Co-funded by the European Commission
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Glossary

PROMISLingua has a very innovative approach which requires a common understanding and a common nomenclature. The following section presents a list of specialist words and their definitions

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Act
‘Act’ forms the fourth final stage of the PDCA natural improvement cycle. Using information obtained from the previous stages to improve processes or performance in the future.

Source: PROMIS@Service Sarl

Actions (dynamics) B2
Actions that have been identified to implement plans, objectives, corrective and preventive changes. Allows assignment of responsibilities (including delegation of parts), prioritisation, and reporting.

Source: PROMIS@Service Sarl

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

ADSL
Short for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, a technology that allows more data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines. ADSL supports data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data (known as the upstream rate).
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.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

AJAX
Asynchronous JavaScript and XML is a term describing a web development technique for creating interactive web applications using a combination of:
  • HTML (or XHTML) and Cascading Style Sheets for presenting information
  • Document Object Model, JavaScript to dynamically display and interact with the information presented
  • XML, XSLT and the XMLHttpRequest object to interchange and manipulate data asynchronously with the web server (although AJAX applications can use other technologies)
Amplitude
The amount of variety in a signal. Commonly thought of as the height of a wave.

Source: Learning Circuits

Analog
A signal that is received in the same form in which it is transmitted, although the amplitude and frequency may vary.

Source: Learning Circuits

AoD (Audio On Demand)
See CoD.

Source: Learning Circuits

Apache
Apache is an open-source (source code is freely available and can be shared) HTTP Web server software. It is currently the most popular web server on the Net. It is usually run on Unix operating system versions like Linux or BSD, but it can also be run on Windows. It is a full-featured server with many powerful add-ons freely available.
API (Application Program Interface)
The set of tools used by a programmer to create a computer program.

Source: Learning Circuits

Applet
A small application. See also Java applet.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

ASP (Active Server Page)
An Active Server Page is a web page that includes program code that is processed on a Microsoft web server before the page is sent to the user. The code is typically used to access data from a database and that data is then built into the returned web page "on the fly".
ASP was developed by Microsoft and is a feature of Microsoft's web server software, but the dynamically generated pages can be viewed by almost any browser.
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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Assessment
The process used to systematically evaluate a learner s skill or knowledge level.

Source: Learning Circuits

Assessment item
A question or measurable activity used to determine whether the learner has mastered a learning objective.

Source: Learning Circuits

Asset
1) Intellectual property. See knowledge asset. 2) Hardware and software owned by an organization.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Audio bridge
A device used in audioconferencing that connects multiple telephone lines.

Source: Learning Circuits

Audioconferencing
Voice-only connection of more than two sites using standard telephone lines.

Source: Learning Circuits

Audiographics
Computer-based technology that enables simultaneous transmission of voice, data, and graphic images across local telephone lines for instructor-learner interaction.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Avatar
In online environments, a virtual digital image representing a person.
Backbone
A primary communication path connecting multiple users.

Source: Learning Circuits

Band
A range of frequencies between defined upper and lower limits.

Source: Learning Circuits

Bandwidth
The nformation carrying capacity of a communication channel.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Beneficiary
Beneficiary, means a legal entity, an international organisation or the Joint Research Centre (JRC), which has concluded this grant agreement with the Community.

Source: European Commission

Binary code
A coding system made up of numbers expressed in base-2 notation, using only the digits 0 and 1.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Bits per second (BPS)
Measurement of the data transmission for a modem or network.
Blended learning
Learning events that combine aspects of online and face-to-face instruction.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Bluetooth
A wireless networking technology using radio waves that enables users to send data and voice signals between electronic devices over short distances.

Source: Learning Circuits

Bookmark
A Webpage link stored in a browser for quick and easy retrieval.

Source: Learning Circuits

Bps (Bits Per Second)
A measurement of data transmission speed in a communications system; the number of bits transmitted or received each second.

Source: Learning Circuits

Bridge
A device linking two or more sections of a network.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Broadcast
(noun) Television or radio signals designed to reach a mass audience. (Some Websites offer original or redistributed broadcasts)
(verb) 1) To transmit television or radio signals. 2) To email or fax a message to multiple recipients simultaneously; to transmit information simultaneously to everyone on a network.

Source: Learning Circuits

Browser
A software application that displays World Wide Web pages originally written in the text-based HTML language in a user-friendly graphical format.

Source: Learning Circuits

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.

Source: Learning Circuits

Byte
A combination of 8 bits.

Source: Learning Circuits

C-learning
See instructor-led training.

Source: Learning Circuits

Cable modem
A modem that uses cable television s coaxial cables to transmit data at faster speeds than modems using telephone lines.

Source: Learning Circuits