Additional resources

Glossary of Terms

A

Academic Integrity -

Active learning - A method of teaching that involves more than just reading and watching videos. Students actively engage in problem solving, writing or other activities. This approach encourages evaluation, synthesis and analysis (higher knowledge levels according to Bloom) than just finding the "right" answer.

Alignment - is the intentional connection between learning objectives, assessments, activities and course materials

Asynchronous activities - are activities that students can complete in their own time. Asynchronous activities ensures equitable access to materials and a more flexible environment in which students can work.

Asynchronous Communication - reading or responding to communications as one’s schedule permits rather than in line with externally defined requirements/timelines. e.g., Email, Discussion boards, Announcements

Authentic assessments -

B

Blended learning - classes or learning experiences in which individual learners learn through a combination of online and in-person delivery. e.g., students attend in-person two hours per week and engage in online activities for one-hour per week. It may or may not indicate a reduction in in-person hours. In general, blended learning is used to describe many different approaches, so it is recommended to always clarify its use within a certain context.

Blog - short for weblog. It is a website that features regular updates from an individual or group. The updates come in form of new posts, similar to journaling. Blog posts usually employ a more informal tone.

Bloom's Taxonomy - is a framework that classifies various levels of thinking and learning. There is more than one taxonomy, but the one that is most commonly referred to is Bloom's Cognitive Taxonomy; its classifications range from Understand to Create.

C

Chunking - is the process of grouping or organizing course content so that similar material is presented together.

Classroom Response System (aka. Clickers) - a generic term for student response systems or polling tools. These tools allow instructors to quickly poll students during class to see how many got the correct answer or to get the class's view on a topic. Clickers were historically standalone devices that students purchased, but in recent years, classroom response systems have been web-based, meaning students respond with their computers or smartphone. This includes tools like Top Hat, PollEverywhere, and Mentimeter.

Collaborative Learning - students work with each other to discuss a given "problem" and come up with possible solutions. This can be done in pairs or in small groups. Advantages include students taking more ownership for their learning, improved social interactions, and built in peer feedback opportunities.

Connecting to prior knowledge - Find out what your students already know about a topic by asking questions, or brainstorming. Use this to help them connect what is being taught to what they already know. Doing this ensures a deeper level of learning and understanding, and increases student engagement.

D

Discussion Board - An online tool that lets users post and reply in an way that can be organized by topic.

E

ePortfolio - electronic portfolios that allow users to store artifacts, reflections, and other evidence of growth in their learning and/or professional development.

F

Formative Assessment - Diagnostic assessment ("in formative" assessment) meant to help learners and instructors with direction during the learning process. These types of assessment help students check their understanding of key concepts at regular intervals during the module or the course. If these types of assessments are designed to give immediate or timely feedback they can be described as assessments FOR learning.

Flipped Classroom or Flipped Teaching - a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework models are reversed. Students view or read the lecture content at home before the scheduled class sessions, while the class sessions are devoted to students working on exercises, projects, discussions, and other forms of active learning/practice.

G

Gamification - a strategy to increase student motivation, particularly in online courses, by using game design principles. This could include students unlocking achievements, climbing leaderboards, and so on.

Google Docs - web-based word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation tool that allows for live collaboration and a variety of options for sharing.

I

Infographic - a graphical or visual representation of information. Often used to help explain or present a complicated topic or process.

L

Learning Analytics - using learning data to discover patterns to inform teaching and learning.

Learning Outcomes - describe the high level goals of a course and describe what students will be able to do at the end of a course.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) or Classroom Management Systems (CMS) - software for distributing course materials, distributing and collecting assessments, and communicating with students. Blackboard and Canvas are examples of learning management systems.

M

Module - a unit of learning typically employed in the design of an online course. Online courses typically have learners complete a module every one or two weeks. Ideally, modules contain a full cycle of learning (e.g., outcomes, instruction, assessment activities).

MOOC - stands for Massive Open Online Course. These courses are delivered online to large groups of students and are typically free. Students do not need to be enrolled in the institution to participate. Credentials, of some sort, are often available, but typically at an additional cost.

O

Office 365 - the modern version of Microsoft Office (ie. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). These versions are built to allow for easy online collaboration on and sharing of documents with others, similar to Google Docs.

Online Teaching - A course that has been purposefully designed to be delivered online.

P

Peer assessment - When participants in a course provide feedback and/or grades on each others' work.

R

Remote Teaching - Is the transition of a face-to-face or blended course toonline delivery, for example when COVID-19 surfaced there was a rapid transition of face to face courses to online.

Rubric - An explicit set of criteria for assessing a student's work. Often a rubric takes the form of a table with descriptions of what is considered excellent work or an excellent outcome, good work, poor work, etc.

S

Summative Assessment - A measurement of the final outcome of learning ("summing up"). These types of assessments can be described as assessments OF learning. Mid-terms and final exams, research papers or projects and presentations are some examples of summative assessments.

Synchronous activities - are activities that occur live in real-time. Synchronous activities can help to build engagement, connection, and community in distance education courses.

Synchronous Communication - communication involves the communicators transmitting text, audio or video at the same time. e.g. "Live" online chats, "face-to-face" meetings, lectures over Webex.

T

Timed Exam/Quiz - an online quiz that in which participants have a set amount of time to submit their responses. If the participant is still working when the timer runs out, responses be automatically submitted.

W

Webex - a video conferencing tool that allows for sharing slides, files (including videos), and the desktop of a presenter.

Wiki - a website that allows users to collaboratively create and edit the content and structure. Unlike a Google Doc, only one user can edit a wiki page at a time. A revision history is provided to allow users to see which person made specific edits.

Z

Zoom or Zooming - Zoom is a synchronous video conferencing tool similar to Webex. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom or Zooming became synonymous with any type of online meeting.