Definitions
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508 Compliant
In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic
and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in
information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of
technologies that will help achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain,
or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508 (29 U.S.C. ' 794d), agencies must give disabled employees and
members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others. 1 As a general rule,
TheAcademy.com's courses are not 508 compliant unless specifically requested.
1 Information from http://www.section508.gov/
AICC
The Aviation Industry CBT (Computer-Based Training) Committee (AICC) is an international association of
technology-based training professionals. The AICC develops guidelines for the aviation industry in the development, delivery,
and evaluation of CBT and related training technologies. The AICC wants the aviation training community to get the best
possible value for its technology-based training dollar. The only way that this is possible is to promote interoperability
standards that software vendors can use across multiple industries. With such standards a vendor can sell their products
to a broader market for a lower unit cost. AICC recommendations are fairly general to most types of computer based training
and, for this reason, are widely used outside of the aviation training industry.
1 Information from
http://www.aicc.org/
Animated Teaching Assistant
An Animated Teaching Assistant is a custom designed persona used throughout your
training courses. To achieve synergy with the theme, you can choose an animated character or persona to act as a
Teaching Assistant / Host to introduce, interact, and review the course material with the online student. Teaching
Assistants can be used to emphasize information learning points, lead learners in the right direction, or guide them
through the course.
Blended Learning
Blended learning refers to a solution that combines several different training delivery methods,
such as classroom training, online courses and webinars. Many of our clients come to us with some type of live/classroom
training and wish to expand into offering training online but do not wish to completely eliminate live training. Many
of the early LMSs only tracked online training, but no live training, which led to having to use multiple training
solutions. TheAcademy.com has worked hard to develop an LMS which can be used to track both online and live
learning events so you can consolidate all your training management into one system.
Blogs
A Blog, a portmanteau of web log, is a website that serves as an online diary for people, normally
with the addition of a comments section where anyone can post comments about the blog entry. Blogs are good tools
to promote person to person online training. Blogs are a good compliment with online training to allow people to
reflect on training and ask questions.
Computer Based Training (CBT)
Computer Based Training is training experienced via a computer. CBT is not
limited to online training but can also include training distributed on CD-ROMs and installed locally on the computer.
Course Management System (CMS)
A Course Management System is a piece of software that allows instructors to manage the various aspects of a course - from distributing materials and assignments to communicating with students.
E-Learning
Electronic learning or E-Learning is a general term used to refer to computer-enhanced learning.
E-Learning is naturally suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but can also be used in conjunction with
face-to-face teaching, in which case the term Blended learning is commonly used.
1
1 Information from
Wikipedia
E-Learning 2.0
As the technology of the internet evolves, more opportunities arise. For example, in the
past several years the use of blogs has exploded on the web. Wikipedia has, in the eyes of many, become a better source of information
than a traditional encyclopedia. Millions of people spend hours a day interacting with one another through instant messaging, cell
phones, and social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. What these things have in common is that the value of blogs, wikis,
and social networks comes from individual users. E-Learning 2.0 is a term that encompasses these same ideas - that learning online
can be enriched by individual contributions either along side or in lieu of traditional courses. By giving individuals the ability
to contribute content, organize content, easily find content that they're interested in, and share it all with others the system will,
over time, become richer than would ever be possible with a classic learning environment.
IACET
International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), based in Washington, D. C.
The IACET CEU was created as a measurement of quality continuing education. One IACET CEU is equal to ten hours of
participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and
qualified instruction. TheAcademy.com is one of a limited number of on-line training providers to receive approval
as an Authorized Provider.
Click here for more information.
Knowledge Management (KM)
Knowledge Management comprises a range of practices used by organizations to identify,
create, represent, and distribute knowledge for reuse, awareness and learning.
1 The goal of knowledge management is to allow
a group or organization to improve based upon their collective knowledge by storing, organizing, and retrieving the information that is
relevant to them.
1 Information from
Wikipedia
Learning Content Management System (LCMS)
In addition to managing the administrative functions of online
learning, some systems also provide tools to deliver instructor-led synchronous and asynchronous online training.
These systems are called Learning Content Management Systems or LCMSs. An LCMS provides tools for authoring content
as well as virtual spaces for learner interaction (such as discussion forums and live chat rooms). The focus of
an LCMS is on learning content. It gives authors, instructional designers, and subject matter experts the means
to create e-learning content more efficiently. The primary business problem an LCMS solves is to create just
enough content just in time to meet the needs of individual learners or groups of learners.
