---- MANTEX NEWSLETTER ---- Number 71 - July 2002 Design + eBooks + eLearning ------ ISSN 1470-1863 ------ Midsummer PUB QUIZ Edition 0----- 'Designing Web-based Training' If you are wondering how to put together learning or training materials for use on a Web site, William Horton's new book is a clear guide to what's called Instructional Design. He shows how to construct tests and training materials, how to structure learning programs, and how to devise programs which will actually teach people something. He provides ready-made templates for entire courses and talks you though the stages of how best to serve the interests of your clients - oops! - students. This is the best book on designing materials for teaching I have seen yet, and I've got a pile of them on my desk. It's written and presented with a very persuasive directness, and every point he makes is illustrated with practical examples. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/horton-2.htm 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - Question #1 Where does Tokai wine come from? 0----- 'Design Inspirations' Would you like some good ideas on new media design? That means motion graphics, web pages, and Flash animations. Hillman Curtis runs a successful design studio in New York - and he's a Flash animation guru. His new book shows you how it can be done. Or rather, he shows how to gain inspiration. He reveals the sources of his own designs, and shows how his team works to develop them. This is a lavishly illustrated guide which also includes potted introductions to the latest techniques in media design. It's another elegant production from New Riders. Full details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/curtis.htm 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - Question #2 Which country's stamps show the word "Hellas"? 0----- 'Understanding Virtual Universities' Online learning is a hot issue in education at the moment. It's innovatory and cost effective. But do people learn from it? Roy Rada's book looks at all the issues - from teaching and learning software through to large scale admin and support systems. His account offers case studies of online learning courses in a number of different disciplines. He's particularly good at keeping the big picture in mind - so the results of online learning courses are seen from the point of view of students, teachers, and even university administrators. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/rada.htm 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - Question #3 What is 'Oology'? 0----- SAVING DISK SPACE :-) A recent query to our HelpDesk: "If I save all my Microsoft Word documents in a tiny font size, will they take up less room on the hard drive?" 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - Question #4 What is the best hand in a game of poker? 0----- Electronic Publication Would you like to catch up to date with the latest developments in electronic publication? Bill Cope and Dean Mason from Common Ground Publishing (Aus) have a new book which covers all aspects of delivering text to readers. They deal with eBooks, self-publishing, print-on-demand, copyright problems, production costs, digital ink, and all the technical niceties of HTML, PDF, XML, and SGML file formats. They think through the impact of new technologies on publishing and everyone concerned in it - from authors, through publishers and distributors to the reader at the end of the chain. This is one for the specialist or the eCommerce fans. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/cope.htm 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - Question #5 Which country celebrated its bicentenary in 1988? 0----- 'Usability News' Regular subscriber Professor James Hartley at Keele University reports: Readers might be interested in Usability News, a free newsletter. It publishes free studies of web usability. They are limited in that the samples in the experiments are rather small to meet all the counterbalancing they suggest that they do, but they are interesting, nonetheless. http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/ 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - Question #6 Where is your tarsus? 0----- WATER COOLERS - to help pupils think A campaign in Yorkshire schools to encourage pupils to drink more water. Studies have found that concentration levels of children who have had the recommended eight glasses of water a day work better than those who are dehydrated. [Keep the URL on one line] http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/education/newsid_2048000/2048898.stm 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - Question #7 What is a ducat? 0----- University Validates Blogging The practice of blogging will hit the mainstream this autumn with a new course at the University of California at Berkeley. Other schools, including the University of Southern California, will also cover blogging in their journalism classes. Students in the Berkeley class will study blogging as a form of journalism and will create their own blog on the topic of copyright. Paul Grabowicz, the school's new media program director and one of the instructors of the course, said the blog will not simply be a list of links or collection of students' personal feelings, neither of which, he said, is professional journalism. Reaction from long-time bloggers was largely negative, with many characterizing the move as the establishment trying to co-opt the blogging movement. Wired Magazine, 6 June 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,52992,00.html 0----- Midsummer PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS Where does Tokai wine come from? ANSWER: Hungary Which country's stamps show the word "Hellas"? ANSWER: Greece What is 'Oology'? ANSWER: The study of eggs What is the best hand in a game of poker? ANSWER: Royal flush Which country celebrated its bicentenary in 1988? ANSWER: Australia Where is your tarsus? ANSWER: Ankle What is a ducat? ANSWER: A coin 0----- COMING SOON 'Emotional Digital' - typography 'StyleWriter' - grammar-check software 'InteractiveDesign2' 'Print + Electronic text Convergence' 'Flash for Cartooning' 'Dreamweaver 4 in a Nutshell' 'Innovating in Higher Education' (c) Copyright 2002, MANTEX All Rights Reserved PO Box 100 Tel +44 0161 432 5811 Manchester Fax +44 0161 443 2766 M20 6GZ UK www.mantex.co.uk If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues. New subscribers should register at the following address -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm FREE BACK ISSUES featuring news items, reviews, and product details are available at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm Please retain the copyright and list-joining information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and list-joining information remains. If you have any requests, observations, or items you would like to be included in our next issues, just mail us at -- news@mantex.co.uk You receive the MANTEX newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you wish to leave the list, go to -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm News-71-July-2002 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library