Glossary of Terms

ADDIE

A model used in systematic instructional design. The steps are 1) Analyze, 2) Design, 3) Develop, 4) Implement, and 5) Evaluate.

AICC

An acronym for Aviation Industry CBT Committee. The AICC sets guidelines in the development, delivery, and evaluation of e-Learning programs. Originally developed for the aviation industry, they are now used in other industries.

Alpha Version

An early version of a program that can be tested for overall usability and effectiveness.

Articulate

A rapid development software platform based on PowerPoint. Articulate can pull in audio, video, and Flash animations, and publish out as SCORM or AICC conformant online e-Learning packages.

Asynchronous Learning

Self-paced tutorials where the student and teacher do not need to be present at the same time.

Audience

The actual users of a training program. Instructional designers describe the audience in terms of age, education, preferred learning styles, and job responsibilities.

Bandwidth

A measure of available data communication resources expressed in bits or multiples of it (kbit/s, Mbit/s etc). Multimedia assets generally require a high bandwidth.

Beta Version

The program version used for the final round of testing before release to the target audience.

Blended Learning

A combination of online, classroom, printed materials and web resources to provide a rich learning experience.

Bloom's Taxonomy

A hierarchy of objectives starting at the simplest and building to the most complex tasks. The six levels are 1) Recall, 2) Comprehension,
3) Application, 4) Analysis, 5) Synthesis, and 6) Evaluation.

Broadband

Broadband internet access, often shortened to simply 'Broadband,' refers to high speed internet access.

Chunking

Separating learning content into logical breaks or chunks of information.

e-Commerce

Commercial activity conducted via the Internet. The two major are Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B). Activities might include selling access to online seminars, asynchronous e-Learning, and white papers.

e-Learning

A broad set of applications and processes which include web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, and digital presentations. It is often part of a blended approach including classroom instruction and facilitator guides.

Gagne's Events of Instruction

A useful model to organize the presentation of instructional material. It includes nine steps: 1) capture attention, 2) inform the learner of the objective, 3) stimulate recall of prior learning, 4) present material, 5) provide guidance, 6) elicit performance, 7) provide feedback, 8) assess performance, 9) enhance retention and transfer.

Informal Learning

Learning that takes place outside of formal classrooms and instruction. It can include books, self-study materials, personal coaching, support groups, and performance support materials.

Kirkpatrick Levels of Evaluation

Level 1 - student reaction to the training; Level 2 -  measurement of actual learning; Level 3 - measurement of behavior change; Level 4 - measurement of business results.

Learning Content Management System (LCMS)

A program that can display course catalogs, register students, launch courses, and track student progress and assessments.

Learning Managment System (LMS)

A program that can display course catalogs, register students, launch courses, and track student progress and assessments.

m-Learning

Mobile learning, or delivery of learning content on portable devices such as cell phones or PDAs.

Needs Analysis

A needs analysis includes all the activities used to collect information about students' learning needs, wants, wishes, and desires.

Performance-based Instruction

Learners progressively approximate the way they will perform or apply the new knowledge back on the job.

Rapid Development e-Learning

Use of tools that promote rapid development of online learning materials. Often this involves using PowerPoint with its associated audio and video files, and then publishing it as a Flash file. Many rapid dev packages also offer SCORM and AICC options for easy tracking on an LMS.

Return on Investment

ROI is a combination of cost savings versus an initial investment. It can be expressed mathematically as ROI=Cost.

Savings

Initial Investment.

SCORM

An acronym for Sharable Content Object Reference Model, a series of e-Learning standards that allow programs to communicate with an LMS.

SME

An acronym for Subject Matter Expert.

Social Learning

An informal method of reaching the target audience using online tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or other user-driven media. This 'back channel' media can reinforce formal learning goals by allowing actual users of the content to comment and annotate instruction with practical tips and insights.