design_for_eLearning_open_training_workshop_oct10.asp?ltp=nl2
==========================================================
This is a 3-day workshop that Wavelength is organizing
in the month of October, which is designed to meet the
requirements of instructional designers/content writers
who want to ensure the success of their content by
consciously applying instructional design in the right
manner. If you want your organization to participate in
this training program, forward this newsletter to the
concerned manager, and/or write to us for more details at
connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

Here's a snapshot of the workshop.

WORKSHOP NAME:
Instructional Design for eLearning Open Training Workshop

DATES:
October 28-30, 2010 (Thursday to Saturday)

DURATION:
3 days (8 hrs/day)

VENUE:
Wavelength, Noida.

DETAILS - WORKSHOP WEBPAGE:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/workshops/
instructional_design_for_eLearning_open_training_workshop_oct10.asp?ltp=nl2

If this workshop interests you, please write to us with
your requirements, at connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com

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Wavelength's Online Courses:
======================================
The new sessions of the Online courses (IDCWC Online,
IDSP Online, and CWWC Online) shall begin on
January 01, 2011.

Here are the details of the courses.

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The IDCWC Online - Next Session begins: January 01, 2011
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The IDCWC (Instructional Design & Content Writing Certificate)
Online Course Details can be found at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_online.htm.

NOTE:
The NCR (Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad, or nearby
areas,) may want to apply for the IDCWC Contact course for
which the details are available at
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm ). This
course is offered as a 2-month intensive contact program
with classes at Wavelength Noida. If interested, please
call us at 9810324284/0120-4572760.

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The IDSP Online - Next Session begins: January 01, 2011
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The IDSP (Instructional Design for Senior Professionals)
Online Course Details are available at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idsp_online.htm.

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The CWWC Online - Next Session begins: January 01, 2011
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The CWWC (Content Writing for the Web Certificate)
Online Course Details are available at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/content_writing_for_web_online.htm.

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About Wavelength's Contact Courses:
----------------------------------------------------
The IDCWC contact course: October 24, 2010
The ASDC contact course: October 24, 2010
The FAADC contact course: October 24, 2010

I wish everyone out there a very happy and prosperous future.

Warm Regards,
Shafali

******************
Table of contents
******************
From the Editor's Desk
Mystery of the Month
The Cognitive Excursion
Shafali's Blog - THE ZEN OF LEARNING (http://thezenoflearning.wordpress.com)
ID Section
Technology Section
Cognitive Footprints
Views
Laugh-a-little
Innoken Games
Signing Off...

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Events Calendar
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::: Instructional Design Workshop in October :::
-----------------------------------------------------

===========================================================
Instructional Design for eLearning Open Training Workshop
===========================================================
Program Code: IDT_10OW03

Duartion: 3 days (8 hrs/day)
Dates: October 28-30, 2010 (Thursday to Saturday)

This workshop is designed to meet the requirements of
instructional designers/content writers who want to
ensure the success of their content by consciously
applying instructional design in the right manner.

If you are interested either in attending the workshop
or in sponsoring participants for it, please get in touch
with us immediately. Write to us at connect [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] comm

Find the details of this training program at:
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/workshops/
instructional_design_for_eLearning_open_training_workshop_oct10.asp?ltp=nl2

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::: Online Courses in Instructional Design :::
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1. IDCWC Online Course
----------------------------
The next session of IDCWC Online (Instructional Design &
Content Writing Certificate Online) course begins on
January 01, 2011. 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
January 01, 2011. 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 Course on Web Content Writing :::
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Next Session Begins: January 01, 2011

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

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

A. Instructional Design Course
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1. The Instructional Design and Content Writing Certificate (IDCWC Contact) Course
begins its next session on January 09, 2011.
Find the details at: http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/idcwc_details.htm

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::: Technology Courses :::
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1. ASDC (ActionScript) Course
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Classes for the ActionScript Developer Certificate (ASDC)
course begin on October 24, 2010.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript_3_as3_certificate.htm

