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Digital Learning Glossary of Terms

04/10/2016

Digital Learning Glossary of TermsTechnology in the hands

Digital Learning is a broad term that covers anything and everything that involves using technology to enhance the learning experience.Within digital learning there are then a whole host of words and acronyms that are commonly used to describe different tools, methods and resources. The digital learning team here at Cegos UK has drawn up a list of the more common ones.As digital learning goes hand in hand with social learning, it would be great to hear any terms you regularly use. Please comment below or get in touch.Apps - a self-contained program or piece of software designed to deliver a single training course, or to provide access to a learning portalAsynchronous Learning - is the idea that students learn the same material at different times and locations. Asynchronous Learning is also called Location Independent Learning, and is opposite to synchronous learning where students learn at the same time by activities such as attending a classroom based course or a live webinar.Authoring tools - a software package which developers use to create and package e-learning content deliverable to end users.Blended learning – the combination of face-to-face and digital learning experiences to deliver course contentBite-size training – high impact short training courses typically lasting between 30 and 90 minutes and addressing one aspect of a topicCourseware – digital content provided to support a training programmee-Learning – training content delivered via a website or application on a computer, tablet or smartphoneF2F – face to faceHTML5 elearning modules - e-learning accessible across multiple devices, including tablets, smart phones and laptops.Instructor led training (ILT) - allows for learners and instructors or facilitators to interact and discuss the training material, either individually or in a group settingInteractive PDF - a dynamic PDF document is a good way to create an interactive slideshow. You can create interactive documents with buttons, movies and sound clips, hyperlinks, bookmarks, and page transitions.Interactive video - a digital video that supports user interaction through gestures, voice, touch, and clicks. Users can interact inside the video itself by playing with game-like experiences, filling out forms, or following along with interactive tutorials.Learning portal - a web site that contains links to all different types of learning and training materials for employees at an organization. It may display upcoming classes, online courses, job aids, programs, links to web sites, etc.LMS – learning management system - a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of electronic educational technology (also called e-learning) courses or training programsLivestreaming - broadcast live video content using a camera and a computer through the Internet, and viewers to play the content via the web, iOS, Android etcOnline 360 – a web-based service to provide 360 degree feedback on an employee with automated collation of individual scoring into a detailed reportPsychometric – a process of measuring a candidate's relevant strengths and weaknesses. This form of measurement is primarily employed to assess employment suitability, including company-candidate fit.Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) – Sstandards and specifications for e-learning that defines the communications between the e-learning and the LMS (see definition above) to enable the LMS to track learner activity.Social learning - theory (Albert Bandura) posits that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instructionSocial learning platform – the systems and technology, usually web-based, that enables social learning to take place within a controlled environmentSynchronous instruction - requires the simultaneous participation of all students and instructors. It is often referred to as "real-time" instruction and involves tools such as chat rooms, Web conferencing, and virtual worlds.Tin Can API – See xAPI belowVideo conferencing – the ability to conduct a conference call, between 2 or more participants, with a live video feed of each call participantVILT (Virtual Instructor Led Training) - refers to training that is delivered in a virtual or simulated environment, or when instructor and learner are in separate locations. Virtual instruction environments are designed to simulate the traditional classroom or learning experience.Virtual classroom - an online classroom that allows participants to communicate, view presentations, interact with learning resources and work in groups.VoIP – Voice over IP (internet protocol) is internet based telephone calls, using services such as Skype, or an internal networkWeb conferencing – a set of tools that is used to conduct live meetings, remote training, or presentations via the Internet.Web-enabled – an application that is created with HTML and can therefore be accessed with a browser. xAPI – The Experience API (also known as Tin Can API) - a digital learning specification that allows learning content and learning systems to speak to each other so that all types of learning experiences are tracked. Learning experiences are recorded in a Learning Record Store (LRS).