Glossary of terms
A
- Agamotto
According to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki Agamotto is one of three powerful beings who make up the triumvirate known as Vishanti. Apparently Agamotto created a series of mystical artefacts one of which is the 'All Seeing Eye' which Doctor Strange uses. Presumably this is why someone in H5P decided to call the image blender module Agamotto in reference to its ability to display multiple images (but this is just a guess). In the real world of H5P an Agamotto will allow you to present a series of images and explanations for your users to view sequentially.
- AI (inc ChatGPT)
ChatGPT is a variant of the GPT language model, which is trained using a variant of the transformer architecture on a large dataset of text. The model learns to generate text by predicting the next word in a sequence based on the previous words, using patterns it has learned from the training data. Once trained, the model can be fine-tuned on specific tasks, such as language translation or question answering, by adjusting the model parameters using a smaller dataset specific to that task.
- Apps
Software Applications (Apps) are programmes designed to operate on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.
- AR
AR or Augmented Reality is often conflated with Virtual Reality (VR) as there is a significant amount of overlap. AR is technology that superimposes a computer-generated image/extra information onto a user's view of the real world, thus providing augmentation of that real world.
It can be as simple as a text-notification when you click on a QR code on a poster with your smart phone or as sophisticated as images of the internal organs which can be superimposed into the body to help learning. AR highlights certain features, enhances understanding and provide accessible and timely data. The main point is that the information provided is topical and relevant to what you are doing.
Types of AR include:
- Marker based
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Markerless
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Projection based
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Superimposition based
- Asynchronous
Asynchronous technology enables participants to communicate and interact with each other online at separate times e.g. discussion forum or email.
B
- BYOD
BYOD is an acronym that stands for bring your own device. Learners bring their own technology (usually in the form of a smartphone or tablet/laptop) into the classroom to use as part of a learning activity.
E
- e-portfolio
e-portfolio - learners create an electronic catalogue of work that tracks their learning journey. This is usually online and often uses multimedia files (e-portfolio platforms include Mahara, PebblePad or WordPress).
F
- Flipped Classroom
Learners discover new content before the lesson from online videos or resources and then bring this knowledge to the classroom.
H
- HTML5
Hypertext Markup Language revision 5 (HTML5 and sometimes HTML 5) is markup (coding) language for the structure and presentation of World Wide Web content.
I
- Interactive whiteboard
Interactive whiteboards - allow content from a computer to be displayed onto a large (usually wall-mounted) board. Users can interact with the content on the board using fingers or a stylus.
J
- JISC
JISC has been known as JISC since 2012 but, historically, JISC stood for Joint Information Systems Committee. They are the UK higher, further education and skills sectors’ not-for-profit organisation for digital services and solutions.
Further information is available here:
P
- PLN
Personal Learning Network (PLN) - an individual’s loose collection of links with other people or resources. The aim of a PLN is to facilitate an exchange of ideas that supports learning.
Q
- Qualtrics
Create and complete surveys
S
- Synchronous
Synchronous technology enables participants to communicate and interact with each other online at the same time e.g. webinar.
V
- VLE
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) - an e-learning education system that is web-based, but modelled on conventional face-to-face education. It provides access to courses, course content, assessments, homework or links to external resources (e.g. Moodle).
- VR
VR or Virtual Reality is the use of computer technology to create a simulated world. Unlike traditional user interfaces, VR immerses the user inside an online world, usually (but not always) using a headset. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed in the online world and able to interact with whatever they see/hear through their headset.
VR is also known as an immersive technology. VR can be used to simulate a real environment for training and education (often when it would be too dangerous or cost prohibitive to do it in real life) and also for gaming.
Examples include:
- a 3-D image that can be explored interactively via a PC (this is at the very basic end of the spectrum). Here are some examples
- Oculus Rift HMD developed by IgnisVR from the Netherlands, you are an astronaut on a spacewalk. More information is available here
- 10 examples of what is possible with VR
W
- W3C
W3C stands for World Wide Web Consortium and is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the continued growth of the internet. W3C operates under a code of conduct available here: https://www.w3.org/Consortium/cepc/
- WAI-ARIA
WAI-ARIA stands for Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications and is a technical specification published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that specifies how to increase the accessibility of web pages.
- Web 2.0
Web 2.0 - refers to the second generation of the world wide web. It includes features and functionality that were not available before e.g. podcasts, blogs, wikis, RSS (Really Simple Syndication – used for updating regularly changing web content), social networking and tagging.
- WebRTC
WebRTC is an open project that provides browsers and mobile applications with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities via simple APIs. The WebRTC components have been optimized to best serve this purpose. Blackboard Collaborate which we use for delivering our PGCEi programmes is WebRTC compliant.
- WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. It refers to editing software that displays editable content in a form that resembles its published appearance. SiteBuilder and Moodle both use WYSIWYG editors by default with the option to switch to editing HTML code directly if you prefer.