1
1 Information from
Wikipedia
Learning Management System (LMS)
LMS stands for Learning Management System and enables the management
and delivery of online content to learners. The key term here is management. It is very possible to create a
website and host your e-training on the site, but without an LMS behind it, managing and maintaining your program
will become very tedious and time inefficient. There are a variety of different aspects an LMS can manage and
they differ from LMS to LMS. An LMS can manage anything from user registration, the delivery of
courseware and assessments, to tracking of student progress. Learning Management Systems also allow
administrators to run multiple reports to analyze student use of the system and progress.
A popular trend for Learning Management Systems is the inclusion of tools for competency management, skills-gap analysis,
and succession planning. At the core, an LMS manages online training but because so many organizations also use live
training, Learning Management Systems often offer components to help with the management and tracking of live training
events as well as the online ones. Learning Management System vendors are constantly working to develop a product
that will maintain all aspects of your training program so everything is located at a single source to help improve
efficiency.
Mobile Learning
As cell phones and portable music players become more widespread, the opportunity to use those devices for learning arises. For example, a company can take advantage of mobile learning by offering mobile phone accessible versions of their courses or by offering audio podcasts that can be downloaded onto portable music players and listened to whenever and wherever.
Request For Information (RFI)
A Request for Information (RFI) is a standard business process whose
purpose is to collect written information about the capabilities of various suppliers. Normally it follows a
format that can be used for comparative purposes.
1
1 Information from
Wikipedia
Request For Proposal (RFP)
A Request for Proposal (referred to as RFP) is an invitation for suppliers,
through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific product or service.
RFPs often include specifications of the item, project or service for which a proposal is requested. The more
detailed the specifications, the better the chances that the proposal provided will be accurate. Generally RFPs
are sent to an approved supplier or vendor list.
1
1 Information from
Wikipedia
RSS
RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries,
news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either
a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up
with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.
Scenario-Based Learning
Scenario-Based Learning aims to teach by putting the learner into situations, recording their decisions, and either ending or continuing the simulation based on their response. The idea behind Scenario-Based Learning is that people learn better through experiencing something than through reading about it.
Find more information
here
SCORM
SCORM is a collection of standards and specifications adapted from multiple sources to provide a
comprehensive suite of e-learning capabilities that enable interoperability, accessibility and reusability of
web-based learning content.
1
In order to use SCORM compliant courses with your LMS, your LMS must be SCORM compliant. In order for your
LMS to run courses created or purchased from third party vendors, the course needs to be SCORM compliant.
One thing about SCORM that is often overlooked is that there are different versions of SCORM. Your LMS must
support the SCORM version that your course is developed in. Currently, the most common version of SCORM
is 1.2, but the latest and supposedly final version of SCORM is 2004 3rd edition. More and more LMS
vendors and courses are moving towards SCORM 2004 3rd edition.
The SCORM standards for vendor interoperability are still not universally defined and adopted so it is not
inconceivable that problems will arise when first installing a SCORM course for use on your SCORM compliant LMS.
The Athena LMS currently supports SCORM 1.2. If you have existing courses,
as long as they are SCORM 1.2, we should be able to support the
course without problems.
Sharable Content Object (SCO)
A Sharable Content Object is a single launchable resource, typically a webpage, that can communicate with the LMS that launched it through the SCORM run-time environment. A SCO is considered sharable since it can be reused in multiple SCORM based courses.
Subject Matter Experts (SME)
A Subject Matter Expert (SME) is a person who is an expert in a particular
subject. When building new training programs or courses, it is important to have an SME working on the
project to ensure the validity of the course material.
Use Case
A Use Case is a write up of scenarios to determine how end users will use the Learning
Management System. Performing a Use Study is a great way to learn what technologies your
LMS needs, and what current problems you need to solve. Spend a few days documenting all
the processes you perform for your training program, any problems you need to fix, and any thing you would
like to see in the future to help make things run smoother.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is a term used to describe software and services that are designed to take advantage of the unique advantages of the Internet - connectivity, openness, and a large diverse set of users. Blogs, wikis, and social networks all allow individuals to easily contribute information, add value, and improve the experience of other users of a particular website.
Find more information about Web 2.0 on
Wikipedia
Wikis
A wiki is a website designed to allow multiple authors to add, remove, and edit content.
1
Allowing multiple authors makes them an effective tool for online social learning.
Although some concern has been expressed about information integrity, research shows that the wiki community
users are self-regulating and quickly adjust inaccurate information.
1 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, On Term: "Wiki".