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A day in the life: a research technique for needs analysis that involves following someone through their daily routine from the start of the work day until the end of it. (Wilson, 2001.)
Advertisement (as used in e-learning): Promotions of various aspects of a product or service. Often appears inside the front or back covers of a publication or on the screens displayed by an application when users start or install it.
Advisor: see coach.
Animation: a sequence of graphics that appears to users as if the images move. Also see animation programs.
Animation programs: software that lets users create sequences of moving graphics. Animation programs let users alter the original image (for example, you might change colors), and rotate and move the image so it creates the sense of movement.
Artifact analysis: a research technique for needs analysis that involves reviewing memos, reports, screen shots from computer programs, and other evidence from the environment under study to gain insights into the content or the learners. This term from anthropological research.
asynchronous: in online learning, an event in which people are not logged on at the same time. For example, the instructor might publish a lecture on a website and learners would read it when their schedules permit. Contrast with synchronous.
Authoring: the task of entering learning material into the computer.
Authoring tool: software that designers and developers use to enter learning material into the computer, structure lessons, and format content.
Back matter: material that appears at the end of an online learning program. Includes the index, appendixes, and Learner Satisfaction Survey. Contrast with front matter.
bandwidth: the physical capacity of the transmission equipment in a network. Bandwidth refers to the amount of information that can be transmitted at a time, usually in bits per second.
blended learning: a program for education or training in which some parts are available online and the others are presented in a classroom. The program is said to blended online and classroom learning.
Blueprint: like its counterpart for buildings, a blueprint for an online learning program shows its structure and how it will look, and identifies the standards to which the program must be developed.
Business goal: ow the e-learning program will affect the bottom line of the sponsor. It should do so in one (and only one) of these ways: generating revenue (such as sales training), containing expenses (such as procedures and technical training), or complying with regulations (such as safety training)?
Celebration (as used in e-learning): Ceremonies and observances intended to recognize work with online learning and build morale around it. This type of recognition is especially important to online learning, because the learning is often anonymous. A celebration may be as simple as a supervisor telling an employee that he or she is aware of the worker’s participation in a course or presenting a ribbon or plaque to acknowledge achievement, or a celebration may be as elaborate as a party.
Coach (as used in e-learning): Online tools that assist users with cognitive (intellectual) tasks. Usually, the coaching instructions are built into the software, but sometimes, the coach is an actual person who interacts with a learner through instant messaging. Also called advisor.
Contest(as used in e-learning): Motivational tool intended to build interest or attention to a subject. For example, an organization might run a contest that rewards a department for reaching certain levels of safety or for levels of usage for a new computer system.
Copyediting: This task of making sure that the material in an online learning program is grammatically and stylistically correct. Usually occurs with the last draft of an online learning program. Compare with substantive editing.
Criterion-referenced evaluation: Assesses the extent to which participants can master the learning objectives of a learning program. The criteria are objectives for the course and each test question must directly derive from one of the objectives.
Cue card: Instructions that tell learners how to perform a task and that are displayed by the system one step at a time. These instructional aids resemble flash or cue cards, from which they receive their name.
Demo (as used in e-learning): A trial version of a product that includes a scaled-down version of its features and functions and that provides users with a “tour” of the product. The tour may be guided, or it may be self-running. Usually, demos provide users with an opportunity to try certain aspects of a product. Also called a guided tour.
Detailed design: “fleshes out” the high-level design with specific plans for presenting all of the content. These specific plans include a prototype section, the general design of screens, and storyboards for all content not covered in the sample section. You also conduct a usability test on the prototype. Contrast with high-level design.
e-coaching: tutoring provided to learners in online learning programs. The tutoring might be provided by telephone, online chat, discussion boards, e-mail, or a combination of these.
Editorial reviews: which identify inaccuracies and inconsistencies in grammar and style of the text and visuals. This review should be conducted by someone who acts as the first reader of a learning program and goes through it to identify issues with content and its presentation.
Enabling objectives: observable and measurable goals, which are derived from the supporting tasks identified in the needs analysis. Called enabling objectives because they enable learners to complete the terminal objectives. Also see terminal objectives.
Entry tasks: tasks that learners are assumed to be able to perform before starting the online learning program. These skills can be listed as prerequisite skills for an online learning program and do not need to be taught.
Focus groups: a research technique for needs analysis in which you interview as a group eight people who are demographically similar. The focus group usually lasts 2 hours and can cover three to five questions.
Form: refers to the type of online learning program being developed, such as a tutorial or tips of the day.
formal learning: a type of education or training program in which course designers and developers identify the intended outcomes long before the course begins and learners are only considered to have successfully completed the learning program when they demonstrate successful mastery of these outcomes. Contrast with informal learning.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): A list of questions about a subject that provides learners with quick answers about issues that arise in their use of software, website, or a general subject area. The questions are either ones that the authors anticipated, or come from an analysis of the questions that learners ask. Usually, the list of questions is a visible link from a website. The first thing learners see is the list of questions. Learners choose a question of interest, then see the answer.
Front matter: material that appears at the beginning of an online learning program, including the title screen, edition notice, preface, and main menu. Contrast with back matter.