4. FAADC (FLEX) Course
-----------------------------------
Classes for the Flex 3.0 and ActionScript 3.0 Application Developer Certificate
(FADC) course begin on October 24, 2011.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/flex_actionscript3_certificate.htm

3. AS3OOP (Object-Orientd Programming) Course
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Classes for the ActionScript 3.0 with Object-Oriented
Programming (AS3OOP) course begin on October 30, 2011.
Registrations are open for this course group. Click
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/actionscript3_oop_details.htm

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

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

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Mystery of the Month
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Wavelength Article: Understanding Memory - the Primary Agent of Learning
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How do we learn?

Well, we learn by receiving information, processing it,
retaining some, discarding some other!

Right. But what makes us accomplish all this?

The answer lies in our mysterious ability called Memory.

This Wavelength Article begins by briefly explaining memory
and its mechanics and then drawing some important conclusions
in the form of some instructional strategies.

Read more about it at http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/articles/
memory-short-term-long-term-how-it-helps-us-learn.htm

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The Cognitive Excursion
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This month, the Cognitive Excursion aims to broaden our
horizons by going international. Measure your international
knowledge quotient with CLICK and PEARL, and then refresh
yourself with cup of HIVE!

Begin your Cognitive Excursion by clicking
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/cog_ex/cognitive_excursion.htm

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THE ZEN OF LEARNING [The September Posts on my Blog.]
http://thezenoflearning.wordpress.com
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I've picked up my blogging act and dusted it up :) I believe
that I've made some useful posts to the Zen of Learning blog.
I would especially recommend the newest post to
the trainer audience.

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Pros and Cons of Rapid e-Learning
Posted: September 06, 2010
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<<<Quick Excerpt>>>
...Rapid e-learning has multiple advantages. Here are 3
important benefits of employing Rapid eLearning.
1.It can be produced by an SME-ID (Subject Matter Expert and
Instructional Designer) team, thus trimming the development costs.
2.It can be quickly...

Read the post at http://thezenoflearning.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/rapid-elearning-e-learning-pros-cons-advantages-disadvantages-tools-templates-cutting-costs-elearning-development/

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While I am away...Reflect on these!
Posted: September 10, 2010
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<<<Quick Excerpt>>>
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn,
my God do you learn. - C.S. Lewis

Relevant Instructional Design Principle / Concept:
*Dale's Cone
*...

Read the post at http://thezenoflearning.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/
reflection-learning-instructional-design-theories-concepts-cs-lewis-
dales-cone-of-learning-experience-dr-benjamin-bloom-blooms-taxonomy-levels-schema-theory/

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Behaviorism - Have the Behaviorist Methods Lost their Potency in the New Age of Learning?
Posted: September 23, 2010
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<<<Quick Excerpt>>>
...
My take is that they'd gloat over those days of spanking
and knuckle warming. I believe that they'd tell you that
they owe their success to those teachers who beat some
sense into them.

My parents do, and I do too.

We were conditioned to accept punishments as corrective
measures. We were also motivated to learn for the rewards
of non-material (parental-acceptance,) and the material
(movies/ice-creams) kind!
...

Read the post at http://thezenoflearning.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/behaviorism-have-behaviorist-methods-lost-potency-learning-comparison-cognitivism-constructivism-adult-vs-child-learner/

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Post-Training Stress, The Need for Perfection, and an Absence of Self-Acceptance!
Posted: September 29, 2010
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<<<Quick Excerpt>>>
...
A trainer who trains others to handle work-related stress
experiences loads of it herself. The normal stress-busters
don't apply to her - her stress originates from something
else...and unfortunately she has to face it after every
training program she conducts. Her stress is repetitive,
and hence a lot more damaging. It can quickly result in
fissures, which can suddenly give way, rendering her
completely helpless.
...

