E-learning Terms and Definitions

When I made a comeback to e-learning after a gap of 8 years, what I was looking for was a jargon buster – a place where I could find out about the new buzzwords and the latest standards and technologies. Unfortunately, I did not find any such thing. I am therefore putting together a glossary with terms and acronyms that every E-learning professional should know by heart.

1. AICC (Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee)

AICC is an international association of technology-based training professionals. The AICC develops guidelines for development, delivery, and evaluation of CBT, WBT, and related training technologies. Though it was Aviation specific earlier but now is general-purpose.

2. SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model)

SCORM is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and a host system called the run-time environment (commonly a function of a learning management system). SCORM also defines how content may be packaged into a transferable ZIP file. SCORM is a specification of the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, which comes out of the Office of the United States Secretary of Defense.

3. Authoring Tool

Authoring tools enable trainers to integrate an array of media to create professional, engaging and interactive training content. With an authoring tool, you can repurpose digitized elements or learning objects from an existing course for use in a new course. In this way, you can realize a return on investment for components that may have been developed using outside programmers or graphic design resources.

4. Lectora

Lectora is a simple, easy to learn, single click authoring tool used for the development of e-learning courses where no programming is required. It is used for making online presentations and training courses. It can be published in outlets like html and CD-ROM. It also allows users to create tests and surveys where they can put multiple choice questions, drag and drop, time testing etc.

5. Camtasia

Camtasia is a software where one can capture the video, audio, presentations on the windows desktop and record it. One can also make CDs and can also share it on the internet. This software has the options of stop, pause and record with the hotkey combination. It also allows the user to jump from one application to another without interrupting the recording. It also has the feature of upgrading the recording by editing and by putting sound effects.

6. Adobe Captivate

Adobe captivate is a tool which can capture  the snapshots on the screen and make them into a movie or a interactive presentation by putting sound effects, editing the picture, putting images, rollovers clickable areas etc. It is a very simple tool and is also used for creating interactive software, demonstrations, and games.

7. Learning Management System

Learning Management System (LMS) is a Web-based technology that manages the e learning programs and lets you publish online courses for training purposes. LMS helps in managing and tracking essentially two kinds of users – teachers and students. Teachers can create course materials and tests, while the students can go through the course materials and take the tests.

8. Moodle

Moodle is a free, open source LMS used by the universities, schools, companies all over the world. Moodle which supports an editor using which the courses and tests can be created. Moreover, courses and tests developed outside Moodle can also be uploaded. Moodle supports content delivery in the form of videos, pictures, audio, and YouTube. You can also publish discussions and forums as well as organize virtual class rooms with the help of third-party tools like webex.

9. Articulate Authoring Tool

Articulate tools allows the users to convert their Powerpoint presentations to Flash files. The output is a self-running Flash file which also supports audio.

10. m-learning

M-Learning is learning using mobile phones which allows the user to learn anywhere and everywhere regardless of the geographical restrictions, whether it is the laundry room, bathroom, car, train etc. It also features a  reminder system where the teacher can send reminders as well as explanations to their learners.

11. Instructional Designing

Instructional designing is the art and science of designing instructional and training content that is both interesting and effective. An instructional designer’s job is mainly composed of planning the instructional strategy and writing content based on that instructional strategy.

12. Bloom’s Taxonomy

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom classified the learning objectives into three domains – the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. The cognitive domain revolves around knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking of a particular topic. The psychomotor domain describes the ability to physically manipulate a tool like a hand, a hammer, or even a piece of software. The affective domain targets the awareness and growth in attitudes, emotion, and feelings.

13. ADDIE

The ADDIE model is generic Instructional Designing model on which most of the other models are based. ADDIE is illustrated in the figure below. Each step has an outcome that feeds the subsequent step.

Analysis –> Design –> Development –> Implementation –> Evaluation

Advertisement