Glossary

ADL

See Advanced Distributed Learning.

Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL)

The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), is a collaborative effort between government, industry and academia to establish a new distributed learning environment that permits the interoperability of learning tools and course content on a global scale. ADL's vision is to provide access to the highest quality education and training, tailored to individual needs, delivered cost-effectively anywhere and anytime.

Source: http://www.adlnet.org
More information: http://www.adlnet.org
Entry Last Updated: 05 May 2004

AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Committee)

An international organization that develops guidelines for the aviation industry specifying the development, delivery, and evaluation of CBT and related training technologies.

Source: http://meld.medbiq.org/primers/e-learning_standards_pasini.htm
More information: http://www.aicc.org
Entry Last Updated: 29 June 2004

Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring and Distribution Networks for Europe

See ARIADNE.

ARCS

John Keller's model of learning motivation, which includes the elements Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction.

Entry Last Updated: 05 May 2004

ARIADNE (Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring and Distribution Networks for Europe)

An organization that develops tools and methodologies for the implementation of e-learning pedagogy and curricula in Europe.

Source: http://meld.medbiq.org/primers/e-learning_standards_pasini.htm
More information: http://www.ariadne-eu.org/
Entry Last Updated: 29 June 2004

Asynchronous E-Learning

Online learning that occurs when direct communication between learners or between learner and instructor does not occur simultaneously. This can occur when a course is self-paced, when direct communication occurs via email via or online discussion.

Entry Last Updated: 05 May 2004

Authoring Tool

Software used to create e-learning content. See also Learning Content Management System.

Entry Last Updated: 05 May 2004

Aviation Industry CBT Committee

See AICC.

DCMI

See Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)

An organization dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and developing specialized metadata vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems.

Source: http://dublincore.org/about/
More information: http://dublincore.org/
Entry Last Updated: 16 August 2004

EdNA (Education Network Australia)

An Australian organization that supports and promotes Internet-based learning.

Source: http://www.edna.edu.au/
More information: http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/pid/385
Entry Last Updated: 16 August 2004

E-Learning

Definitions of e-learning abound. For MELD, e-learning is defined as the use of Internet technologies to create or deliver a learning experience to one or more learners. For our purposes, e-learning includes online courses, learning objects, blended learning, (which combines online resources with face-to-face interactions), performance support, knowledge management, self-assessment, communities of practice (online educational communities) and other online resources that encourage learners to assess, improve, or change their knowledge or clinical performance.

Entry Last Updated: 05 May 2004

E-portfolio

A Web resource for saving, organizing, tracking, and selectively reporting professional education and competency accomplishments. Many disciplines have used portfolios as a way to organize and present work in order to summarize activities and enable critique and evaluation. As work has become more widely available in digital formats, the portfolio notion has been extended more broadly, particularly in the higher education community where a variety of projects are underway to define e-portfolios that document learner accomplishments across many institutions.

More information: http://meld.medbiq.org/implementing_e-learning_medbiq.htm
Entry Last Updated: 24 August 2004

Extensible Markup Language

See XML.

Instructional Design

A methodology for the design and development of instruction.

More information:
http://meld.medbiq.org/primers/primer_on_instructional_design_scott.htm
Entry Last Updated: 16 August 2004

IEEE LTSC (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Learning Technology Standards Committee)

A committee chartered by the IEEE Computer Society Standards Activity Board to develop accredited technical standards, recommended practices, and guides for learning technology.

Source: http://ltsc.ieee.org
More information: http://ltsc.ieee.org
Entry Last Updated: 16 August 2004

IMS Global Learning Consortium

An organization that develops and promotes the adoption of open technical specifications for interoperable learning technology. Several IMS specifications have become worldwide de facto standards for delivering learning products and services.

Source: http://www.imsglobal.org/aboutims.cfm
More information: http://www.imsglobal.org
Entry Last Updated: 16 August 2004

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Learning Technology Standards Committee

See IEEE LTSC.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) JTC1/SC36

A committee within ISO that develops standards for Information technology for learning, education and training.