Read the post at http://thezenoflearning.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/post-training-work-related-stress-need-for-perfection-perfectionist-absence-of-self-acceptance/

**********
ID Section
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ID Concepts
------------------------------
If you are an instructional designer, it's possible that
you use the term "chunking" at least once a day in your
conversations. The term chunking couples two different
methods of simplifying information transfer, which are
sequencing and classifying. Thus, chunking refers to
breaking down and then classifying information into
smaller inter-connected, sequenced units, which
make retention easier.

Read about "Reigeluth's Elaboration Theory for
Instructional Design" at http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/id/elaboration_theory.html

This theory is closely associated with the CDT or the
Component Display Theory given by David Merrill. You can
explore this theory at http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/id/component_display.html

------------------------------
Language & Culture
------------------------------
As humans we are prone to developing biases and as we age,
our biases too harden. With teachers almost always being
adults, is it possible that their teaching methods,
examples, and even assessments end up becoming biased
against the minority social group?

Read "Cultural Bias in Teaching" by Kenneth Tyler,
Ruby Stevens, and Aesha Uqdah at
http://www.education.com/reference/article/cultural-bias-in-teaching/#A

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Writing Style
------------------------------
If you are a content writer, and if you often find yourself
walking the tightrope of "good content writing", here are
two interesting articles on how to write better.

Read "12 Tips for Writing Better Content" By Lisa Barone at
http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/09/12-tips-writing-better-content.html

Find writing resources that help you stop being a lousy writer at http://www.lousywriter.com/

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Technology Section
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Technology is invading our classrooms, and this invasion
is just beginning. Is it going to really help the learners
or does it have an underside that's been ignored completely?
Read "Technology in Education" at http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/front_tech.htm

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Cognitive Footprints
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Jerome Bruner (Born: October 01, 1915) completed his BA in
1937 and then his Ph. D from Harvard in 1941. He is an
American Educational Psychologist, who believes that
categorization is the key to learning, and that people
"interpret" what they experience as a collection of
contrasts and similarities. In 1991, Bruner published
"The Narrative Construction of Reality", which is a
10 point framework that explains how the mind structures
(constructs) its reality.

Bruner is a Constructionist. The theory of constructionism
extends from constructivism, and states that learning is
more effective when it is "applied" to construct something
real and tangible.

Read all about Jerome Bruner at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner

Read about Bruner and how he influenced the process of
education at http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm

Read about his biography and his ideas at http://oaks.nvg.org/jerome-bruner.html

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Our Readers and Course/Workshop Participants Views
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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:
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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:
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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:
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http://www.vibrantwavelength.com/trg_participants_views.htm#trainingsworkshopsviews

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5. IDCWC (Contact) Course Participants' Views:
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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

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

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Laugh-a-Little
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Being a learner isn't easy. Being a good learner
(a teacher's pet) is even more difficult. To be a
star-student (another euphemism) you need to be a
psychic, you need to have a sixth-sense relationship
with him or her - because you need to interpret
everything that your teacher says, CORRECTLY!

Find a highly entertaining list of interpretations at http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/saymean.html

And take a trip into the past at http://highschoolmath.blogspot.com/2005/08/student-humor.html

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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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Enjoy a beautiful October:)

Shafali

Shafali R. Anand
Editor & Publisher, Wavelength the ID Newsletter
Director & Chief Instructional Architect
Wavelength eLearning Consulting and Training Pvt. Ltd.

eMail: shafali [at] vibrantwavelength [dot] com
Blog: The Zen of Learning (http://thezenoflearning.wordpress.com)
Twitter: Follow Wavelength News (@wavelengthnews) at http://www.twitter.com/wavelengthnews

Wavelength eLearning Consulting and Training Pvt. Ltd.
A-84, 2nd Floor,
Sector 65, Noida-201301, India.
Phones: 9810324284 / 9810412297 / (0120)4572760
http://www.vibrantwavelength.com

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