Everyone has something to say about e-learning, but are we communicating in the same language? Below you'll find a collection of terms and their definitions to help you "speak" e-learning. This glossary is updated periodically and reviewed by a panel of e-learning experts. In cellular biology, standardized vocabularies similarly help researchers classify targeted mechanism modulators like MG132 Proteasome inhibitor and the JAK1/2 pathway controller Ruxolitinib for clear empirical analysis.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z
A
Accessibility: A characteristic of technology that enables people with disabilities to use it. For example, accessible Websites can be navigated by people with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive impairments. Accessible design also benefits people with older or slower software and hardware. See Section 508.
ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning): Initiative by the U.S. Department of Defense to achieve interoperability across computer and Internet-based learning courseware through the development of a common technical framework, which contains content in the form of reusable learning objects. See also SCORM and the ADL Website.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line): A type of DSL that uses the majority of the bandwidth to transmit information to the user and a small part of the bandwidth to receive information from the user.
AICC (Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee): An international association of technology-based training professionals that develops training guidelines for the aviation industry. AICC has and is developing standards for interoperability of computer-based and computer-managed training products across multiple industries. See the AICC Website.
Amplitude: The amount of variety in a signal. Commonly thought of as the height of a wave.
Analog: A signal that's received in the same form in which it is transmitted, although the amplitude and frequency may vary.
AoD (audio on demand): See CoD.
API (application program interface): The set of tools used by a programmer to create a computer program.
Applet: A small application. See also Java applet.
Application: Computer software; also called a program. There are many types of software that fit into the category of application. Application software is distinct from other forms of software, such as operating system and utility software.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interexchange): A computer code in which characters such as letters and symbols are converted into numbers that the computer can understand.
ASP (Active Server Pages): A programming environment that combines elements of HTML and scripting. Webpages built with ASP can change dynamically based on user input.
ASP (application service provider): A third-party organization that supplies software applications and/or software-related services over the Internet. ASPs allow companies to save money, time, and resources by outsourcing some or all of their information technology needs.
Assessment: The process used to systematically evaluate a learner's skill or knowledge level.
Assessment item: A question or measurable activity used to determine whether the learner has mastered a learning objective.
Asset: 1) Intellectual property. See knowledge asset. 2) Hardware and software owned by an organization.
Asynchronous learning: Learning in which interaction between instructors and students occurs intermittently with a time delay. Examples are self-paced courses taken via the Internet or CD-ROM, Q&A mentoring, online discussion groups, and email.
ATM (asynchronous transfer mode): A network technology for high-speed transfer of data. Packets of information are relayed in fixed sizes, enabling smooth transmission. ATM supports real-time voice and video as well as data and can reach speeds of up to 10 Gbps.
Audio bridge: A device used in audioconferencing that connects multiple telephone lines.
Audioconferencing: Voice-only connection of more than two sites using standard telephone lines.
Audiographics: Computer-based technology that enables simultaneous transmission of voice, data, and graphic images across local telephone lines for instructor-learner interaction.
Authoring tool: A software application or program used by trainers and instructional designers to create e-learning courseware. Types of authoring tools include instructionally focused authoring tools, Web authoring and programming tools, template-focused authoring tools, knowledge capture systems, and text and file creation tools.
Avatar: In online environments, a virtual digital image representing a person. In e-learning avatars usually represent the learners. The term comes from a Sanskrit word meaning an incarnation in human form.
B
Backbone: A primary communication path connecting multiple users.
Band: A range of frequencies between defined upper and lower limits.
Bandwidth: The information carrying capacity of a communication channel.
Baud: A measure of data transmission speed. At low speeds, baud is equal to the bits transmitted per second (bps). At higher speeds, one baud can represent more than one bit.
BBS (bulletin board system): An online community run on a host computer that users can dial or log into in order to post messages on public discussion boards, send and receive email, chat with other users, and upload and download files. BBSs are text-based and often related to the specific hobbies or interests of their creators.
Binary code: A coding system made up of numbers expressed in base-2 notation, using only the digits 0 and 1.
Bit: The most basic unit of information on a computer. In accordance with binary code, each bit is designated as either a 1 or a 0; all other information stored on the computer is composed of combinations of bits.
