Distance Learning Lexicon

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Amplitude - The conversion of letters, numbers and control codes into a digital code that can be understood by most computers.

Analog Communication - A signal that is received and transmitted in the same form, though the amplitude and frequency may vary.

Asynchronous Learning Network - Instructor-led learning that takes place intermittently, not in real-time and not simultaneously. This method often utilizes communication through links to web content, email, news groups and discussion groups.

Audio conferencing - Audio conferencing is two-way voice communication between two or more groups or three or more individuals in separate locations. The two types of telephone formats currently used are analog and digital. Analog has been the traditional means of telephone communication, with the information encoded as a continuous electronic wave. Digital is presented in discrete binary signals that enable faster switching and have the capacity to simultaneously transmit voice, data, and compressed video signals over the same line.

B

Backbone - This is the main communication path that connects multiple users. Band - The range of frequencies between defined upper and lower limits. Bandwidth - The transmission capacity of an electronic medium.

Browser - Software that allows you to find and view information on the Internet.

C

Cache - A dedicated bank of high-speed memory that provides a temporary storage area for instructions and data.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) - The computing part of the computer, also called the processor.

Chat - A real-time conversation between two or more users online through typed messages.

Codec - an electrical device that converts a signal into digital form to be sent through some type of transmission medium to another where it is decoded back to its original form.

Compact Disc (CD) - A metal disk that contains digital audio files. Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) - A compact disk used to hold text, graphics and hi-fi sound.

Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I) - A compact disk format that holds data, audio, graphics and still video.

Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R) - A compact disk on which data or audio files can be recorded.

Compact Disk Rewritable (CD-RW) - A compact disk that can be recorded and rerecorded.

Compression - Reducing the amount of visual information that is sent in a signal by only transmitting changes in action.

Compressed Video - Compressed Video processes video images; transmits changes from one frame to the next which reduces the bandwidth to send them over a telecommunications channel. The most publicized compression techniques are proposed by two expert groups, JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) and MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group), defining methods for image compression in still frame and real-time video.

CU-SeeMe - CU-SeeMe is an Internet-based videophone platform used for inexpensive multipoint computer conferencing. With CU-SeeMe you may either converse one-to-one, or there may be several people all speaking, typing and looking at one and another simultaneously.

Cyberspace - The Internet or the digital environment.

D

Disk - Formerly known as a floppy disk, disks are used to store information (or save) for later access or editing. A disk is used for storage when the computer user may need to access the file at a different computer or location.

Distance Education - Education where the teacher and leaner are physically separated, referring to learning through a variety of communication technologies including the web, video, teleclasses and e-mail.

Distance Learning - The process of gaining knowledge through a distance education course.

Downloading - To receive a file transmitted over a network.

E

E-mail - Every Internet user has an e-mail "address", like a postal address for printed mail. An Internet e-mail address is always in the form: user@system. For example: becky@tri-c.edu. The "becky" part is the name of the person's e-mail account; the "tri-c.edu" is the name of the computer system where the e-mail is kept. The most common use of e-mail is to contact and collaborate with others. This contact may occur across the hall or across the world. Students can correspond with other students, with instructors, and/or other experts.

Electronic Mail - Another term for E-Mail.

F

FAQ - Frequently asked questions and the answers about a specific subject.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - A protocol that allows the movement of files from a distant computer to a local computer using a network such as the Internet.

G

H

Home Page - The page retrieved when accessing a website. The home page serves as a table of contents for the rest of the pages on the site or to other websites.

Hypertext - The linking of related information that is the foundation of the World Wide Web. Links embedded within web pages are addresses to other web pages stored locally or in a web server.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) - A programming language used to create graphical web pages that can be viewed over the Internet. Web pages are built with HTML tags, or codes, embedded in the text. HTML defines the page layout, fonts and graphic elements as well as the hypertext links to other documents on the Web.

I

Interactive Video - Video instruction that allows communication or dialogue between instructors and learners or among learners at different sites in a synchronous format. Internet - A worldwide network that interconnects thousands of public and private networks and millions of users.