Gaming-simulations: Learning experiences that replicate the central characteristics of complex situations (that’s the simulation) and allow users to experience the consequences of decisions made in that situation (the gaming aspect).
Golden code: The final version of the learning program, from which duplicate copies are made or which is published on the World Wide Web. Also called a source file.
Graphics files: contain visuals used in Web content, including online learning programs, because visual images are stored separately from text.
Guided tour (as used in e-learning): see demos.
Help: A special type of user’s guide for software that is available to users online as they use software applications.
High-level design: a general strategy for presenting the material in a learning program. Contrast with detailed design.
History file: see project history file.
Informal learning: , a type of education or training program in which learners define what they want to learn and learning is considered successful when learners feel that they are able to master their intended objectives (whether or not the course designers believe that the learners have or have not demonstrated mastery). Contrast with formal learning.
Information map: a map of the content in a learning program. Offers a visual alternative to outlines as a means of representing the structure of a program.
Internship: a research technique for needs analysis that involves an extended immersion in the environment. A person takes on a particular work responsibility to provide a meaningful context for this research.
Interviews: a research technique for needs analysis that involves questioning as many people who have information to share as possible. Typically, these people would be the sponsor, SMEs, and prospective learners.
Job aid: A learning product intended to give users a brief refresher of a training module on the job. Also called quick reference.
Kirkpatrick model: a four-level approach to evaluating training programs. Named after Donald Kirkpatrick, who first proposed the program.
Learning environment: the place in which people will take the online learning program. Examples include the workplace, homes, and learning centers (a special environment for taking courses).
learning object: a section of a course that can be stored and used again in another communication or learning product.
Level 1 evaluation (in the Kirkpatrick model): Assesses participants’ initial reactions to a course. That, in turn, offers insights into participants’ satisfaction with a course. Trainers usually assess this through a survey, often called a “smiley sheet.” Occasionally, trainers use focus groups and similar methods to receive more specific comments (called qualitative feedback) on the courses.
Level 2 evaluation (in the Kirkpatrick model): Assesses the extent to which learners achieved the learning objectives of a learning program. Trainers usually assess this with a criterion-referenced test. The criteria are objectives for the course. The tests usually involve answering questions or demonstrating competence through an observation.
Level 3 evaluation (in the Kirkpatrick model): Assesses the extent to which participants actually apply the lessons learned in a course in everyday work 6 weeks to 6 months (perhaps longer) after taking the course. This assessment is based on the objectives of the course and assessed through tests, observations, surveys, and interviews with co-workers and supervisors.
Level 4 evaluation (in the Kirkpatrick model): Assesses the financial impact of the training course on the bottom line of the organization 6 months to 2 years after the course (the actual time varies depending on the context of the course).
Main task: an action that learners must perform to successfully perform the primary task. Also see primary task, supporting task, and task analysis.
Needs analysis: the process of collecting information about a proposed online learning program before defining its goals and designing it. A needs analysis addresses the following issues: restating the request, stating the business need, identifying the performance gap, conducting a task analysis, describing the learners, describing the learning environment, and identifying the project constraints.
Nested list: list within a list. Also called a sublist.
Newsletter(as used in e-learning): Contains a collection of articles and provides ongoing communication with a target group. For example, a product newsletter provides ongoing contact with the customers who have already purchased a product. An employee newsletter provides ongoing contact with the employees in a department or within an entire organization. Generally, organizations distribute online newsletters through e-mail. Also see webzine.
Online reference: Encylopedic listings of all major topics on particular subjects to include online versions of standard references (telephone directories, encyclopedias, specialty dictionaries and glossaries, and so forth). Included in this category are software programming references, which list all the commands that programmers can use to create their own applications using that software.
Paper prototype: a sample section of a proposed e-learning course that is prepared on paper, rather than online. Also see prototype.
Performance gap: The difference between the way that learners should perform a task (called desired performance) and the way that they currently do perform that task (called current performance) (Dick & Carey, 1990). Any proposed e-learning solution should have closing the performance gap as its goal.
Post-mortem: a meeting held to close an online learning project. The meeting celebrates the end of the project, and participants discuss what worked and what they would do differently on future e-learning projects.
Primary task: what learners must be able to do after completing an online learning program, such as sell a particular product or effectively manage time. Also see main task, primary task, supporting task, and task analysis.
Production: the process of readying a learning program for publication online, and its accompanying materials for publication online or in print.
Production instructions: information provided on a storyboard that describes the media used on a screen, including graphics, photos, and audio, animation, and video sequences.
Programming instructions: information provided on a storyboard that indicates all links (include the URLs) other than standard navigation, all data processing that must be performed (such as the processing entry fields included on the display), and any other programming needs. More specifically, programming instructions describe the users' input and the expected output. For simulations, indicate all of the possible paths that users might take. For tutorials, for each question, indicate the correct and incorrect responses, and what should happen when users choose them (the text that should be displayed, and the next screen that users see).