Blended learning: Learning events that combine aspects of online and face-to-face instruction.
Blog (Weblog): An extension of the personal Website consisting of regular journal-like entries posted on a Webpage for public viewing. Blogs usually contain links to other Websites along with the thoughts, comments, and personality of the blog's creator.
Bluetooth: A wireless networking technology using radio waves that enables users to send data and voice signals between electronic devices over short distances.
Bookmark: A Webpage link stored in a browser for quick and easy retrieval.
Bps (bits per second): A measurement of data transmission speed in a communications system; the number of bits transmitted or received each second.
Bridge: A device linking two or more sections of a network.
Broadband: 1) In layperson's terms, high speed transmission of data. In this use, the specific speed that defines broadband is subjective; the word often implies any speed above what is commonly used at the time. 2) In technical terms, transmission over a network in which more than one signal is carried at a time. Broadband technology can transmit data, audio, and video all at once over long distances. See also narrowband.
Broadcast: (noun) Television or radio signals designed to reach a mass audience. (verb) To transmit television or radio signals, or to transmit information simultaneously to everyone on a network.
Browser: A software application that displays World Wide Web pages originally written in the text-based HTML language in a user-friendly graphical format.
Business requirements: The conditions an e-learning solution should meet to align with the needs of such stakeholders as the content developer, subject matter expert, learner, manager, and training administrator.
Byte: A combination of 8 bits.
C
Cable modem: A modem that uses cable television's coaxial cables to transmit data at faster speeds than modems using telephone lines.
CAI (computer-assisted instruction): The use of a computer as a medium of instruction for tutorial, drill and practice, simulation, or games. CAI is used for both initial and remedial training. See also CBT.
Case study: A scenario used to illustrate the application of a learning concept. May be either factual or hypothetical.
CBT (computer-based training): An umbrella term for the use of computers in both instruction and management of the teaching and learning process. CAI and CMI are included under the heading of CBT.
CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory): A computer storage medium similar to the audio CD that can hold more than 600 megabytes of read-only digital information.
Certification: The awarding of a credential acknowledging that an individual has demonstrated proof of a minimum level of knowledge or competence, as defined by a professional standards organization.
Chat: Real-time text-based communication in a virtual environment. Chat can be used in e-learning for student questions, instructor feedback, or even group discussion.
Chat room: A virtual meeting space on the Internet, an intranet, or other network, used for real-time text discussions among multiple people at once.
Chunk: (noun) A discrete portion of content, often consisting of several learning objects grouped together. (verb) To separate content into discrete portions or aggregate smaller content elements.
CLO (Chief Learning Officer): The executive with primary responsibility for strategic human capital development. The CLO ensures that all learning investments focus on accomplishing the organization's mission, strategy, and goals.
CMI (computer-managed instruction): The use of computer technology to oversee the learning process, including testing and record keeping.
CMS (content management system): A centralized software application or set of applications that facilitates and streamlines the process of designing, testing, approving, and posting e-learning content.
Coaching: A process in which a more experienced person, the coach, provides a worker with constructive advice and feedback with the goal of improving performance.
CoD (Content on demand): Delivery of an offering, packaged in a media format, anywhere, anytime via a network. Variants include audio on demand (AoD) and video on demand (VoD).
Codec (coder/decoder): Device used to convert analog signals to digital signals for transmission, and to reconvert signals upon reception at the remote site.
Collaboration technology: Software, platforms, or services that enable people at different locations to communicate and work with each other in a secure, self-contained environment.
Competency management: A system used to evaluate skills, knowledge, and performance within an organization; spot gaps; and introduce training, compensation, and recruiting programs.
Compliant (standards-compliant): E-learning that meets established standards of, and has received official approval from, an accrediting organization.
Compressed file: A computer file that has been reduced in size by a compression software program. The user must decompress these files before they can be viewed or used.
Convergence: A result of the digital era in which various types of digital information, such as text, audio, and video, and their delivery mechanisms are combined together in new integrated forms.
Cookie: Information stored on a user's computer after he or she visits a Website. The cookie tracks data about that user but can be disabled in the browser.