Internet Browser - Software that allows information on the Internet to be viewed.

J

K

L

Learning Portal - Internet sites organized around specific topics offering learners and organizations consolidated access to learning and training resources from multiple sources.

Link - Embedded in web pages, these addresses point to the location of other data. Clicking on such a link within text will retrieve the additional information.

Listserv - A listserv is an electronic mailing list utilized for e-mail driven discussions. Each listserv has a topic or subject around which the discussion centers. Anyone with Internet email may be a listserv member.

Local Area Network (LAN) - Two or more physically connected local computers.

Log On - To gain access to, or sign on to a computer system.

Log Off - To quit or sign off of a computer system.

M

N

Network - The connection of multiple sites for the transfer and exchange of information via computers.

Newsgroup - A discussion group on the Internet. A newsgroup is an on-going collection of messages about a particular subject.

O

One-Way Video/Two-Way Audio - The instructor can be seen and heard by the learners, but can hear, not see, the learners comments.

Online - In Internet terminology: the mode of being able to send or receive data.

Originating Site - The point of origin of a lesson or class.

P

Point-to-Multipoint - A transmission that uses a bridge between multiple locations.

Point-to-Point - A transmission between two locations.

Protocol - A formal set of standards and rules used or exchanging data that assures uniformity between computers and applications.

Q

R

Real Time - An immediate response. Broadcast or transmission of video, audio or data that is accomplished instantly. Receiving Sites - Sites that receive a signal from the original point or site of transmission.

S

Search Engines - Software that searches the Internet for data based upon some criterion.

Server - A computer in a network shared by multiple users.

Streaming Video - A one-way transmission of digital video to the viewer.

Synchronous Learning - Real-time, instructor led, learning requiring the simultaneous presence of the senders and receiver. Participants are either logged on (if online) or present at the same time (if interactive video) in different locations, communicating directly with each other.

T

Teleconferencing - A conference between people linked by a telecommunications system. These systems may be audio, data, video or any combination of the three.

Touch Screen - A touch-sensitive display screen that uses a clear panel over on the screen surface. The panel is a matrix of cells that transmit pressure information to the software.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) - A protocol that assures that packets of data are shipped and received in the proper manner.

Two-Way Video - This system comes the closest to bringing teacher and remote student into the same classroom. Each site in a two-way video system is equipped with a camera, microphones and monitors. When using a videoconferencing system each site may use a very small, inexpensive camera that sits on top of a computer. Activities at each site are transmitted simultaneously, so teachers and students across a wide area can see and hear each other "live".

U

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - An Internet site's specific address, for example www.tri-c.edu. URL's are typed into the browser to access web pages, and URL's are embedded within the pages themselves to provide hypertext links to other pages.

V

Video Bridge - A device connecting the video transmission from several sites.

Videoconferencing - Videoconferencing is electronic voice and video communication between two or more groups or three or more individuals. It can be fully interactive two-way voice and video, or two-way audio and one-way video.

W

Website - A location on the World Wide Web that is accessed by instructing the computer to find and connect to the site's specific address (URL). Websites function as repositories of information about specific topics, institutions, organizations, people, places or things.

White boarding - The electronic equivalent of a chalk and blackboard. Whiteboards allow participants across a network to simultaneously view one or more users drawing on the computer.

World Wide Web - The World Wide Web (WWW) is used to organize information as a set of hypertext documents on the Internet. It allows you to find and display files, pictures, and sounds on the Internet by choosing items via "hypertext" links. These links, usually in the form of highlighted text or icons, appear on "pages" of mixed text and pictorial information and allow information to be interconnected in nonlinear ways.

X

Y

Z

Sources

Distance Learning Resource Network http://www.dlrn.org/library/glossary/index.html

Freedman, Alan. The Computer Glossary: the complete Illustrated dictionary. New York: American Management Association, 1998.

Freedman, Alan, Glossbrenner, Alfred, Glossbrenner, Emily. The Internet Glossary and Quick Reference Guide. New York: AMACOM, 1998.

Willis, Barry. Distance Education: A Practical Guide. Edgewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1993.