Project constraints: business requirements placed on a project. Constraints fall into two categories: product constraints (such as the editorial and design guidelines that the project must adhere to, the technology infrastructure on which the learning program must run, and the technology that must be used to develop the learning program) and project constraints (the drop-dead due date, the not-to-exceed budget, and the staff that must participate on the project).
Project history file: serves as the archive of a completed online learning project. Includes the project proposal, report of the needs analysis, design plans, prototypes, copies of each draft, feedback from any tests of pilot tests, copies of comments submitted for each plan and draft, copies of the planned and actual budgets and schedules, at least two copies of the finished learning program, minutes of the post-mortem meeting, and names of contact people.
Prototype: a sample section of a proposed e-learning course. The prototype may be prepared online, working fully or partially. Or the prototype may be prepared on paper, with figures resembling completed screens. Sponsors and potential learners can review the sample section and offer suggestions for making it more effective.
Quick reference: see job aid.
Remediation: the process of reviewing and reinforcing content that learners did not successfully master on the first try. Remediation is usually initiated when learners incorrectly answer questions on a test or within a practice session.
Review: the process in which designated people read drafts and provide their assessments of the material. Also see editorial review and technical review.
Sample section: a prototype of a unit in an online learning program that is prepared as part of the design process. Sponsors and potential learners can review the sample section and offer suggestions for making it more effective. Also see paper prototype and prototype.
Sponsor: the person who requests a training program and has authority to fund or stop funding on an online learning project.
Storyboard: a plan for each additional screen in the learning program that is not included in the sample section. Each storyboard identifies the objectives to be addressed, how the content will be presented, audio and visual materials used on that screen (if any), and programming instructions (such as links to Web addresses).
Style: the customs followed for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, usage, terminology, and typographical arrangements (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary).
Substantive editing: A process in which editors work closely with course developers to fortify the structure of an online learning program, to identify and resolve unclear passages, and to enhance the presentation of information so that learners can easily understand it. Usually happens with the earlier drafts of an online learning program. Compare with copyediting.
Support groups(as used in e-learning): Groups of people facing a similar challenge and who benefit from sharing individual problems. Some online communities are self-run, and others are led by outside facilitators. Some support groups are available online as discussion listservs and newsgroups. Some support groups meet in person at formal users’ meetings.
Supporting task: an action that learners must perform to successfully perform the main task. Also see main task, primary task, and task analysis.
Surveys: a research technique for needs analysis in which a select group of people is asked to respond to a series of questions, usually ones that can be scored. The responses are recorded and analyzed.
synchronous: in online learning, an event in which all of
the participants are online at the same time and communicating with one another.
For example, an instructor might schedule a guest lecturer to take question at a
particular time; all interested people would connect with the lecture when the guest is online.
Contrast with
Task analysis: Lists the actions that learners must perform to achieve the desired performance. In some instances, when the tasks involve physical actions, the list of tasks is clear. In other instances, when the tasks are intellectual ones, such as choosing the right model of computer to meet a customer’s needs, task analysis is more of a challenge. A complete task analysis begins with a description of the situation that drives learners into the online learning program, then presents a hierarchy of tasks, including the primary task (that is, the overall task of the course), main tasks (ones that learners must complete to achieve the primary task), and supporting tasks (tasks that learners must complete to successfully complete the main tasks).
Technical reviews: subject matter experts (SMEs) examine the draft learning program to assess the accuracy of the content.
Technical testing: Determines whether the learning software actually works as it is supposed to.
Template: a special type of word processing or authoring file that you can use to consistently develop similar types of screens, thereby reduceing the amount of time needed to develop an online learning program, as well as the inconsistency among lessons because the parts that need to be consistent are often included in the template.
Terminal objectives: observable and measurable goals, which are derived from the main tasks identified in the needs analysis. Also see enabling objectives.
Tip of the day: A suggestion about some aspect of software or a subject area that is not required for basic use or application, but the knowledge thereof could increase the productivity of the user. Usually offered one tip at a time, either when users open an application or by e-mail.
Troubleshooting procedures: A special type of instruction manual that tells trained service representatives how to repair a piece of equipment, resolve a problem with software, or handle some similar type of problem. Service representatives usually receive training in how to use troubleshooting procedures. The troubleshooting guide for a computer is an example of a service guide.
Tutorials: A lesson, or series of lessons, that are intended to develop a skill that users can immediately use. The lessons are taken asynchronously; that is, all of the learning content is available online. Learners can take it at their convenience.
Usability testing: Tracks the speed and accuracy achieved by representative learners as they are observed going through the learning program, and assesses their reactions to it.
Viewing: the act of reading or taking an online learning program on a computer.
Webzines: Contain a collection of articles and provides ongoing communication with a target group. For example, a product webzine provides ongoing contact with the customers who have already purchased a product. An employee webzine provides ongoing contact with the employees in a department or within an entire organization. Generally, organizations publish webzines at specific websites. Also see newsletter.
Wizard: Online “agent” that automatically performs complex tasks for learners, only prompting learners when they must make a decision. When learners are prompted to make decisions, the system should have a default (presumed) choice to offer.
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(c) Copyright. 2002. Saul Carliner. All rights reserved.