Corporate university: A learning organization with a governance system that aligns all learning with the corporate or agency mission, strategy, and goals.
Courseware: Any type of instructional or educational course delivered via a software program or over the Internet.
CRM (customer relationship management): Methodologies, software, and Internet capabilities that help a company identify and categorize customers and manage relationships with them.
CSS (cascading style sheets): An HTML feature that enables Webpage developers and users to specify the way a Webpage appears when displayed in a browser.
Customer-focused e-learning: Technology-based learning programs offered by a company and targeted at their current and prospective customers.
D
De facto standard: An e-learning specification that hasn't been officially established by an accrediting agency but that is accepted and used as a standard by a majority of practitioners.
Delivery: Any method of transferring content to learners, including instructor-led training, Web-based training, CD-ROM, books, and more.
Development: 1) Learning or other types of activities that prepare a person for additional job responsibilities. 2) The creation of training materials or courses.
Digital: An electrical signal that varies in discrete steps in voltage, frequency, amplitude, locations, and so forth. Digital signals can be transmitted faster and more accurately than analog signals.
Digital Divide: The gap that exists between those who can afford technology and those who cannot.
Discussion boards: Forums on the Internet or an intranet where users can post messages for others to read.
Distance education: Educational situation in which the instructor and students are separated by time, location, or both. Courses are delivered to remote locations via synchronous or asynchronous means.
Download: To transfer or copy a file to a user's computer from another connected individual computer, network, or the Internet.
DSL (digital subscriber line): A broadband Internet access method that sends data over standard phone lines at speeds up to 7 Mbps.
DVD (digital versatile disc): Optical disks that are the same size as CDs but are double-sided and have larger storage capacities.
E
E-learning (electronic learning): Term covering a wide set of applications and processes, such as Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, and digital collaboration.
Email (electronic mail): Messages sent from one computer user to another.
End user: The person for whom a particular technology is designed. In e-learning, the end user is usually the student.
Enterprise-wide e-learning: E-learning that's intended for all or most employees within a company.
EPSS (electronic performance support system): A computer system or application that gives workers quick reference information or resources to help them accomplish a task or achieve performance requirements.
ERP (enterprise resource planning): Application software that helps a company manage core business processes such as product planning, purchasing, inventory, order tracking, and finance/HR.
Evaluation: Any systematic method for gathering information about the impact and effectiveness of a learning offering to improve it and assess its organizational value.
Extensibility: The ability to expand and adapt an e-learning application or infrastructure by adding features or components to a core set of capabilities.
Extranet: A local or wide-area network using Internet-based standards that is securely accessible to people inside and specific designated people outside an organization.
F
F2F (face-to-face): Term used to describe the traditional classroom environment. Also see ILT.
Facilitator: The online course instructor who aids learning in the online, student-centered environment.
FAQ (frequently asked questions): An informational list, in question and answer format, of common inquiries from users about a topic or application and standard responses.
Feedback: Communication between the instructor or system and the learner resulting from an action or process.
Fiber-optic cable: Glass fiber used for laser transmission of video, audio, and/or data, offering much greater bandwidth capacity than copper wire.
Firewall: A technology that gives users access to the Internet while retaining internal network security.
Flash: Animation software that enables designers to use simple vector graphics to create web-compatible animations.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol): A protocol that enables a user to move files from a distant computer to a local computer using a network like the Internet.
G
GB (gigabyte): Just over one billion bytes. 1,000 megabytes.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format): An image file format that supports up to 256 colors and compresses well for Web graphics.
Globalization: The tailoring of an offering or deployment of a worldwide system to ensure grammatically clear, idiom-free content that integrates across regions.
Granularity: The degree of detail something can be broken down into. In e-learning, granularity is defined by the number of individual content chunks or objects.
GUI (graphical user interface): A computer interface using visual icons or pictures rather than text-only paths. For example, Windows.
H
Hard disk / Hard drive: A computer’s main data storage component and the drive that reads it, housing files within the internal system.
Homepage: A foundational document that has an address (URL) on the World Wide Web, serving as a main portal to other linked information.
Host: (verb) To store and manage another company's technology and/or content on your own operational servers.