Source: http://www.iso.org
More information: ISO JTC1/SC36 Committee
Entry Last Updated: 16 August 2004

LCMS

See Learning Content Management System.

LMS

See Learning Management System.

Learning Content Management System (LCMS)

Software that allows developers to store, manage, and provide access to pieces of content used in e-learning.

Learning Management System (LMS)

Software that administers student education or training. Typically LMSs manage user registration and logon activities, manage course catalogues, and track the learner's progress through the learning materials. LMSs may also allow the user to create learning content, manage the virtual classroom, and allow communication between learners and between learners and faculty.

Entry Last Updated: 10 August 2004

Learning Object

A discrete unit of digital instruction typically focused on a single learning objective. By packaging information in these smaller pieces of instruction and then aggregating them in large repositories, which can be searched and mined, these learning objects become versatile and reusable building blocks that can provide content for both formal and informal learning. When combined, the learning objects can form a longer online course. As distinct objects easily discovered and integrated into the clinical environment, they can serve as the basis of a performance support or knowledge management system that provides education and information to learners when and where they need it. Learning objects can also be used within a community of practice as part of a blended learning approach that extends access to pertinent learning material beyond a single scientific meeting.

Entry Last Updated: 10 August 2004

Learning Object Metadata (LOM)

Information about a learning object that allows that learning object to be identified, managed, located, and evaluated. The standard that specifies the syntax and symantics of learning object metadata is maintained by the IEEE.

More information: http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/
Entry Last Updated: 12 August 2004

Learning Objective

A statement that articulates the goals of a learning program and provides a measurable means of evaluating whether that learning has occurred. Following are examples of learning objectives:

The student will be able to list and describe the techniques used in the five types of skin biopsies.
The student will be able to describe the indications for the selection of the different biopsy techniques.
The student will be able to demonstrate a punch biopsy.

Entry Last Updated: 12 August 2004

Metadata

A description of an information-bearing object (such as a document, data set, database, image, audio file, etc.). While this may be any type of description, the term metadata generally refers to structured text descriptions (in machine-understandable format) of attributes of resources or information-bearing objects for use and communication by computers across networks (such as the Internet). Metadata is used to classify, index, retrieve and process information about information-bearing objects with the intent of streamlining communication and interoperability among federated organizations and systems by establishing common frameworks and languages.

Source: http://meld.medbiq.org/primers/metadata_in_medicine_kim.htm
More information: http://meld.medbiq.org/primers/metadata_in_medicine_kim.htm
Entry Last Updated: 10 August 2004

SCORM

Developed by the US Department of Defense's Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL), SCORM is acknowledged as the model for online education. SCORM is a suite of standards for online education that enables interoperability of learning content with multiple LMSs. SCORM implements a modular approach to online learning that aggregates discrete units of digital instruction.

See Also: Advanced Distributed Learning
More information: http://www.adlnet.org, http://meld.medbiq.org/primers/SCORM_primer_cohen.htm
Entry Last Updated: 10 August 2004

Sharable Content Object Reference Model

See SCORM.

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

A platform for supporting online courses typical of a university environment, including syllabi, resources, chat, discussion, document storage, and integration with student information systems.

Entry Last Updated: 10 August 2004

XML (Extensible Markup Language)

Extensible Markup Language (XML). An open industry standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium to facilitate the exchange of structured data over the Internet. In other words, it helps computer systems "talk" to one another.

More Information: http://www.w3.org/XML/
http://www.w3.org/XML/1999/XML-in-10-points
Entry Last Updated: 10 August 2004

XML Schemas

Documents that express shared vocabularies and allow machines to carry out rules made by people. They provide a means for defining the structure, content and semantics of XML documents.

Source: http://www.w3.org/XML/Activity.html
Entry Last Updated: 12 August 2004