Glossary

The inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, color, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, age, abilities/disabilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies, etc., as well as international and first-generation students. The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect, understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences.

Learning facilitated through the use of information and communication technologies. There are several facets to e-learning including hardware (computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, etc.), digital resources (the Web, materials presented via Virtual Learning Environments, online libraries, etc.), software (tutorials, ‘office’ packages, etc.), and online communication tools (email, chat, forums etc.).

An e-portfolio is a collection of (usually online) digital evidence assembled and managed by a user to display competencies, skills, personal reflections, and task achievements, which can be presented in different formats for different audiences.

Equity in education means that personal or social circumstances such as gender, ethnic origin, or family background, are not obstacles to achieving educational potential (definition of fairness) and that all individuals reach at least a basic minimum level of skills (definition of inclusion) (Equity and Quality in Education, 2016)

The act of systematically determining the importance, effectiveness, or value of something.

Shorthand for face-to-face teaching. This refers to traditional classrooms where students and tutors are all in the same physical space together for a certain number of contact hours each week. The lines between online, hybrid, and f2f teaching have blurred with the advent of the adaptive, socially distanced classroom. F2f remains a useful shorthand for the concept of physical proximity during learning activities.

Learning and teaching that takes place in person (i.e., in the same location) and in real-time (i.e., at the same time). Also referred to as ‘in-person’ learning.

Advice and commentary given by a tutor on examinations, coursework, or classroom activity. This can be oral or written and helps learners to understand their progress. Feedback can be positive or negative, is used to shape behaviors, and should closely follow an action for maximum result.

A teaching approach that ‘flips’ the use of the classroom. This is usually accomplished by moving direct instruction online, for example through the use of videos which students study at home, and using classroom time for interactivity, for example group work or discussion.

The Forum activity allows students and teachers to exchange ideas by posting comments as part of a 'thread' or “discussion topic". Files such as images and media may be included in forum posts. The teacher can choose to grade and/or rate forum posts and it is also possible to give students permission to rate each other’s posts.

An abbreviation for HyperText Markup Language, the main language used for Web pages. Users can enter HTML in many text boxes in the LMSs, but actually don't need to know HTML itself, as there is usually a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor that can help.

An editing text box that is available for many of the LMS tools, in order to easily create HTML (usually written messages or labels including text, images, links, etc.).

The instructional design process consists of determining the needs of the learners, defining the end goals and objectives of instruction, designing, and planning assessment tasks, and designing teaching and learning activities to ensure the quality of instruction.

Methods of teaching and learning that include techniques in which learners communicate with each other and with the tutor. Interaction may be synchronous (e.g. telephone, online meeting, multimedia content) or asynchronous (e.g. forum, e-mail, deferred feedback). It is also used to refer to the way in which learning materials themselves are designed to require the active participation of learners.

The measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.