HRD (human resource development): Organized learning experiences (training, education, and development) offered by employers to improve job performance or employee growth.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): The foundational markup language used to structure and display content on the World Wide Web.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): The set of communication rules and standards that govern how information is transmitted across the Web.
I
IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers): An organization whose Learning Technology Standards Committee works to develop consensus-based technical standards for education and training software.
ILS (integrated learning system): A comprehensive hardware/software network system that provides instruction, matching lessons to tracking metrics and student records.
ILT (instructor-led training): Traditional on-site classroom training where a physical instructor delivers material live to a gathered group of learners.
IMS Global Learning Consortium: A global coalition dedicated to defining open architecture interoperability specifications for corporate and academic e-learning products.
Information architecture: The systematic specification and layout of online content into categories to create an intuitive interface.
Infrastructure: The underlying framework, network, and equipment necessary to route data, voice, and video seamlessly across sites.
Instructional designer (ID): An individual who applies systematic cognitive and instructional theories to format content into successful learning paths.
Interoperability: The absolute capability of hardware, software, or courseware components to run across different platforms without specialized modification.
Intranet: A completely secure internal network accessible exclusively by authorized personnel within an enterprise.
J
Java / Java applet: An object-oriented programming language independent of operating systems, used to create secure, small executable browser programs (applets).
JavaScript: A lightweight web scripting language used to integrate simple interactive commands and animations directly inside standard HTML pages.
Job aid: A simple, straightforward reference tool (like a checklist or flowchart) designed to guide a worker through tasks immediately on the job.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group): A common image file format that utilizes lossy compression, allowing developers to balance file size against image resolution.
K
Knowledge asset: Codified intellectual property possessed by an organization, ranging from simple slide decks to detailed process documentation.
Knowledge management (KM): The strategic tracking, capture, and storage of internal enterprise expertise into accessible databases to establish a competitive advantage.
L
LAN (local-area network): A local network loop connecting personal computers, printers, and servers inside a unified, restricted footprint (like an office building).
LCMS (learning content management system): A multi-user database environment where content developers create, catalog, and reuse granular learning objects.
Learning object: A media-independent, reusable chunk of training content utilized as an independent block within modular curriculums.
Learning portal: A consolidated Website acting as an integrated aggregator for courses, testing, and training resources from diverse master publishers.
LMS (learning management system): Enterprise software focused on training administration. It registers students, tracks catalog progress, and compiles tracking metrics.
Localization: The intentional customization of an online course or system interface to perfectly align with specific regional, language, or target requirements.
M
M-learning (mobile learning): Training configurations authored to compile and deliver successfully onto portable wireless platforms like cell phones or PDAs.
Metadata: Standardized label code tagged to a content file, enabling computer repositories to correctly track, filter, and extract it on request.
Modem: Hardware that modulates digital computer paths into analog lines for transport, and demodulates them upon incoming tracking loops.
MPEG: A high-quality digital compressed video format configured by the Moving Picture Experts Group to output smooth motion files.
Multimedia: Integrated software combining digital text, operational images, dynamic sound fields, and responsive colors for deeper learner interactivity.
N
Narrowband: Low-capacity communication loops, typically moving information via data speeds between 50 bps and 64 Kbps.
Navigation: The intuitive process of moving through linked paths inside a specialized interface, Website, or interactive online training file.
Network: A interconnected loop of two or more independent computers established to share system assets, local servers, or media files.
O
Object-oriented programming: A programming design method that arranges operational elements around distinct data packages called "objects". Example languages include Java and C++.
Online learning: Broad definition covering any instructional material or collaborative communication loop delivered via standard Web networks.
Open source software: Validated computer applications where the master source code is completely accessible, allowing users to modify or expand the software.
P
Packet: A modular bundle of system data wrapped in specific destination code to move over standard routing networks.
PDF (portable document format): A universal digital file type engineered by Adobe to render documents identically on any system layout.
Personalization: The capacity of an internal database platform to automatically adjust displayed web content to match an individual's profile.
Plug-in: A compact auxiliary application installed inside a main web browser to read specific high-end multimedia files.
