(update 02/09/2015)
DE Committee List of Definitions and Acronyms:
Accredited – The formal recognition of a university, college, or postsecondary higher education institution by a regional or national accrediting agency as meeting certain standards or requirements with regards to quality.
Asynchronous – accessible at any place or time.
Audit – To enroll and participate in an individual course without receiving academic credit. A popular option for lifelong learners who seek to indulge their love of learning.
Audio Conferencing – Audio conferencing refers to a connection between three or more locations that involves a voice-only connection. This can be done via telephone or via the computer. When the audio conference is done between computers over the Internet, it uses a technology known as VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).
Blackboard Collaborative for UH – A web conferencing system that may be used to teach classes, conduct meetings and advise students online. Support and training may be purchased through the UHM College of Education @DCDC (Distance Course Design Consultants).
Chat – When two or more users communicate in real-time by typing messages which are sent instantly within the chat room or instant messaging program. In distance learning, a chat may be used for a class discussion, or so that students may ask the instructor questions or receive feedback from an instructor as a group.
Collaborative Learning – through the exchange and sharing of information and opinions among a peer group. Computers excel in mediating collaborative learning for geographically dispersed groups.
Creative Commons (CC) – is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States, devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share.
Distance Learning – Students in multiple locations interact with the instructor and their fellow classmates using distance delivery methods such as cable, Interactive Video (ITV) and online.
Ebook – A book that can be read in a digital format, such as a PDF, using a computer, tablet, or ebook reader.
eCafe – the Official University of Hawaii Course And Faculty Evaluation System.
Ed-Tech – abbreviation for Educational Technology.
e-Learning – Any learning that utilizes a network (LAN, WAN or Internet) for delivery, interaction, or facilitation. This would include distributed learning, distance learning (other than pure correspondence ), CBT delivered over a network, and WBT. Can be synchronous, asynchronous, instructor-led or computer-based or a combination.
Hālāwai – A web conferencing system that can be used to conduct a synchronous meeting or small group collaboration from your computer. It can also be used to enhance face-to-face or online courses.
HITS (Hawaiʻi Interactive Video Services) – Video network designed and optimized primarily to deliver interactive video (ITV) credit classes between campuses and educational centers within the University of Hawaiʻi system.
Hybrid Learning – Blended learning is an instructional approach that includes a combination of online and in-person learning activities. For example, students can complete online self-paced assignments by a certain date and then meet on-site or online for additional learning activities.
Interactive Video (ITV) – ITV allows students to take a course from one location while the instructor teaches from another. Class meetings are held at a specific time and place (synchronous). Both instructor and students can see and hear each other, simulating a face-to-face class environment.
iTunesU – Enables the sharing of audio and video using Apple’s iTunes Music Store infrastructure. It more facilitates the distribution and management of podcasts.
Laulima – A learning management system (LMS) that provides a variety of online tools to enhance teaching, learning, and collaboration. Courses spaces are automatically created from Banner and populated when students register.
Netiquette – Informal rules of conduct for how to behave on the Internet. For example, in a distance learning course, it is poor netiquette is to use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in a messages, as this is the equivalent of shouting.
Online Learning – e-Learning delivered over the Internet (as opposed to a local or wide area network).
Open Educational Resources (OER) – Open educational resources are educational materials and resources offered freely and openly for anyone to use and under some licenses to remix, improve and redistribute.
Synchronous Communication – Live, real-time communication. Examples include a conversation at the grocery store, phoning your children to say hello when you’re traveling on business, instant messaging or chatting in an AOL chat room.
Synchronous Learning – Any learning event where interaction happens simultaneously in real-time. This requires that learners attend class at its scheduled time. Could be held in a traditional classroom, or delivered via distributed or e-Learning technologies.
Webinar – A webinar is a seminar or workshop in which the facilitator and participants view the same screen at the same time. Usually the webinar has an audio component that the facilitator controls and functionality that allows participants to chat by entering text, answering polls, raising their hands and asking questions.
Wi-Fi – An abbreviation for “Wireless Fidelity,” trademarked by the Wi-Fi Alliance, indicating the presence of a local network to connect to the Internet and other devices.
Whiteboard – The electronic equivalent of a blackboard and chalk on a computer screen that allows multiple, remote users to add text, create drawings or diagrams in a shared electronic workspace that is visible to all participants. Whiteboards are a common feature of distance learning course management software systems because it can be used for online instruction the same way a blackboard is used in a traditional classroom.