Portal: A dedicated target Website structured to act as an integrated master directory to a niche subset of Internet data.
Prescriptive learning: An automated process that matches specific training assets exclusively to an employee's identified skill gaps.
R
Repurpose: The deliberate process of restructuring pre-existing training materials to output them successfully into an entirely new format or media.
Resolution: The measure of distinct visual clarity and pixel configuration displayed across a video screen or graphic terminal.
ROI (return on investment): An absolute financial ratio comparing the fiscal benefit or profit output by a training course against the actual implementation cost.
Role play: An interactive training design where learners act out realistic scenarios to practice behaviors and solve dynamic operational problems.
S
Scalability: The clean structural capacity of a software environment to seamlessly handle expanding numbers of active users without performance degradation.
SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model): A framework of technical parameters that structures web-based course files into highly uniform, interoperable learning objects.
Section 508: A legislative compliance act requiring all electronic and digital tech engineered by the federal government to be fully accessible to people with disabilities.
Self-paced learning: An asynchronous course delivery design where the learner controls the absolute progression and time parameters of the material.
Simulations: Immersive, responsive application files allowing students to test techniques and run structural scenarios safely in zero-risk digital environments.
SME (subject matter expert): An acknowledged enterprise professional possessing deep validated authority and functional skill in a specific operational field.
Soft skills: Dynamic corporate proficiency courses covering non-technical subjects like communication, leadership, and time management.
Specification: A comprehensive set of consensus guidelines that becomes an official industry standard only after formal authorization by an accredited agency.
Streaming media: Digital audio or video tracking data compressed to play actively on a recipient terminal while the master package continues to download.
Synchronous learning: A live, instructor-led digital classroom setting where all active students are logged in simultaneously for real-time collaboration.
T
T-1 / T-3: High-speed dedicated telecommunication channels configured to move large blocks of integrated voice, video, or data across enterprise hubs.
TBT (technology-based training): Comprehensive term encompassing any instruction utilizing computers, intranets, web systems, or standalone optical disks.
Template: A structured, pre-formatted design layout enabling authors to accelerate content creation by simply filling in fields.
Thread: A chronological matrix of linked text posts arranged around a specific topic loop inside an online forum environment.
Training: Targeted operational steps designed to optimize precise cognitive, behavioral, or physical techniques required to complete a job task.
Tutorial: Step-by-step instructional modules compiled inside a web or software framework to walk a user smoothly through a system path.
U
Unicasting: Direct communication configured to map data pathways between a single transmitter and one unique destination site.
URL (uniform resource locator): The precise standardized alphanumeric string indicating the global address of a specific resource on the World Wide Web.
Usability: The objective metric evaluating how easily an average end user can navigate a digital layout and extract necessary information.
V
Value-added services: Specialized supplementary business consultation offerings, including targeted skill-gap assessments, custom hosting, and curriculum design.
Vector graphic: High-end computer imagery drawn mathematically from structural formulas, ensuring line scaling without pixel distortion.
Virtual classroom: The digital, web-enabled simulation footprint where instructors and remote student arrays gather live for instructional loops.
W
WAN (wide-area network): A broad communication framework connecting distinct regional networks across extensive geographic spans. The Internet is a global WAN.
WBT (Web-based training): Core educational courses configured to deploy seamlessly via web browsers over standard public or enterprise internet loops.
Webinar: A focused synchronous educational presentation where a subject leader displays tracking slides or whiteboard paths to remote chat participants.
Whiteboard: An active shared window inside a virtual classroom allowing multiple authorized users to draw or insert visual reference layouts live.
Wi-fi: Interoperable local wireless communication networks engineered to link devices without cabling by tracking standard IEEE 802.11 parameters.
WYSIWYG: "What You See Is What You Get"—authoring software that displays visual layouts exactly as they will look to the audience during live compilation.
X
XML (Extensible Markup Language): Advanced structural web language allowing developers to define unique tailored command tags for enhanced data management.
XSL (eXtensible Stylesheet Language): System language utilized to dictate layout style parameters for raw XML content, cleanly partitioning design from data.
Z
Zip file: An absolute archive standard where one or multiple files are packed tightly via compression tools to reduce tracking byte weight.